A guest blog post from Mark Painter
In order to be worthwhile and effective, a business plan does not have to be 100+ pages. Your business may be complex, perhaps operating in a highly regulated industry; however, your business plan does not need not be overly technical or detailed.
Your overriding goal is to produce something that actually helps you and your colleagues, guide, measure and steer your business over the coming months. A practical business plan should not be tucked away in a drawer. Keep it simple, relevant and user-friendly (i.e. readable), so that all those who need to can easily refer, review and update it.
I encourage you to involve your people in the planning process.
Helping team members understand their contribution and the role they play in the business can aid motivation and increase ‘buy-in’ to your plan and objectives.
But many business owners, Directors and managers struggle to let go, and if they write a plan, it is often completed in isolation. Perhaps you do so because you want the job done properly, or you want no mistakes, perhaps it is just quicker, but colleagues, along with relevant external specialists, bring a different perspective, can help you to identify weak spots in the business plan, (often skills gaps and training needs or communication issues) and inconsistencies.
Further, if the dominant communication channel in your business at the moment is the grapevine, you could quickly and simply limit much of its potentially damaging influence by running brief planning sessions with your staff, posting elements of your business plan on the company intranet or pinning relevant sections on the staff room wall.
We know society is diverse, your people will have different views and ideas reflecting their different backgrounds, qualifications, work experience, age, sex and so on. Embracing diversity and actively encouraging your people to contribute to the company plan can help ensure challenges and opportunities are viewed and tackled in a wide variety of ways, so increasing your chances of identifying innovative solutions to take the business forward.
Mark Painter is Managing Director of MP & DA Ltd, Creators of the Plana® Planning Companion – a unique guided business plan builder for teams.
Source: ‘The 4 Step Business Plan’ by Mark Painter www.tryplana.com
