Business Plans Keep You On The Success Course

By Marianna D'Ambrosio

Where would your business be without a proper plan? A business plan sets the direction for the future of the business. It gives the business owner or manager a sense of guidance, listing the goals and objectives of the business from the start.

Writing a business plan requires your attention; a successful business plan cannot be rushed. Once a concept for a business has been developed, looking at the many facets of owning and operating your business is the next most crucial step. Often, your local county council will be able to assist you with gathering the required information of a legal aspect, as should your local business enterprise people. The balance of the work will be up to you! You will need to research products for your business to sell, at the same time as researching other enterprises that may be in immediate competition to you. In addition, you need to research the marketplace to see whether there is a need for your business service or product.

With the research out of the way, sitting down to write a business plan requires focus. Your business plan will become the bible of your business for at least the next 3 to 5 years so it is important to make it clear, concise and comprehensive. Most enterprises will complete a SWOT analysis to determine their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the business. While the business is in infancy, brainstorming would be the most accurate way of performing the analysis, as the business would not yet have customers and profitability would not yet have been experienced. However, it is very important to remember that a good business plan is flexible and can be changed as your business experiences grow.

After completing a SWOT analysis, you will need to create your business name if it has not already been determined, as well as your vision and values, your business goals and long term purpose and how you will achieve all of this when the business is up and running. Writing each thought down regardless of how insignicant you feel it is will allow you to collect everything pertinent to your business for easy reference when needed. Who knows, the thought of today may turn into a million dollars in a short time! A business plan is the roadmap to a successful business!

Don't let the small stuff get in your way of taking control of your future. Remember - It's All Small Stuff!

The author has found that most business owners have great ideas and creativity. They just need the clarity of what direction to head to. She has helped thousands of entrepeneurs become profitable over the long haul.

Marianna D'Ambrosio is founder of FEDE Business an excellent resource site dedicated to information on business.

In Business Planning, Competition is Good

By Dave Lavinsky

When developing the competition section of your business plan, companies must define competition correctly, select the appropriate competitors to analyze, and explain its competitive advantages.

To start, companies must align their definition of competition with investors. Investors define competition as any service or product that a customer can use to fulfill the same need(s) as the company fulfills. This includes firms that offer similar products, substitute products and other customer options (such as performing the service or building the product themselves). Under this broad definition, any business plan that claims there are no competitors greatly undermines the credibility of the management team.

In identifying competitors, companies often find themselves in a difficult position. On one hand, they want to show that they are unique (even under the investors’ broad definition) and list no or few competitors. However, this has a negative connotation. If no or few companies are in a market space, it implies that there may not be a large enough customer need to support the company’s products and/or services.

Business plans must detail direct and, when applicable, indirect competitors. Direct competitors are those that serve the same target market with similar products and services. Indirect competitors are those that serve the same target market with different products and services, or a different target market with similar products and services.

After identifying competitors, the business plan must describe them. In doing so, the plan must also objectively analyze each competitor’s strengths and weaknesses and the key drivers of competitive differentiation in the marketplace.

Perhaps most importantly, the competition section must describe the company’s competitive advantages over the other firms, and ideally how the company’s business model creates barriers to entry. “Barriers to entry” are reasons why customers will not leave once acquired.

In summary, too many business plans want to show how unique their venture is and, as such, list no or few competitors. However, this often has a negative connotation. If no or few companies are in a market space, it implies that there may not be a large enough customer need to support the venture's products and/or services. In fact, when positioned properly, including successful and/or public companies in a competitive space can be a positive sign since it implies that the market size is big. It also gives investors the assurance that if management executes well, the venture has substantial profit and liquidity potential.

Since its inception, Growthink Business Plans has developed over 200 business plans. Growthink clients have collectively raised over $750 million in financing, launched numerous new product and service lines and gained competitive advantage and market share. Growthink has become the firm of choice for venture capital firms, angel investors, corporations and entrepreneurs in the know. For more information please visit http://www.growthink.com

The 7 Critical Steps to Formulating Your Annual Strategic Business Plan

By Graeme Nichol

Businesses tend to avoid doing their annual business plan thinking that it is an arduous task that does not accomplish much. Formulating your annual plan is, however, critical to your business success and if done correctly should be quick, easy and generate bottom line results.

Rather than creating a business plan that achieves no results, other than to gather dust, you should be writing a strategic and operational plan. The words ‘strategic’ and ‘operational’ are important as they give purpose and results to the plan. Your annual plan needs to be strategic so that you know where you are going and what you would like to achieve from your business or division. The plan needs to be operational so that it will tell you how to get there. It will determine the strategies and goals that need to be achieved to reach your end point.

Strategic business planning is about deciding on the future you want for your business or division and then deciding how you intend to obtain that future. If you have been in business for a number of years and your results each year are much the same as the year before then obviously something will have to change if you would like to see an improvement. It comes down to the saying: If you keep on doing what you have always done you will get what you have always got.

The steps we outline below are perhaps unconventional to people familiar with business planning, but then most business plans don’t deliver results. All too often business plans are created out of a corporate requirement rather than a focused result. This system of business planning has been proved to deliver results for over 20 years. Try something new and you may be surprised by the outcome.

To achieve results it is important that each step is well thought out and no step is omitted. Equally important is that the steps are completed in an open and collaborative environment that encourages learning and new ideas.

Step 1 – Vision and Mission Statements
Businesses and divisions tend to ignore the importance of their vision and mission statements. These statements should tell you where you are going and why you are in business. If you don’t know why you are in business and why someone would buy from you, then your clients and customers will not know either and will go to your competition.

A vision statement should paint a picture of the business you would like. It should get you thinking about your business and dreaming about what is possible. You can’t exaggerate your vision so go wild and have large dreams. You won’t know where it will take you unless you give free reign to those ideas and get excited.

A vision statement can contain what you would like to see in revenue in a number of years. You could want to become a “world leader” in something, or become a “specialist” in something else. What would you like out of your company? Let it be more specific than flowery language that sits in your entrance foyer.

A mission statement should answer the question as to why your business or division exists. Why would someone buy your product or service? What makes you different from your competition? Who are you selling too? What problem are you solving? Keep your mission statement short but answer why you are in business. Nike is a good example – ‘Do it” Who needs more?

Ensure that your mission statement supports your vision. Ensure that it is concise and unique to your business. Try and capture your competitive edge and unique selling proposition in a statement that motivates.

Step 2 – Celebrate Successes
We tend to be quick to criticize, slow to praise. But by recognizing your successes, you increase your confidence to move on to make new things happen. What we have failed to accomplish always stands out in our minds, but our successes are where the opportunities lie.

Take some time to think about what you achieved in the last year. Whether it was reaching a goal you had set or handling a crisis that arose. A thank you from a client indicates a success as does appreciation from your staff. Make a list of all the successes you achieved and find ways that you can expand on those achievements.

Step 3 – Learn from Failures
It is also important to examine where we missed the mark and then identify what didn’t work. If you do not analyze your failures they will probably occur again as you do not give yourself the opportunity to learn from them. You are your own best teacher, the best source of your own wisdom. We never really need advice and hate it when we get it because we hate being told what we know already.

Make a list of your failures and mistakes and for each examine why it failed and how you can prevent the failure in the future. What needs to be changed? What needs to be put in place? What is missing?

By examining both what worked and what didn’t work, you can find the lessons that you need to learn. You can then identify opportunities and the way forward.

Step 4 – A New Paradigm
Using steps 2 and 3 to analyze where you succeeded and where you failed you will then be able to discover if there are any common factors that cause you to succeed or fail. You might find that your failures are all in a specific situation or there is some other common factor. This will tell you how you limit yourself by what you assume to be true. Everyone has assumptions about their truth and these assumptions are usually not true but only serve to limit your true potential.

Complete the following sentence … “I’d love to ____, but I can’t because I’m/we’re _____. What are the words in the second blank? This is an example of a limiting assumption. The second blank need not be about you but could be about your market, your clients, your competitors etc. To move forward and achieve your vision these limiting assumptions need to be changed, you need to take responsibility for where you are.

Change your limiting assumptions to empowering perceptions. Find a way around the external factors you feel are limiting your business or division. There are no “cant’s”, only new alternatives and new possibilities. Create a new paradigm.

If you really are not able to get around a “can’t” then you need to examine how important this factor is to your business and therefore whether you are in the right business.

Step 5 - Values
By understanding your values you will understand what motivates you. Your company and business goals need to reflect personal goals as well. If not this misalignment will cause discontent and poor performance as staff will not align with the goals. You will only be able to achieve your goals successfully if they are supported by your values. Think about what motivates you, what gets you out of bed in the morning. Make a list of the values you cherish or wish to abide by. Prioritize them. Be clear about what makes you feel good about yourself. What value does that represent?

If your business supports your values, such as honesty and integrity, it has a greater chance of success than one that requires you be dishonest on a daily basis.

Step 6 – Strategies to Success
Strategies define how you plan to grow your business and achieve your vision over time. They are critical to setting direction and keeping your business on track. Strategies are often industry specific and if you follow the core strategies of your industry your business will have a greater chance of success.

Create your strategies based on opportunities and threats that your business faces. Think about what is critical to growing and operating your business and achieving your vision.

Remember that you can’t be all things to all people and you should therefore specialize in what you do. Strategies can include topics such as technical knowledge, reputation, visibility, quality, employees and service.

Select up to 5 topics that are critical to building your business and achieving your vision. Formulate a strategy statement for each topic and ensure that it is easy to understand and results in growth and profitability.

Step 7 – Specific Goals
Allow each of the first 6 steps to shape your goals. Write a short list of what you want to achieve in the different areas of your business. Keep your vision in mind so that you shape your goals to achieve that vision.

Goals differ to strategies in that goals should always be SMART goals:


Specific/Simple
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Time-focused

Strategies are big picture items that work towards your vision. Goals should have number and dates in them to serve their purpose. If goals are not SMART goals they are not specific enough and will not provide focus on the tasks to be achieved.

Goals can be formulated for each area of your business such as financial, marketing and sales, human resources, operations etc. Ensure that meeting these goals will achieve your vision and mission.

As goals are measurable they can be graphed and also broken down in to weekly or monthly goals. If you are trying to increase sales over a one year period take the amount that you trying to increase it by and make smaller goals to achieve on a weekly or monthly basis. The good thing about graphing them is watching them go up!

Conclusion
For an annual strategic business plan to deliver results it needs to be used on a weekly basis. Nothing new will happen if you put it on your shelf and forget about it until next year. Every week or month (depending on your business) you should evaluate the goals you set for yourself and your business:

• Did you achieve them?

• If not, what was the problem? Can you recover and move forward?

• If yes, congratulations are in order

• Do you need to change any goals? Have you shifted your focus since your plan?

Living by your plan will keep you focused. It also ensures accountability in a team setting and therefore improves performance and productivity.

One word of caution however, using these 7 steps in a team environment requires open communication and contribution from all members. If you are unable to generate open communication in your team, then facilitation by an outside person can be invaluable.

There are a number of excellent systems on the market that can facilitate this business planning process. They have been proved to be affective in delivering results to companies of all sizes and in all industries. They differ in certain aspects of the 7 steps listed above but they achieve the same purpose.

Happy Planning!

GRAEME NICHOL, President, Arcturus Advisors.

Graeme Nichol has worked on 4 continents and in 117 unique businesses gaining experience in manufacturing, transportation, agriculture, communications, banking, direct marketing, consumer goods and retail amongst others. He has significant management experience and consulting experience, including Business strategy, project management, change management, big six consulting, team productivity, business productivity and quality improvement, ERP implementations.

Arcturus Advisors works with businesses and teams that are struggling to formulate a strategic plan that delivers bottom line results. Using tried and tested planning systems that have achieved results internationally for 20 years we ensure that you transform your business through focus, alignment and accountability.

Source : http://ezinearticles.com/?The-7-Critical-Steps-to-Formulating-Your-Annual-Strategic-Business-Plan&id=43238

Are You Aware of Planning in Business?

By Parul Jain

Human beings are rational agents. Rationality endorses one to take up planning in every sphere of life from shifting to a new house to marriage, as well as business. A business plan is the first and most significant premise to reach and run a successful business. It is not just that capital that makes a business successful but it is also planning done in a prudent manner that plays a crucial role.

In simple terms a business plan is nothing but a written plan that delineates the monetary or the fiscal structure (an outlay)-for the purpose of either promoting an already established business i.e. to say a new venture or for starting up of a new business. Like map of a building made by an architect prior to its making demonstrates how the building will look like with all its rooms, lawns, lobby etc. similarly a business plan is a guide that presents all the details of a business- from money to the amount of people involved, from the flow of capital invested to the money expected to be accrued in the form of profits, from the predictable rate of growth to the snags one can land into.

A business plan gives an entrepreneur a fair idea of how much investment is required, in what areas and how will it lead to benefits in his business. This in turn enables him to seek loans and finances from the market. For once a business plan is made it becomes trouble-free for the individual to explain his idea (for example if he wants to launch a new product), its uniqueness and the material gains that follow from it. Such a plan well demonstrates the passage of money required to meet a horde targets that one seeks to achieve through his business. It is an easy guide that facilitates navigation to all the crucial aspects of a business like – the significance and exclusiveness of the idea (business), the chosen native place for it, market planning, the kind of consumers targeted and in what areas, approximate budget involved in promotion or growth of the business, the tentative dates to meet the targets, the key areas and factors of escalation and last but not the least the methodology adopted in this enhancement. All these therefore form the basic components of a business plan.

Besides these an effective business plan for a large scale business can also include the quality and rate of raw materials used, the cost of advertising, the prospects of export details in other countries if any, the mode of transportation-shipping etc.- the chosen companies for it etc. and the names and social status of the owner(s), the partners and the number of employees.

Apart from being a successful key to lure the investors, a business plan also aids in regulation and maintenance of the business involved. For it allows one to cross check the expenditure made once a business gets on wheels. The amount spent can be compared to the one initially thought and written and so it can be visualized against the future demands to be met. Hence the plan acts as a textbook that can always be referred to in order to recollect the preliminary figures as well as dates. In toto,

“A PERFECT BUSINESS PLAN ENSURES A LIFELONG, HAPPY BUSINESS.”

Parul jain writes about Business plan topics.

Why Create an Annual Plan?

By Graeme Nichol

Can you imagine going on a road trip without knowing your destination? Or, building your house without plans? The same can be said about running your business without a plan.

They say that “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will do.” But if you don’t know where you are going how do you know when you get there? Or if the road you are on is the right road or the scenic, roundabout route?

Planning is essential if you have somewhere to go. If you want to grow your business, if you want to have more free time, if you want to introduce a new product, if you want to enter a new market.

You don’t need to plan if you have reached your destination, if your business is all you hoped it would be. BUT – have you considered that the world is changing pretty rapidly these days. Even if you are happy with what you have, your environment is changing, which, if you like it or not, is going to change your business. Therefore, we come back again to the need to plan.

What planning is NOT:

It is NOT that 120 page document you created when you tried to get funding to start your business. That document was essential to start your business and it might be useful every 5 or so years if you change your business focus but it does not work for an annual plan.
It is NOT a document that is placed on a bottom shelf and looked at once a quarter or once a year.
It is NOT a to do list
It is NOT a wish list

What is annual planning?

Annual planning is about creating a vision for the next 3-5 years and then formulating concrete plans to achieve that vision. It is about deciding on a future and how you intend to obtain that future, one year at a time.
It is about creating measurable goals that can be tracked.
It is about tracking those goals on a weekly and monthly basis so that they are actually achieved at the end of the year. Goals can only be tracked if they are measurable.
Annual planning is about understanding what is working and not working and using that to set further action plans.
Annual planning should also be able to able to monitor the performance and effectiveness of your staff over the year.

A well structured plan will also have the ability to be used as an effective monthly reporting tool by managers. It becomes the common language.

Planning is not only for whole businesses but also for business teams, divisions, projects and even individuals.

Planning brings about focus and clarity of what is to be achieved. Equally when done effectively, planning brings about alignment between team members and people become accountable for completion of their goals.

Planning brings about business success and bottom line results.

GRAEME NICHOL, President, Arcturus Advisors.
http://www.arcturusadvisors.com/

Graeme Nichol has worked on 4 continents and in 117 unique businesses gaining experience in manufacturing, transportation, agriculture, communications, banking, direct marketing, consumer goods and retail amongst others. He has significant management experience and consulting experience, including Business strategy, project management, change management, big six consulting, team productivity, business productivity and quality improvement, ERP implementations.

Arcturus Advisors works with businesses and teams that are struggling to formulate a strategic plan that delivers bottom line results. Using tried and tested planning systems that have achieved results internationally for 20 years we ensure that you transform your business through focus, alignment and accountability.

The Six Sigma Method and Design of Experiments

By Peter Peterka

Six Sigma is becoming a proven approach for businesses and organizations to improve their performance. The spectrum of companies actively engaging in Six Sigma today is wide from industrials like Celanese, Caterpillar, GE, Honeywell, and 3M to service/retail organizations like Starwood Hotels, Sears, and Home Depot. Six Sigma has even started in the financial industry with Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase initiating major deployments in the past two years. Probably the most exciting area is in the public and healthcare sectors with success stories emerging from city government and John Hopkins Medical.

So what is all this excitement about? Haven’t these quality tools been around for years? Is it just the fact that people have strange names like Champion, Green Belt, Black Belt and for the chosen few, Master Black Belt? Okay, if it is not the names then what? Six Sigma’s success revolves around the fundamental elements needed for any successful organization. Six Sigma starts with a vision of delivering products and services to customers with no defects from the eyes of the customers. For companies it is vital to deliver these products and services at a profit. Once the organization has created their own vision of Six Sigma, the business leaders need to define their organization’s objectives in numerical terms. These “high-level metrics,” often called big Y’s in Six Sigma, are the foundation for identifying project y’s that Six Sigma Belts will execute projects on. With big Y’s in hand, business leaders called Six Sigma “Champions” breakdown these organizational level Y’s into smaller y’s a project leader called a Green Belt or Black Belt can work from.

So what’s next, do business leaders take a hands-off management by objectives (MBO) approach of, “I don’t care how you do it as long as you get results!”? For Six Sigma organizations the answer is a loud “NO.” Champions do care how projects are executed and have appointed highly trained Master Black Belts to assist and mentor project leaders in applying the Six Sigma method to manage their projects. I believe this is the key to Six Sigma’s success. In a past life I participated in a high-level meeting with executives from the world leader in the production of a product we all know. The purpose of the meeting and visit was to evaluate a critical new product design. All of the high-tech executives were dressed in dark Italian business suits complemented with gold and diamonds. I listened closely to each question these executives asked. I never once heard “how much?”, “when?” or even “why?” – every question was “by what method?.” Methodology is what Six Sigma is about.

Six Sigma Methods

There have evolved two key methods for carrying out Six Sigma projects. The first method is the most well-defined and works best if you have a problem with an unknown solution in existing products, processes or services. This method is called DMAIC or Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control. The newest method, which is in the developing stages, is called Design for Six Sigma or DFSS. The goal of DFSS is to develop a new product, process or service that is defect-free in the eyes of the customer. A number of consulting companies have invented roadmaps for DFSS like IDOV (Identify, Design, Optimize and Validate) and DMADV (Design, Measure, Analyze, Design and Verify).

Six Sigma and Design of Experiments

Once an organization has decided on the method and the project y’s, Belts are marched off to training “waves” bringing management-approved projects to class. DMAIC Green Belt training is normally two one-week sessions separated by one month. Black Belt training waves are extended by two additional months with two more weeks of training. The emphasis during the extended two weeks of Black Belt training is often on learning more details about advanced tools such as Design of Experiments (DOE).

So where does Design of Experiments fit into Six Sigma? Six Sigma is about understanding and controlling the variation of key process variables known as inputs or x’s in order to obtain improved results on project outputs or y’s. In Design of Experiment terms these inputs or x’s are often referred to as factors and the outputs are referred to as responses. In nearly all Six Sigma projects the relationship of the project y’s takes on the form of y=f(x1,x2,...xn). Wait a minute, isn’t this what Design of Experiments is all about? Of course, for almost 100 years Design of Experiments has been proven to be one of the best known methods for validating and discovering relationships between responses and factors. In Six Sigma terms it is discovering the relationship between outputs called y’s and inputs called x’s. Today’s Six Sigma Belts are primarily taught to focus their use of Design of Experiments in the Improve phase of DMAIC and the Optimize phase of IDOV. For DMAIC Six Sigma training the most common experimental designs taught are factorial and fractional factorial designs. Some curriculums introduce response surface designs and optimization designs at a high level. DFSS includes the experimental designs taught in all levels of DMAIC training and often expands to include the concept of robust designs. As an alternative to the classical approach, there are also a number of consulting companies teaching Taguchi designs as the preferred method for robust design.

Final Remarks

Six Sigma looks as though it is here to stay and even in today’s slow economy one of the few areas where there still are a number of new positions. The Six Sigma process is a great step toward creating learning organizations with its well-defined roadmaps and management structure. As with most new methodologies Six Sigma will mature and grow as it expands into new areas such as DFSS. As Six Sigma professionals learn more about the power of properly planned experiments, Design of Experiments will be integrated into most phases of the Six Sigma roadmap and not just considered an advanced tool for the improvement and optimization phases. Experienced practitioners of statistical methods like Design of Experiments should learn the language of Six Sigma and help integrate new methods into the Six Sigma process to improve its effectiveness.

Peter Peterka is the leading consultant for http://www.6sigma.us. Peter has eleven years of experience performing as a Master Black Belt, working with numerous companies, including 3M, Dell, Dow, GE, HP, Intel, Motorola, Seagate, and Xerox. You can signup for Peter's Six Sigma Certification at http://www.6sigma.us

Three Steps to Give Your Strategic Plan Traction

By Shaun Murphy

We all agree Strategic Planning is a critical part of a company's success. All too often, however, strategic plans stall before they ever make it to execution - or they gradually lose momentum. The organization is then left in a vulnerable and uncomfortable position of continuing to go about its business with good intentions but no focused direction or aligned action. Move intention into action using this three step remedy.

Step 1. Accountability - Get a grip on Results

Get a grip on results by having each member clearly articulate the end results rather than just activities. We use an Accountability Agreement to accomplish this (see www.AlignOnline.com). An Accountability Agreement defines the business outcomes an individual is promising to deliver, and outlines the resources and support that he or she needs from others in order to deliver these results. An Accountability Agreement is broken down into seven areas:

Business Focus Statement - Understand your company and your role within it.

No employee should sit on the sidelines as a casual observer of an organization's success. This area focuses on the business of the company and the unique value each member brings to the organization. In short, why does the job exist and what do you bring to the table? This is then related to the role each person plays in the execution of the strategic plan.

Operational Accountabilities - Outline the end results you are accountable for achieving.

The strategic plan serves as a template to outline who is accountable for bringing about various end results of the strategic plan. Focusing Accountability for various parts of the strategic plan that the individual can significantly influence and achieve is the key to clearly articulating who is accountable for producing specific end-results.

Leadership Accountabilities - Set the tone and culture.

Integrating the leadership style into your strategic plan sets a tone throughout the organization. Leaders successfully execute the plan by focusing on the people side of their role and how they expect people to work together. Leadership accountabilities set the tone for the leadership style, and introduces the notion that "leaders model the way".

Goals- Your road markers.

Goals are specific milestones that are derived directly from your accountabilities. Goals can be described as SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time Based.

Support Requirements- Identify the support and resources you need.

Success in organizations demands a significant level of teamwork and reciprocity. The individual is accountable for achieving end results in a context of mutual support. No one gets anything done alone. The alignment meeting described below creates a conversation where this interdependence is made visible and negotiated.

Sustainment Plan- Plan to keep it alive.

This describes how to keep accountabilities up-to-date and focused on business results as circumstances change. As things change, agreements must be adapted, renewed and revitalized.

Positive Consequences

A job is a business bargain between an individual and an organization. To get beyond the parent/child or master/servant relationship, effective individuals bargain for what they want, and can realistically expect, through a fair and reasonable exchange.

Step 2: Alignment- Align like a laser

When all members of a workgroup have completed their individual Accountability Agreements as described above, hold an alignment meeting. This process makes difficult issues discussable. Gaps and overlaps in individual accountabilities and goals are resolved and interdependencies and mutual support is agreed upon. At the end of an alignment meeting you can revise Accountability Agreements and realign on a regular basis as circumstances change or memories of agreements fade.

Gaining traction for your strategic plan ideally begins with your senior management team. Once you've identified who's accountable, made commitments and aligned this senior group, you can then cascade it down a level at a time. The process of cascading continues until all employees understand what results they are expected to produce and how they are aligned interdependently with the rest of the company.

Step 3: Achievement Individuals usually experience immediate value from the clarity of their business bargain provided by this process. The Alignment of individuals who know what is expected of them and who know what they want in return creates a powerful force for corporate success.

About the Accountability/Alignment Process:

The process we've outlined above has been consistently successful with our clients. We've made this process available to the public through our books Accountability: getting a grip on results, and Aligned like a laser, and have recently made our online tool (AlignOnline) available to organizations and consultants who wish to use it in their consulting practice. Visit us at www.AlignOnline.com for more articles on Strategic Planning, Accountability, and Alignment and information on our books and online Accountability tool.

Shaun Murphy, Ph.D. and Bruce Klatt, M.A. are senior partners in Murphy Klatt Consulting and authors of Aligned Like a Laser (2004) and Accountability: Getting a Grip on Results (1997). They are internationally recognized experts in the field of Organizational Effectiveness whose books have sold over 100,000 copies internationally.

For more information please go to http://www.murphyklatt.com or try their online Accountability Alignment tool at http://www.alignonline.com

How to Grow Your Business by Clearing the Way to Growth

By Greg Roworth

Is your business growing as fast and effectively as it could, or is it stuck at the same level it has been at for years? Research (Larry Greiner, 1972) has discovered 5 specific stages of business growth. Most business never grow beyond the second level. At this level, the business is characterised by a small group of owners (if not a sole owner), supported by a small team of people at an operational level. This describes the 90 plus percent of businesses, which have 10 or fewer staff.

Why should it be this way? The Greiner growth model describes 5 levels of growth that are characterised by the type of organisational structure and leadership style at each stage. The model describes a very obvious and practical problem that is evident in all businesses that grow over time. Growth is never simply a smooth transition from small to large. It occurs in a series of jumps from one level to the next. Growth at each level is limited by the structure and leadership style. A business can grow at each level to a certain extent, but after a while, the activity created by growth makes the structure at that level unwieldy and inefficient, limiting the growth, until the next evolution of the business occurs to solve the inefficiencies at the previous level.

The issue is not that these growth crises occur, but that there is a clear solution to these crises which few businesses take the time to discover. I am sure there are some business owners who want to keep their business small for lifestyle reasons, but I am also sure that if most business owners could find a way to grow their business beyond the current level, they would.

Most businesses that are stuck at the level where the owner(s) work in the business full time (or more) and there are a handful of employees, don’t do what it takes to overcome the growth crises that are created at the limit of growth at that level. These crises are evident in the issues of control, where the business is dependent on the skills and input of the owners for most of the results and the owners can spend little time away from the business because performance will suffer in their absence. When work increases, the informality of communication and organisation become a liability resulting in errors, delays, poor quality and unsatisfactory service. Costs blow out and profits shrink rather than grow with increased sales volumes. Many owners conclude that it was easier and more profitable running a smaller business and revert to a scaled down operation. Unfortunately, this means the business and the owners never achieve their full potential and end up living a life far below the level that could have been accomplished.

Rather than scale down, the business could continue growing by scaling up. The solution to the growth crisis at this level is very clear and the path to growth is well established by the successful ones who have taken the leap to the next level. The answer is to re-organise the business with the owners delegating more responsibility to the operator level, appointing managers to take responsibility for certain functions, combined with developing systems to assist in maintaining control.

Many businesses increase the problems at this stage when they only increase delegation without increasing control. This is the key to smooth transition through this level. Control tools provide the information to management to ensure the business performs efficiently and profitably, with adequate cash flow. This development is often beyond the skills and experience of business owners who have come from a technical background and have never had training in finance and management areas. It is wise for owners at this stage to seek professional assistance in creating and establishing effective operating systems and control measures. As the business grows, the need for greater professionalism grows as well. Owners are wise to commit to a self education program so that they develop the knowledge and skills to run a business at higher levels.

At the higher levels of growth, the crises are more evident in the leadership areas. With growth, the need for increased management and organisation grows proportionately. Sometimes businesses need to be restructured along functional lines, or sometimes organisation is more determined by geographic elements. Whatever the case, the need for strong leadership and communication with management levels about performance issues, motivation of personnel and strategic elements of the business are of greater concern than the technical issues were at lower levels. Business owners need to develop their own leadership skills as well as develop or employ highly skilled managers.

If you are frustrated that your business has the potential to grow, but can’t find the way through the current hurdles you are facing, which create increased stress, over work and performance issues, perhaps it is time you looked at changing the structure of your business and becoming more professional about how you manage it. Unless you make the changes, your business will be forever held back. You will not be capable of further growth until you re-create your business to perform efficiently at the next level. You may be held back because your current situation makes you too busy working in the business that you don’t have time to work on it, to develop new systems and controls. It is time to bite the bullet. Unless you free yourself to work on reinventing your business to clear the way for growth, you will continue to bounce up against that invisible ceiling you keep hitting, without ever being able to break through.

(c) 2005 Greg Roworth, Progressive Business Solutions Limited

Greg Roworth is the Managing Director of Progressive Business Solutions Limited, a business development consultancy firm with branches in Wellington and Auckland, New Zealand. Greg has created a unique business development program that assists business owners transform their business from a state of total dependency on them to a state where the business works so well they don't have to.

Greg is also the author of "The 7 Keys to Unlock Your Business Profit Potential," which descibes the fundamental keys a business needs to achieve this transformation. Find out more, get 2 free chapters, or buy the book online at http://www.small-business-success.ws

Succession Planning for Business - 10 Key Points You Must Know

By Martin Haworth

By cranking up others development to meet your business needs, big or small, not just for right now, but for the future, you will find payoffs, big-time. Here are a few ideas to get you started.


Building Relationships
By ensuring that you have informally built good relationships with every one of your team, you will have a head start when developing the intelligence needed for effective succession planning. This is not just about the business, it is about aligning with whatever is important to each individual and showing an interest in them.


Create a Vision
Clearly understanding what ‘good looks like’ is the first stage of planning for the future. Taking the time out to develop this is well worth the effort and provides a marker against which all decisions, people or otherwise are made. If possible, involve as wide a range of people in this activity.


Right People, Right Place, Right Time - Ignore Names
Once you have your vision, deciding who is need, when and where becomes easier. It important that you focus on the facts rather than the emotion first, so that you ignore individuals in this assessment. You can fit people in afterwards, as long as they will have the capability to deliver your vision for your business. Some may be a work towards.


Consistent Performance
By considering your key people, their aspirations and expectations for the future, you will gain an insight of where your gaps might come and then you can start planning to avoid problems. This will enable you to provide for anticipated change and start developing others to cover at least. This also helps when changes happen unexpectedly.


Confidence Grows
As individuals are involved in the possibilities for their future, without over-promising, they start to want more. They appreciate learning and developing as they see what might unfold for them. As they learn and experience more, their confidence builds and they want stretching.


It’s Cultural
As your communication processes involve everyone in Succession Planning, a groundswell of positivity generates a shift in your business culture. Your people start to realise that there is more to this than a job – it’s building their feelings of self worth and future. This culture becomes just ‘the way we do things around here’ and new employees commence at a higher, different level.


Many Winners
As you start to build the capacity of those around you, there is a lot that can be delegated safely as a development opportunity, suitably supported and coached. You crate space to do the more important things in your role. They develop and build confidence. With confidence comes improved customer relationships, greater efficiencies. So managers, employees, the business and ultimately stockholders all are winners.


Time Efficient
There is a certain amount of workload involved in creating a Succession Planning process. Once these initial stages are completed, only a small amount of time outside normal activities is required. In fact, with the added skills and development of your people, far greater efficiency and effectiveness results.


Manages Performance
Using a Succession planning process sits very appropriately with Performance Management. As potential has been identified, the next steps in development are constructive and clear. The individual takes accountability for their own development and practically self-manages their performance.


Value-Creating
By using management skills far more effectively, skilling up all the people in the business and creating seamless transitions when people move on, all improve business performance. Developing the latent potential of many of your people raises the bar for their performance – it is just shifted up several notches. And ultimately with greater sales and efficiency, bottom line profit is maximised.

And with these ideas in place, you will create more effectiveness and involvement in your people - which can only be good.

Copyright 2005

Martin Haworth is a Business and Management Coach. He works worldwide, mainly by phone, with small business owners, managers and corporate leaders. He has hundreds of hints, tips and ideas at his website , http://www.coaching-businesses-to-success.com.

(Note to editors. Feel free to use this article, wherever you think it might be of value - it would be good if you could include a live link) ...helping you, to help your people, to help your business grow...

Planning for Success

By Greg Roworth

Business planning is widely acknowledged as one of the keys to business success. Yet there is still a great reluctance by small business owners in this area. This is despite the fact that it can be shown that fewer business fail if they have prepared a business plan.

The following are some of the reasons given for not planning:


We have done well so far, so how would a plan help us?
I’m too busy keeping up with what we are doing now.
What if an opportunity comes up that is not in the plan?
We’re too small to worry about planning.
We can’t plan because things change so rapidly.

The problems evidenced in businesses that fail to plan are:


Being taken unaware by changes in the economy or industry,
Being reactive, always putting out fires rather than solving the cause of problems,
Lacking focus, people in the business are not sure of their real purpose or objectives,
Lack of growth, repeatedly coming up against the same problem but never finding the solution,
Disorganisation, lack of time, inefficiency.
Most of these problems are actually the result of not planning.

A business plan can assist a business to make real progress, by:


Forcing you to set goals or objectives,
Determining the business’ strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats,
Establishing priorities,
Finding solutions to ongoing and potential problems,
Helping you to become better organised,
Showing the way to be freed from day to day pressures.

It has been proved that businesses that plan are more successful than those that don’t. The end result of the planning process is a business with:


A definite purpose, or “mission”, understood by all employees,
Clear direction and objectives for the future,
An identifiable competitive advantage,
Well thought out strategies,
Well organised and efficient operations, and
Better chance of being successful in having consistent and controlled growth.

There are many business planning products on the market and many consultants who specialise in business planning. The benefits of creating your plan will far outweigh any costs. If you want to achieve greater success in your business, it won't happen by accident, or by continuing to do the same things that have got your business into its current state. You need to take some time out to look at your situation and to develop a plan to achieve the business you desire in the future.

(c) 2005 Greg Roworth, Progressive Business Solutions Limited

Greg Roworth is the Managing Director of Progressive Business Solutions Limited, a business development consultancy firm with branches in Wellington and Auckland, New Zealand. Greg has created a unique business development program that assists business owners transform their business from a state of total dependency on them to a state where the business works so well they don't have to.

Greg is also the author of "The 7 Keys to Unlock Your Business Profit Potential," which descibes the fundamental keys a business needs to achieve this transformation. Find out more, get 2 free chapters, or buy the book online at http://www.small-business-success.ws.