Business by Design Part 3: It’s hard to find success without a map

Clear Vision • November 1, 2016

Strategic Management.  Not the most exciting way to kick off a business article and an area that many, many business and business owners like to ignore.

From the one person, home based business through to massive international corporations there is practically an epidemic of people failing to undertake genuine strategic management of their business.

So it’s no surprise that the most recent ASIC report on corporate insolvencies tells us that “poor strategic management” was cited by 42% of businesses as a reason for their failure.

Just to clarify here…we don’t just mean that the business was poorly run or managed.  This is not day to day operations, this is big picture, what’s our vision, where are we going and how are going to get there stuff.

So 42% of failed businesses, which were probably run by people just like you and I, people who loved what they do and worked hard at it, failed because they didn’t stop and really work out a map for the future success of their business.

So how is the strategic management in your business???  When was the last time your management team got out of the office and really refined your strategy???  Then, most importantly, did you come back to the office and implement changes to follow that strategy?

Not giving the answers you’d like?  So how do you fix it?

If your answers to last few questions aren’t what you would like them to be – don’t worry, it’s never too late to get things on track.

Some quick tips we recommend:

  • Get your financial information and position in order. Strategic management needs the right data so make sure you have this available when you need it.
  • Plan to plan. Set a calendar of dates and times when you will work on strategic management.  Once a year probably isn’t enough, but you might start with a longer session and then check in each month or quarter
  • Work out your goals. If you have multiple stakeholders you might need to navigate what everyone expects and wants from the future of the business
  • Document your map. Put pen to paper so agreed items and stated goals aren’t lost over time when you get back to the tools.
  • A plan left unimplemented is less than worthless.  It’s cost you time and money and provided no return.  Make sure you implement your ideas

Don’t wait, get help!

This epidemic of poor or non-existent strategic management is one of the reasons that I am so committed to working with clients on their strategy as well as their day to day financial position.

If you need help with your Strategic Management then Clear Vision is here to help.

We have a range of services and programs that assist businesses in this area.

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