If strategic planning were as easy as “re-painting” your business, where would you start?
When was the last time you painted something?
A piece of furniture, a fence, a room, a house, a car…
How did you go about it?
Did you just grab a can of spray paint or a brush and start painting?
I didn’t think so.
Unfortunately, that’s how most people seem to do strategic planning.
No prep…
Just demand more of the same.
Just add more products.
Just do some things differently
Just like you can’t just start painting, you need to prep first.
Fix, clean, mask, and put down some newspaper.
Just like painting something, strategic planning or developing your
business blueprint / playbook / roadmap to go forward from here,
it requires some prep.
But where do you start?
Where are you?
Where is here?
For best results, I recommend starting with the
- Problem You Solve
- Need You Fulfill
- Goal You Help Achieve
Some might call it:
Context |ˈkäntekst | noun
- the circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood and assessed: the decision was taken within the context of planned cuts in spending.
- the parts of something written or spoken that immediately precede and follow a word or passage and clarify its meaning:
Both definitions are useful.
Next, review the people (customers) who need/want what you offer.
And…
- What’s changed?
- What do you want to change?
- What do you want to do differently?
- What do you want to do more of?
- What do you want to stop doing?
Once your piece is prepped, actually painting it becomes easy.
And, with lasting success.
Likewise, after a review of your business,
planning what to do next is a helluva lot easier.
Here’s a crucial missing piece…
My attorney in Silicon Valley many years ago told me to “design
my incentives so everybody-gets-rich-the-same-way.”
Strategic plans rarely work because they rarely include the interests of the employees, the team who makes it happen. What’s in it for them?
So what if sales triple and profits quadruple, and your stock price goes up 5X?
How does that work for all of your people?
What would make it tangibly worthwhile to them?
What would be the immediate gratification to celebrate the success of achieving your strategic plans and goals?
That’s something you can work out together.
If I were you, I would err on the side of generosity.
Add some tangible benefits to your words of “appreciation.”
Which brings us to…
“What’s the one thing you can do, such that by doing it,
everything else will be easier or unnecessary?”
~ Gary Keller
Whip out a paintbrush and go for it?
No…
Better to review your business plan from your startup days.
(You have one right?)
Review and update your original context.
By collaborating with your team, it evolves into your new shared strategic plan, blueprint, roadmap, and/or playbook.
Your team will have ideas.
(Acknowledging their suggestions, often inspires them to happily implement them.)
With everyone clear and motivated on their priorities, you can relax and maybe even enjoy yourself…
Eventually, your evolved plan becomes the “brochure” (prospectus) that sells your business faster at a higher price.
And finally, it serves as your succession plan for your kids or buyer to continue what you started.
If you don’t have any plan…
Try this proven system that walks you through the prep and the painting…
It’s the one thing you can do to make everything else easier or unnecessary.
No newspapers on the floor needed.
Give it a shot
If you love it, keep using it, referring to it, developing it.
If you are an advisor or investor, share and collaborate with your clients or portfolio companies.
It’s all upside.
Or…
Continue working harder than you need to, spending more time and money in every direction, and wondering why you’re not getting very far…
Remember, doing the same thing over and over…
A little time invested in your roadmap now can ease up everything.
For everyone. Especially You.
The ultimate strategic business playbook tool is at your fingertips.
All the best,
Burke Franklin
