There are many aspects to business management but focusing on the strategic vision, critical success factors and business goals is imperative to achieving corporate objectives.

Customers
Identity who your customers are, ask them what they want and develop plans to exceed their expectations.  This can be accomplished through gaining customer perspective by using feedback tools such as comment cards, satisfaction surveys or focus groups.  Remember, it’s the customers who pay the bills.

Market Share
Identify your niche and work toward constantly increasing market share.  Expanding the customer base increases revenues and business opportunities.  Track customer trends and develop plans to keep current customers and recruit new customers.

Quality
Take time to look at the quality of products and services provided.  Look at business processes and respond to customer issues.  Work toward creating an environment that embraces continuous improvement and has systems in place to identify problems and explicit problem solving processes.  This can be done by using the seven quality improvement tools.

Manage Resources
Building market share and taking care of customers will help increase revenues.  But increased revenues are only as good as those revenues are managed. 

Have a very specific budgeting process to ensure that revenues are spent only on those things that help achieve corporate objectives.  It is easy to waste budget dollars if there is not accountability for spending or an effective revenue management process.

Employees
Don’t make the mistake of taking for granted those who do the work of the organization.  Spend some time thinking about employees and work toward creating an environment that is conducive to productivity.

Work to create a strong culture of employee engagement. Set clear expectations by developing employee goals, identify employee needs, give them the tools to do their job and get out of the way.  Hold them accountable through a structured performance management process and reward them for doing a good job.

Successful organizations have figured out how to stay focused on the vision and strategic objectives.  They maintain a balanced approach to corporate management by making all aspects of the business of equal importance and priority.  This is what sets successful organizations apart from the rest.

Why not complete our free business audit, it will show you where you are strong and where you might need to focus more attention Click Here

However what could you do in each area to further improve?

In today’s climate we need to be strategic around customer retention and satisfaction.

Take 15 minutes, write down three ideas for improvement and develop some actions to implement.

Here are some areas you could work on. However feel free to change to what is important to your clients.

1. Communication
2. Value for money
3. Presentation
4. ??

Click here to downloan Microsoft Word Template.

It is amazing how much time, effort and energy business owners will put into trying to breathe life into ‘dead horses’ instead of committing their valuable resources to more productive pursuits. Most would be able to reflect on specific things that they have poured considerable time and money into, only to achieve poor results. For example:-

• Buying a stronger whip
• Doing nothing: ‘This is the way we have always ridden dead horses’
• Visiting other countries to see how they ride dead horses
• Performing a productivity study to see if lighter riders improve the dead horse’s performance
• Modifying existing standards to include dead horses
• Harnessing several dead horses together in an attempt to increase their speed
• Re-classifying the dead horse as ‘living-impaired’
• Rewrite the expected performance requirements for all horses

While there is no doubt that running a business is about taking risks, there needs to be an appreciation that sometimes the only means of achieving the desired results is to adopt new strategies.

In a way, persevering with poor strategy is like putting up with a car engine that is steadily going out of tune. It’s not until you have it serviced that you truly understand how bad things had been. Perhaps if cars engines or business strategy were like horses the path to non performance would be a lot faster and we would be more ready to make the required changes.

Try this quick quiz based on the ten Ps of business:

Processes – are your internal and external processes so non-existent, inefficient or restrictive that you make it difficult for your staff to provide effective internal and external customer service?

Products – are you relying on under-performing products or services that do not react favourably to advertising and promotions effort and may therefore have come to the end of their natural life cycle?

Prices – are you relying on pricing and discounting alone as your main point of competitiveness and differentiation, rather than building value for the customer by other means?

Policies – are your staff disempowered because your internal policies do not allow the authority and responsibility to resolve customer issues or complaints immediately?

Personnel – do you have under-performing staff who just don’t ‘get it’ and therefore cause you on-going frustration because you don’t know how to give them the meaning they require?

Plans – do you develop business plans without spending time to develop strategies specifically related to on-going innovation?

Promotions – do you constantly restrict your marketing effort to advertising and promotions without having a measurable return for your investment?

Positioning – have market circumstances and / or your service offering changed over time to render your current positioning strategy (how you want to be perceived by your customers) obsolete?

Priorities – Are there issues having a negative impact on your business but you have so much on your plate that you don’t have time to address them?

Potential – Can you see the potential for improvement but you are too busy working in the business to take time out to work on the business?

If the answer is yes to one or more of these questions then you may have a dead horse on your hands. If you have also been using any of the business equivalents of the ineffective corrective strategies listed above, then you may well be in need of a re-think as to your means of achieving future success.

Now is a good time to recognise your dead horses and develop strategies for dismounting and remounting strategies of energy and vigour.

Try our free business diagnostic to discover your ‘dead horses’

When successful companies face changing environments, they often fail to respond effectively. They get stuck in methods and modes of thinking that have been successful in the past and expect the same result ongoing.  In some cases the very formula that brought success in the past now brings failure.

Companies need to be constantly reviewing their strategies and asking themselves the question "are we still fresh and innovative in our approach to the new reality and its opportunities"?  Modern strategic planning is about identifying this ‘new reality’ and the ways to access it.

When done properly strategic planning a great management tool. As with any management tool, it is used for one purpose only: to help an organisation do a better job.

The process is strategic because it helps an organisation to:-

• Focus its energy
• Ensure that members of the team are working toward the same goals
• Assess and adjust the direction in response to a changing environment.

 The process is about planning because it involves intentionally setting goals (i.e., choosing a desired future) and developing an approach to achieving those goals.

The process is disciplined in that it calls for a certain order and pattern to keep it focused and productive. The process raises a sequence of questions that helps planners examine experience, test assumptions, gather and incorporate information about the present, and anticipate the environment in which the organisation will be working in the future.

Finally, the process is about fundamental decisions and actions because choices must be made in order to answer the sequence of questions mentioned above. The plan is ultimately no more, and no less, than a set of decisions about what to do, why to do it, and how to do it.  It is, philosophically anyway, as simple as Now – Where - How

Because it is impossible to do everything that needs to be done in this world, strategic planning implies that some organisational decisions and actions are more important than others. The strategic plan reflects these tough decisions, ensuring focus and clarity are maintained.

This is why the strategic plan need not be a large document.  It needs to be concise enough for the key strategic strands to be easily identified.  For example, if we are trying to relate the path going forward over the next 3 years the following one page summary provides an overview.

For our people the dominant question is often ‘am I doing things right?’ For the strategic planner the question is; ‘Are we doing the right things?’

The operation strategy is geared to deliver on the competitive advantage which is itself supported by the organisationsfinancial resources and its people.

Although content varies from client to client the following list gives an insight into the key elements of a good strategic plan.

What is the NOW?

Key Strategic Issues – the good, the bad & the ugly

WHERE do we want to be?

Financial Outcomes

Products and Services range and contribution

Marketing strength,methodology and image

Production innovation and efficiency

People effectiveness

HOW will we get there?

Strategies

Actions

The strategic planning process can be complex, challenging, and even messy, but it in these dynamic times it is more likely to promote success than the common approach of ‘if it ain't broke, don't fix it.’

Partnercorp specialises in producing strategic plans that work, in fact, we even have a process for ensuring implementation occurs with minal disruption while ensuring maximum effect.

Click here to review our client list and then call us so we can discuss how we can assist you in getting your organisation, division or small business really humming this year.

Good communication is essential to successful mergers and acquisitions. The communication role needs to begin during the preliminary stages to set the scene. Too often the communication doesn't start until too late. Mergers and acquisitions go through three broad phases.

As part of a global survey the question, ‘Which phase bears the greatest risk of failure?’ brought the following response:

• Strategy development, target short listing, due diligence - 30%
• Negotiation and closing the deal - 17%
• Post-merger integration - 53%

This response shows that the most important time for a merger or takeover is when the deal has been formalized and the more difficult stage of ‘bedding down’ the process has started, requiring intensive communication. However, there is a case that communication should start early to pave the way for internal acceptance and post-merger integration.

Overwhelming experience indicates directly or indirectly that people issues are the main reason for takeover failures. And communication is central to the people issues.

Effective employee communication is the first or second most important issue emerging in all studies of mergers. Internal communication and culture changes are identified as the hardest to achieve, but the most important in merger success.

And, tragically, they are generally under-resourced in post-merger integration, and are often absent before the deal and the due diligence phases. Interestingly, customer issues are also extremely poorly resourced.

Regardless of the brilliance of the vision and the fit in a merger, the subsequent success of the deal depends mostly on the employees.

They are the ones whose day-to-day actions can make a merger work or can sink it after the deal is done. And a sufficient investment in internal communication is the link in keeping the employee attitudes positive towards the changes brought about by the merger.

Communicate early

Even before a formal merger or acquisition is underway, employees often become aware from indirect information or by chance that something is in the air. It is human nature to want to know what is happening. If they feel management is keeping information from them, quite understandably they start to feel anxious.

When people are uncertain, they start to speculate about the clues in front of them. Invariably this interpretation of clues becomes paranoia as they chat to workmates and quickly develop a view that a management conspiring the worst. The grapevine goes overtime with rumors.
Productivity starts to drop as staff waste time in discussing rumors and losing some of their motivation. With well-developed rumors, some staff actually start to leave the company before, as they believe, the bad news hits.

When a merger is announced, staff in the acquiring company may not feel concerned initially. They belong to the new parent and don’t anticipate much change. This sense of security is not always justified because the process of establishing the new joint organisation can reveal areas of the acquiring company that could be improved.

If two roughly equal parties merge, change will hit both sides. Employees will become anxious about their jobs. They will suddenly have to confront:

• loss of status and influence;
• uncertainty about the employer’s plans;
• a fight for individual survival as fear of job cuts takes hold;
• increased workloads because some people leave voluntarily or involuntarily;
• A spill over effect into individuals’ lives.

Effective strategic communication plays a key role in addressing these issues, but is difficult and complex:

• Communication demands intensive time from senior management at a time when they may be totally devoted to the technical and financial aspects of the deal, and may not have sufficiently considered the impact on others.
• Often the skill of effective communication requires training because many managers have never received guidance on good interpersonal communication practices.
• Communication doesn’t come easily to many managers who throughout most of their careers have dealt almost entirely with hard facts and figures, not the ‘soft’ people issues – these managers may not be good enough as leaders.
• Many managers are uncomfortable about giving tough messages to their staff, and being honest with them about bad news of job cuts or site closures.
• Mergers involve many technical and complex issues required by law, the stock exchange, and regulatory bodies. Communication is not legally required and so it is an easy area to drop down the priority list.
• Communication is not easily quantified and measured, which makes it difficult to grapple with when merger budgets are being considered.
• The communication function isn’t always represented at a sufficiently high level within the organisation, and even then the head of the function may not be strategically minded

Lack of information flow from the upper levels of management will cause problems for the first-line managers and supervisors who need to deal with the frontline employees every day. They will not know enough information to satisfy the day-to-day needs of their staff. This creates the dreaded communication vacuum – filled by the grapevine – that will undermine the positive aspects of the merger.

After the merger

After a merger takes effect, strategic communication is central to the integration of the two organisations into a more effective single entity. By definition, this requires change communication.        
Effective communication during the post-merger phase is required to:

• ensure a common understanding of the business case for the merger and the vision for the future;
• help people understand and internalize change;
• keep the organisation focused on customers and productivity;
• reinforce desired behaviors;
• promote cultural alignment;
• help with retention and motivation of key talent;
• Control the rumour mill.

Good communication practices in the post-merger period are:

• Recognise that all merger goals depend on communication. Employees have to be persuaded to believe in the corporate vision and to act to bring it about. This is a communication task.
• Know the communication goals. At all times, with all stakeholders, the goal for the communication needs to be kept in the forefront of the mind. Senior managers need to know their constituencies closely and to segment them carefully.
• Managers need to be aware of the logistical and cultural factors necessary to communicate with staff in diverse locations.
• Be flexible. Bring the best combination of communication techniques to bear on the situation and be prepared to adjust according to feedback.
• Listen. Dialogue is the richest form of feedback, but not the only one.
• Always communicate. Non-communication is still communication because it sends negative messages.
• Follow a framework to help manage the complexity. Understand all stakeholders, know the goals, write a plan, craft messages positively and effectively, select media carefully. (Compare the difference between “We don’t expect any staff reductions,” and “There will be no staff reductions” and even better, a more positive “We all have important roles to play in the future.”)
• Check senior managers’ commitment to the message and their ability to communicate it consistently, firmly and honestly.

Our team at Partnercorp have experience in helping the merger and acquisition process occur smoothly.  For further information about managing the change process contact our newcastle business coach.

Once all Strategic SWOT items have been determined, the development of Strategies begins.

1. As shown in the model above, work through the process of defining strategies that use strengths to maximise opportunities.
   
   
2. Then develop strategies that use strengths and opportunities to overcome weaknesses.
   
   
3. Repeat the process by determining strategies that use strengths and opportunities to overcome threats.
   
   
4. Complete the strategy development by defining strategies that ensure that strengths and opportunities aren't overpowered by combined weaknesses.
   
   
5. Use the Pareto Principle to determine the 20% of Strategies that will provide 80% of the desired result. Select your top 3 or 4 strategies.
   
   
6. Use Mindmapping and/or Force Field Analysis to determine action plans for each strategy.

Contact our Newcastle business coach to find out more about developing a SWOT analysis for your business 

Few people today want to buy from, work for, or partner with, a company that's only out for itself. For example, I can't imagine sitting down with my team, producing a set of elaborate architectural drawings for a huge, luxurious dream home, and saying, "if you all work really hard, someday this will be mine."

David Packard, co-founder and inspiration of Hewlett Packard, one of the world's most respected international businesses, put it this way: 'Why are we here? I think many people assume, wrongly, that a company exists solely to make money. Money is an important part of a company's existence, if the company is any good. But a result is not a cause. We have to go deeper and find the real reason for our being.

As we investigate this, we inevitably come to the conclusion that a group of people get together and exist as an institution that we call a company, so that they are able to accomplish something collectively that they could not accomplish separately – they make a contribution to society, a phrase which sounds trite but is fundamental.'

One trend in business is that employees, especially young employees, want a sense of purpose in their work. We all want a sense of purpose in our lives, but in the past we didn't demand it from our jobs. Now workers increasingly do. They want to know that what they do at work is good and right in some large sense.

Of course, if a company isn't profitable and financially strong, it won't exist long enough to serve any other purpose. That's the paradox to be managed: Companies that exist only to produce a profit don't last long, while companies that don't pay attention to profits can't exist to fulfil their long-term purpose.

The key is to find the right middle ground, because pursuing profits without a higher purpose, or pursuing a purpose without profit, are equally fatal strategies.

Studies of the role and impact of values or ethics on corporate performance show that profits follow from worthy and useful purposes. Fulfilling the purpose comes first, and then the profits follow. Profits are a reward. The size of our reward depends on the value of the service we've given others.

Developing a purpose that's aimed at serving others adds a richer sense of meaning to our lives. It taps into the deep craving we all have to make a difference. We need to feel that the world was in some way a little bit better off for the brief time we passed through it.

Vision, Values, and Purpose
Single dimension managers create a sterile and passionless culture. Their strategies, budgets, and business plans are cold and lifeless. So, most people go through the motions, put in their time, and go home. In this environment, change and improvement programs have no spirit. These programs may build up some speed and even get off the ground — but they don't soar.

A strong focus and context is at the core of a vibrant culture ("the way we do things around here"). It gives direction and guide's behaviour. It energises the heart, soul, and spirit of teams and organisations. Three interconnected questions lie at the centre:-

· Where are we going?
· What do we believe in?
· Why do we exist?

Over the years we've been involved in too many "vernacular engineering" debates as management teams argue about whether the statement they've been crafting is a vision, a mission, a statement of values and goals, or the like.

Often these philosophical labeling debates are like trying to pick the flyspecks out of the pepper. Unless we're in the dictionary business, we shouldn't worry about the precise definition of vision, mission, values, or whatever we may be calling the words we're using to define who we are and where we're trying to go.

What does matter is that our teams have discussed, debated, and decided on the answers to these three questions (in no particular order): Where are we going What do we believe in? Why do we exist?

They are critically important questions. They are fundamental to leading others. This is the beginning point of effective leadership. These basic issues are the fabric with which we weave our focus and context (vision, values, and purpose). If we're attempting to change our team or organisation culture, our answers to these basic questions define the culture we're trying to create.

If we're going to further improve our leadership effectiveness, we need to have thought through and answered these questions on our own. If you have a spouse or life partner, you need to work on these questions together.

Whatever we call our answers to these questions doesn't matter. They can be termed vision, mission, values, strategic niche, aspirations, purpose, and so on.

And how "snazzy", "different", or "original" our words are doesn't matter as much either. What does matter is: Can we give a unified answer to these questions? Is whatever we've developed clear and compelling? If we're a management team — and especially a senior management team — does everyone on our team passionately own what we've developed?

Do we give these critical leadership issues a sharp focus and meaningful context for everyone? That can only be done through skilled, live communications and consistent management behaviour.
There are no right answers to these questions. No consultant, expert, or anyone else can answer them for us.

There is no one way to answer them. Each of us has our own style and approach.
Perhaps it was best summed up by the message on the voice mail that said ‘this is not an answering machine, it's a questioning machine. There are really only two questions in life: Who are you and what do you want? Please leave your answer after the tone’

Today it's a rare organisation that doesn't have a set (most often a laundry list) of values. In fact, values have become one more item added to the requisite organisation checklist (Organisation chart? Check. Strategic plan? Check. Budget? Check. Vision statement? Check. Values? Check.) Frequently when we ask about the organisation's values, a dusty old piece of paper is produced. Quite often is followed by a debate about whether or not this is the right version of the organisation's values.

Many organisations can point to a list of values. The real question is how the values are lived. Have we just done our "values thing" during a planning session or are they actively used in our daily operations? Do they have a high "snigger factor" to be greeted with rolled eyes when they are occasionally brought forward?

A key test of whether core values are alive and real in an organisation is to ask team members at random to recite those values. If they can't do it without referring to a piece of paper, there are either too many values or they aren't being used in daily operations.

Here are some examples of how highly effective leaders keep core values alive:

• Make "values fit" a key criterion in hiring. Most effective leaders know that you can improve a person's skills and experience with training and development, but it's much harder to train for attitude and almost impossible to change a person's core values.
  
  
• Replace rules and policies with values and trust. Effective leaders treat team members as responsible adults who want to do the right thing for the team or organization. They know that with good support, training, and examples to follow, most people will exercise good judgment. The exceptions can be dealt with on an as-needed basis.
  
  This principle can also extend to customers. For example, we know of one courier company that automatically sends customers up to $300 for any damage claims. Experience has shown that customers are dishonest less than 1% of the time.
  
  
• Promote only those people who are role models for the organization's values. Promotions are the clearest indication of whether values are lived or simply espoused. All too often, a manager will declare the values of teamwork, customer service, and trust, but then promote someone who is the meanest SOB in the place, manages by email, rarely sees customers or team members, and "snoopervises" rules like the Gestapo – simply because he or she gets the job done. In such cases, it becomes evident just how important (or unimportant) lived values really are.

As Mark Twain once remarked ‘everyone talks about the weather but no one ever does anything about it’.

For purpose and values to really work in helping take the the individual and the organisation from good to great they must first be deeply understood and beyond that integrated into routines.

If you are serious about refining the effectiveness of your your organisation or if you want to quicken the pace of your own personal leadership skills and growth call our Newcastle business coach  now to learn more on how this can be achieved.

Getting the Structure right!

Stage one is to get the structure right. The right structure means having the right people, the right products, the right customers, the right processes and the right price.

People: Some people want to change, others resist it. It’s sometimes necessary to admit that some team members have become a liability. If such people form the major part of a team, the team is doomed for failure. For this process to work the teams must be formed by the people who want change. In a family owned or small business – selecting the right people can often be very difficult.

Products: The Pareto Rule is relevant here. "Twenty" percent of your products provide "eighty" percent of your sales. Twenty percent of our products provide eighty percent of your profit. Removing non performing products is essential if you want the right structure. Flexibility in production systems and an ability to diversify are critical to success in agriculture.

Customers: Again the Pareto Rule applies. Which twenty percent of your customers provide your sales, profit and repeat business? Which twenty percent provide eighty percent of your problems? Why invest time in these? Why not remove them? How many managers actually think about who they sell their products to?

Experience indicates that many businesses sell to customers who are tardy with payment (or even worse are "known" non-payers) or people that change the terms after delivery. Why do we sell to these people ? Select your customers wisely and build strong relationships with good customers that will stick with you in good times and bad. Do you have a customer care program to build relationships with your key customers? If not, then Why not?

Processes: The processes used in most businesses are rarely reviewed. Inefficiencies and waste creep in. To have the right structure, your processes need to be effective. Do you know what the key processes are in your business? How do they interact? Where are the inefficiencies? Where is the waste? Where are you under-utilising labour and resources? Where are you wasting inputs?

Processes also refer to the management processes in your business (not just the sales or production functions). Do you have an effective business planning process? How do you develop your marketing strategies? What are you Human Resource Management policies and strategies? These background or support processes are often more important than your production processes.

Price: A key structural element is pricing. Many businesses know how to cost, most don’t price correctly. The wrong price can mean lost sales or lost profit. Correct pricing is a key success factor. How do you determine the correct selling price for your product? What is your selling strategy? How can you maximise the market price for your commodity? These are important questions that need to be answered.

But where to start?

This is a common question from managers and owners. - Where do I start? How do prioritise working on my people, products, prices, processes, etc? Where do I put the most effort?

There is no unique answer to this question although many "consultants" will tell you exactly where you need to apply your focus. In reality, depending on your individual situation, you may need to address all of these issues.

Yes - A One Page Plan

This simple, innovative planning process will help you to take stock of your current situation, work out where you want to be and help you prioritise the actions and strategies that will get you there.

The key to success is in this last step - PRIORITISE THE ACTIONS. The MindShop process that drives the development of the one page plan is unique and so simple to implement.

The one page plan will focus you on the actions you need to take to get your business or organisation moving. It will help determine whether you need to focus on people, prices, products or processes issues. It will also help you easily develop solutions to complex problems by providing you with a logical problem solving process. Our business coach is happy to help you with implementing this process, if you would like a consultation please contact us.  

The good news is that the steps to developing a successful business are relatively straightforward. The 3 stages are illustrated in the diagram below.

Stage 1: Structure. Most people are aware the first stage in a business improvement process is to get the business structure right. The right structure means the right customers, the right products, the right prices, the right processes and the right people.

The structure involves dealing with the "visible" elements of the business. We don’t usually look for the hidden wastes, costs and drivers at the structural level.

Most managers don’t realise that once the structure is mostly in place, they should move to Stage Two which is to get the "waste" out of the structure or improve your efficiency. They continue to keep working on structural issues!

In Stage Two – Waste there are seven key areas of waste or inefficiency: overproduction, waiting, transport, inappropriate processing, inventory, motion and defects. We have developed processes to help you identify these wastes and inefficiencies easily and quickly. Experience indicates that waste usually accounts for 15% to 30% of your total costs. There are huge savings to be made here!

Once both the structure and the waste (inefficiencies) are largely addressed, the biggest issue in the organisation can be addressed.

Stage 3 - Belief Systems of the people. If a person believes that they are not worthy of success then they will prove themselves right. If they are an employee or family member (or you) then they will probably use your business as the vehicle to prove themselves right!

Showing a person how to develop a belief system of being worthy of success will result in them proving themselves right using, again using the organisation as a vehicle. Both the individual and the organisation wins.

It usually takes several years to work through each stage, the last stage requiring the most time. Our newcastle Business Consultant understands that time is scarce so contact us to have a chat and see how we can help you make this process as easy as possible.     

• Traditional business plans are too complex
• Traditional business planning fails to address many of the current issues in our business
• They often only focus on the future
• Traditional business planning assumes that management will develop and implement the plan 
• Traditional business plans are too inflexible to be of any use 
• (How can a 100 page document be reworked quickly to meet changing market conditions?)
• Traditionally business plan usually doesn’t provide a mechanism to prioritise the key issues 

How do you can determine which issues are to be dealt with first?

Are these some of the reasons why you haven’t developed a plan for the future of your business?

For a Business Improvement Plan to be useful, I believe it must:

• Be simple and easy to adjust
• Be flexible
• Maximise our change potential
• Be based on Best Practice tools and techniques
• Allow you to prioritise your activities
• Involve your whole team in development and implementation
• Include problem solving routines to develop action plans

Why don’t traditional  plans meet this criteria?

In many cases, the business planning format has been adapted to meet the needs of advisers, financiers (bankers), government agencies providing assistance and accountants.

For these external advisers, the Business Plan provides evidence that the Manager/Owner has thought through all the issues and the plan provides a comprehensive overview of the business.

However, a traditional business plan often fails to meet the needs of the Business Manager and his team because it has been designed to meet external rather than internal needs.

Don’t get me wrong – there are plenty of times when a traditional business plan is required and is warranted. Examples would include: new business start-ups, taking over an existing business, extensive business expansion, introduction of new products lines, major capital expenditure, etc.

Feedback from my clients is that for many businesses,   developing a traditional business plan is time consuming and appears to be an insurmountable hurdle that Managers will only attempt when they are pressured to by outside forces like the Bank.

This is a great shame because as we discussed above having a great plan with vision is one of the key elements of maximising your change potential.

To contact one of our Business Consultants to talk about how we can help you develop a business plan in a timely manner please click here.

Traditional business plans have been known to cover from 40 to in excess of 100 pages. The business coach's at Partnercorp have taken the key elements of your business plan and summarised them onto One Page.

Yes! One powerful  results oriented page can be used to drive and manage the business.

The One Page Plan covers the key elements of a Business Improvement Plan by summarising the Now, Where and How.

In the Now summary, you need to pull out the key points of your current position, remembering that you only have room for about 10 short points (3 to 4 words per point).

In the Where summary, you need to include a short summary of your Vision, your Business Statement, your Sustainable Competitive Advantage and your Objectives.

In the How, we need a summary of each of your key strategies and your action plans.

To keep the plan to one page, you can always print on both sides of an A4 sheet. In this way you can have the Plan on one side with the budget (financial projections) or detailed action plans on the other side of the sheet.

It is suggested that elements of the plan are supported with detailed information as required. This may include: