By Bob Donnelly

Without a plan I guess you are living and managing day to day hoping that today will be better than yesterday?

Without a plan everyday is a crisis. Most people will agree that planning is a good thing to do, but many don’t plan and don’t have written goals.

Life and business is about money. If so, then isn’t that what you should be concentrating on all day every day? In today’s chaotic environment it’s even more important to develop a plan for how are you and your business going to survive and thrive in the new world of work?

Planning is a simple process of determining: where are we now, where do we want to be and by when, and most importantly – how are we going to get there? In other words, determining what to do, how and when to do it, and who will do it, to continue to grow our business profitably.

Planning is the process of setting goals and defining the actions required to achieve those goals. Goals are derived from the vision of what we want our business to be converted into the mission for how we are going to achieve those goals developed into strategies that can be monitored with a written business plan.

A business plan embodies direction and guidance to what any company wants to become and how management plans to get there. It outlines the utilization of resources and the financial results related to optimizing those resources. The true value of planning is driving clarity and accountability to the management roles that will lead to those financial results.  

Monitoring of a written business plan is critical to the success of any business, but if you don’t have a current business plan – what are you monitoring? Additionally, without proper controls and monthly and quarterly reviews of strategic milestones, how are you going to survive and make money?

Bob Donnelly is an author, educator, and brand builder for businesses and individuals. He can be reached at: rmdonnellyaol.com