Create those operating plans, now

It is so easy this time of year to focus on wrapping up the year without paying enough attention to what is right around the corner - 2012. No matter what size of company you operate or operate within, creating operating plans and following through on them is critical to continued success.

With that said, we go through a month or more of creating a variety of plans for the coming year. We like to start in October, and by year's end, our plans and goals are in place and set for the coming year. We enjoy having the opportunity to work with our clients on their plans too, as their plans relate to our services. Yes, I know a zillion or more books have been devoted to the planning topic, but bear with me a moment as I briefly describe our three-step operational planning process.

Step one:

Review the past. To understand where you want to go, you need to understand where you have been. Where were our sucesses, challenges, and failures? (I rely heavily on notes I have jotted down throughout the year.) Elicit feedback from employees, clients, and vendors. This feedback is critical to formulating your plan. What your clients want and what you think they want may very well be two different things.

Step two:

Critique the business. Look at strenghts, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Brainstorm this within your team and pick the top two or three in each category to focus on. For example, one of your company's strenghts may be its multitalented staff, while one of its weaknesses might be an inability to take advantage of diversification opportunities. So, you would discuss ways to more effectively cross-sell your services.

Take a close look at your competition as well. Indeed, your competition may be your biggest obstacle in the coming year. Determine how you can increase your compettitive advantage. Are you abreast of new trends and technologies? Are you investing in training? These are just a few examples of ideas your group may come up with.

Step three:

Establish an operating plan. Steps one and two culminate in the third step, coming up with an operating plan for the new season. Three may be about the right number of goals to set for your company. Two or three goals are attainable, while more than that may not be.

For each goal, create an action plan and create a path to an end result for each goal. Monitor progress regularly. Make changes if necessary. Hold each other accountable as you strive to attain the goals.

While all of this is taking place, we're also preparing business plans and budgets and working on long term strategic plans. When you think about it, having downtime in this industry, or any industry for that matter, is a luxury few of us have. The time we spend planning may be just as important as the time we spend delivering on the plan.