When is the Best Time to Set an Annual Strategy Plan for Your Business?

Third and fourth quarter results mark the progress of this year but by the end of the summer, many executives are thinking ahead to next year and have already begun defining their future strategy. Economics and financials are certainly a part of this vision, and this year may have been a particularly rough one.

However, there is more to a business than just revenue. There are people, products, services, materials, and management systems that evolve over time to support a business model. All of this has to be managed effectively in order for the business to survive and be successful. Organizations may become disjointed and silo management activities will drive costs up instead of down.

When is the right time to set a strategic plan?

Often times, management will see the for strategic planning when:
- performance has steeply declined and the company is "at risk",
- there are rapid shifts in competitive situations and rivals are getting the upper-hand,
- the organization has grown to be too complex for the existing strategy to cope, and
- scarce resources have meant that the company must make tough choices.
If you do not yet have a strategic business plan, the ideal time to start thinking about setting one is now.

Quote on Change

• The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live." (Flora Whittemore)

• There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction." (Winston Churchhill)

Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending." (Maria Robinson)

When is the ideal time for changing the direction of your business ? The answer is when you are ready to change.

Transformational Results

Deciding that you are going to create a strategic plan is the first step. But there is a lot to it, and getting transformational results is not going to happen overnight. There are other things to be aware of such as the Science of Success, SGD™ , Lean thinking, team approaches and conscious leadership.

Case Study

One of the companies I worked with was a 14M business. They poured metal such as cast iron and steel. At the beginning of the year, before an annual strategy was set, they were pissing off their customers with late deliveries and could not promise anything less than a sixteen-week lead time. By the end of the year, they had gained another 3M in revenue and were regularly producing product in four weeks. They changed the process flow to meet the demands of their customers, and their customers rewarded them with another 30% of business.

Additional costs of 30% were taken out of the value stream, and the President of this privately owned company shared some of the profits with his employees. Everyone was a winner but it took some hard work, dedication, and determination from each member of the business. That meant culture also had to change.

Get help

If this all seems a bit much to you right now, do not be alarmed. It can be overwhelming at first, but with the right processes in place, and the right methods used, within a year, your team can achieve transformational results you never imagined. Most companies choose to hire a consultant or a Black Belt, Sensei or mentor to help them get started. If you want to know more, please contact me at Win Enterprises LLC or send me an email: Kay@WinEnterprisesLLC.com