By Martin Crump.
Martin is a Director and co-founder of Evolution. He is a certified NLP Master Trainer with a wealth of experience of working with organisations of all sizes and types across the UK.
What makes people set up their own business?
Is it a need to be in control of their own destiny?, or the possibility of earning more money?, or perhaps the ability to manage their own time?, or maybe simply a belief that they can do better than their own bosses?
Whatever the reason, an increasing number of people take the plunge and ‘go it alone’, or with some other like-minded people. The fact is, 80% of new business ventures fail within 2 years. Why?, because many business owners do not know exactly where they are going, or how to get there, or even, what they will do when they get there.
The initial phase of the journey is easy: heads down, work hard and fight to survive. This is a little like battling your way through the jungle with a machete but no compass. You could easily go round in circles and not know it. If you could raise yourself up above the jungle on a rope, you could see where you have been, and it makes it easier to see your destination, and make decisions about where that destination should be. You can even see the terrain ahead so that you plan the easiest, or most scenic route.
This is Strategic planning. A typical planning cycle is five years; straight away we can see the difference between this and an Operational planning cycle which can be as short as one day, but is seldom longer than one year.
The most effective way of Strategically Planning your business is very different than operational planning and requires you to rise above the jungle of your business and not get bogged down in detail. This is crucial, but not easy.
In the video below, I introduce a simple but extremely effective way to plan the future direction of your business. We have used this approach with a wide range of organisations ranging from garages to gas manufacturers, from Councils to NHS Procurement teams, in all sectors and with all sizes of organisations.
The feedback has always been extremely positive and the resulting plans have helped these organisations find direction and clarity.
To find out more about his process visit: Navigator