Strategic Planning That Actually Works: The Five Step Plan The Not-so-secret Secret To Business Succ

By Author: Mark Wardell
Total Articles: 113
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Every business owner knows that planning is a good idea. The problem is that planning takes more time than most business owners feel they have. It's a catch 22. One thing is certain though: it is impossible to get off the entrepreneurial treadmill without stopping to think about where you want your business to go.

What follows is a simple five step plan for creating and utilizing one of the most important documents an entrepreneur will ever write. The goal is to create a window into your future that you and everyone connected to your company can use as a target. It's called a Strategic Objective, and two or three pages will usually do it.

Step One: Take your inventory.

Start by taking your business inventory. I'm talking big picture stuff here, not widgets in your warehouse. What shape is your business in as a whole? Where do you sit in relation to your competitors? How profitable are you? Be honest with yourself about the good, the bad, and the ugly. After all, you can't make good strategic decisions about your business if they're not based in reality.

Step ...
... Two: Analyze your environment.

Take a good hard look at your business environment. What are your competitors up to? What are they likely to do in the future? Is your market growing or shrinking? Is technology having an impact on your industry? For example, think of the huge impact that the popularity of ring tones had on businesses designing mobile phones.

Step Three: Dream about your future.

Now that you've faced your

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About the Author:

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Mark Wardell is President of Wardell Professional Development
(http://www.wardell.biz) an advisory group specializing in growth
management for privately held companies. mailto:info@wardell.biz

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