Be Different or be dead

January 16, 2012

3 practical ways to ‘bloody-up’ your business plan

Source: Pexels

3 practical ways to ‘bloody-up’ your business plan.

Your strategic plan document should not look pretty.

Pristine. Like the pages have been bleached and ironed. Like you haven’t looked at it since it was created. Probably a year ago.

Rather, the document should look like it has been used. Used a lot. To record what you have learned while trying to execute your strategy. In addition to a statement of direction, your business plan document should be viewed as a repository of learning.

Here are three ways to do it:

1. Record results constantly — As you implement your strategy, what worked? What didn’t? Why? Write it down: in RED if the outcome was NOT on plan; in BLACK if things worked out as planned.

Clarify the implications of falling short of your objectives so you can take corrective action. Evaluate what worked well with reasons so it can be repeated.

2. Work in the document daily — Refer to your plan everyday. Make a point of commenting on some aspect of it. Study your notes. Call a meeting with colleagues to problem solve an important matter.

3. Shout out the negatives — Executing any plan is neither nice nor tidy. It’s a messy business. Progress is extremely Inelegant. People get hurt. They get frustrated. They sometimes get stressed out.

That’s the way it is. And it needs to be told that way. People won’t believe that the plan is going along well and that there are no bumps being encountered.
Keep it real and honor those Heroes who been relentless in squeaking out progress in the face of painful odds.

And, if after religiously following these 3 tasks you have not messed up your plan document - blood stains from paper cuts, coffee stains, dog-eared pages and barely legible notes on every page then it’s clearly of no value to you and you are getting nowhere implementing it.

Bloody it up!

Cheers,
Roy
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• Posted 1.16.12 at 10:00 am by Roy Osing
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