Escape Velocity: Defying Business Gravity with Business Discipline
Written by David Day
You’ve completed your strategic plan, now it’s time to implement it.
By Margaret Reynolds
This is the last article in our series on accelerating strategic growth by escaping the powerful forces of business gravity. Remember the definitions we started with:
- Escape Velocity// The minimum velocity an object must have in order to escape the gravitational field of the earth.
- Business Gravity// The factors that hold your business back from accelerated growth.
You’ve identified and examined your business opportunities and decided which ones to pursue. You understand your customers and market and have defined your strategy. You’ve developed your plan and set it in motion. Now, it’s time to deliver on all the work you’ve done to this point—to implement the plan.
Continually Evolve
Your plans for growth are finalized, the communication has occurred and the employees know their new tasks, but now is not time to rest. It is time to get energized and go make good things happen.
That means executing the plan, right? Right—mostly. But remember that growth strategy is dynamic and organic—it will continually evolve. Leaders can’t step back from leading, as even the best-made plans are in need of regular monitoring, updating and refinement.
Plans are future forecasts and there are no crystal balls. Some of your assumptions may be wrong, competitors may change or new technology may emerge that you didn’t anticipate. When that happens, it may be time to revisit the plan and make appropriate adjustments. Your plan is a road map. You are meant to stay the course, but occasionally you need to refuel the tank or replace a part to get the engine humming. That doesn’t make your plan wrong. Rather, it may prove it is working, as you are making progress and learning as you go and improving the plan.
Stay Focused
Don’t allow yourself to go back to business as usual—the same meetings and same leadership processes. Find a way to make the plan, and it’s goals, a critical part of what you do, how you do it and what you talk about. Here are a few suggestions:
- At your regular management meetings// Require updates from champions on key initiatives. How many you cover and how often you review them is dependent on scope and timeframes set in the plan.
- Quarterly// Review dashboard measures and progress against them, understanding clearly any deviations from plan. Take action as appropriate and communicate to all stakeholders.
- Annually// Review the entire plan and revisit assumptions, revising the plan as needed and adding new initiatives as others are completed.
- Every few years// Revisit the entire strategy and plan to ensure it still fits the company you are and the market you compete in.
You have prepared yourself for success. You have established clarity, alignment and accountability; add the discipline to follow through and actively manage results and you will have accomplished your goals.
Margaret Reynolds is managing principal of Reynolds Consulting, LLC. (816) 350-7680 //
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