Today, I’d like to share with you a straightforward approach to building an effective Business Plan that you can use and adjust throughout the year ahead.  My team and I have coached thousands through this process, and we have repeatedly seen how this type of plan has led to improved clarity and results for those who build it and follow it.

The power of this Business Plan is that it is very specific and personal.  It is not meant to replace a larger corporate plan.  It answers the following three critical questions for you on a single piece of paper:

1. What are my measurable goals for the year? 
2. What do I need to do each day to reach those goals? 
3. What improvements do I need to make in the year ahead? 

Part One:  Outcomes

What goals are you aiming for in the year ahead that are specific and measurable?  These are your desired outcomes.  You should be able to assign a specific number to each outcome.  Your desired outcome could be the number of people served, units built, or units sold.  It could be a target for revenue, net income, market share, ROI, or customer satisfaction ratings.  The clearer you are on your numbers, the easier it is to identify the behaviors and projects that will be required to achieve those outcomes.

Part Two:  The Disciplines of a Champion

What non-negotiable disciplines or behaviors will you repeat over and over in order to have the highest probability of reaching your desired outcomes?  Identify three to six disciplines that you will repeat daily or weekly, regardless of how you feel.  Examples might include sending five handwritten notes each day, conducting weekly financial reviews, making ten sales calls per day, holding weekly coaching sessions with your direct reports, walking the floor daily, or spending eight hours per week behind the customer counter.  The Disciplines of a Champion are very specific.  They should be so clear that you can schedule them as appointments in your calendar.

 

Part Three:  Improvements

What three to five specific, one-time projects will you work on in the year ahead that will help you to do your job with more success?  These are your improvements, and they differ from disciplines in that they have a finite point of completion.  List them out in order of priority and assign a target completion date for each of them.  Examples of improvements could be updating your database by March 1, rolling out your new customer service plan by May 15, or hiring two new sales representatives by August 1^st.  Once you have clarity on each of these projects and how they fit into the overall plan, you can schedule the needed ON Time (or project time) in order for you to complete your improvements.

So there you have it:  a simple and personal one page Business Plan that has the power to cause your behaviors and results to improve.  If you review it frequently, you will remain focused in the year ahead.

You are welcome to contact our coaching company, Building Champions, to receive this tool from us as a year-end gift. 

May you find clarity about your plans for 2010,

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Tags: Disciplines, Goals, Personal Business Plan

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 at 10:50 am and is filed under Business Planning. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.