Why Do We Waste Time On A Business Plan Instead Of Planning To Create Value?
Is it just me or does it seem we business owners spend way too much time, like maybe a month or three, developing a detailed business plan and budget for next year (and maybe a few years after that).
It also seems that by January’s end, the plan is either obsolete or no longer thought to be possible, and we have already blown the budget. Why do we go through such a futile effort every year when we know it won’t do any good anyway?
A better way to operate a business might be to spend this scarce time and energy creating extra value for your customer by following a robust process that institutionalizes the constant identification and evaluation of new products, services and niches for your business. Remember that only those companies that continuously increase their value to their customers more than their competitors will survive an economic downturn such as the one we are in today. Creating this increasing value for your customer is the ONLY way to prosperity.
REMEMBER IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO CUT YOUR WAY TO PROSPERITY!
Business papers are full of sad stories of a company, the best maker of widgets in the world, that went bankrupt from an intense focus on narrow excellence rather than striving to diversify the business by finding alternative uses for unique and highly valuable skills already part of the business’ portfolio.
Our program starts by teaching businesses how to do careful, in depth introspection to determine just what skills, talents and passions are present TODAY as a baseline for going forward. This INSIGHT then forms the detailed starting point for a process that uses these skills to INNOVATE alternative customers, industries, and products or services that can be launched quickly and inexpensively to broaden the business’ revenue stream and fatten the bottom line.
It may be seem strange that we insist on looking inward before the any look outside to determine what market opportunities may be present that can be exploited with existing capability. Indeed without a detailed skill inventory, any outward look is futile because it is impossible to be selective when there is no agreement on the best target for your present weapon because you don’t know what that weapon is.
You could be trying to kill an elephant with a pee shooter or a mouse with a howitzer. Both are exercises in frustration and sheer nonsense.
Call us to find out how we can assist your introspection TODAY so your 2010 can be better than your 2009!
