SEVEN STEPS TOWARD YOUR OWN STRATEGIC PLAN HOME PREVIOUS NEXT CONTACT US |
| 1. You Need a Plan In our seven-step process to create - and implement - a strategic plan, the first step is to realize you need a plan. Then, admit you need to learn how to put together a plan. Finally, involve a team in your effort. Consultants working alone might bring in their spouse and family. Sole proprietors might create an advisory board to support them during the process and to give - free - advice. In the preface to his famous book How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie suggests that the best way to learn and, finally, implement, anything is to use what you learn. My guess it that he thinks people ought to struggle a bit along the way until they are able to apply the principles (Carnegie, pages 27 through 29). Once you have the plan in action, he suggests that you let your team "fine" you for every time you go off plan and do something that does not make sense. Then he suggests reviewing your progress on at least a weekly basis. Repetition is part of the process. On a daily basis, keep notes on your progress for review at the end of the week. Strategic Implications Learning is the first step in the process. Use my format or another - it really does not matter. The goal is to implement what you learn. The plan gives you a scorecard to measure your progress. It also makes sure you understand what you are doing, and why. We forget the why in the rush to make money. Clients know when you are just about the money. Many times, they are buying not your process, but the heart behind it, with all that implies. Having a plan helps make sure you are about more than just money. The next step, figuring out your values, helps to get to the underlying heart in all this, the basis for your business success. |
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