How prepared are you? Tips on reviewing your long-term business strategy.

As many business owners/leaders grow their businesses they are used to either no written long-term plans, goals, or strategies, or if these are in writing, not reviewing them annually. The owners/leaders do not connect the plan to their annual goals and build the strategies off those goals, yet they are really involved in getting that next sale, buying the next piece of equipment, or hiring the next major team member.

All those things are important to the growth of the business, but how do you measure how you are doing as a business, if you do not measure your success against the plan? Here are some tips for you as you get ramped up for 2021 and beyond:

1. It is a good idea to plan and look at your business plan for the next years before the end of the prior year, if possible. Otherwise, consider spending some planning days offsite in January reviewing the plan and developing your goals and strategies for 2021.
2. The management team should be a part of this review and planning. Some companies involve line workers in the start of the process to get feedback on how they see the direction of the company from where they are. Having the team be part of the process helps to create ownership in the plan and its execution by the team.
3. You have the long-term plan in writing, and you have your written goals. You may need to vary your written goals, as there are many business opportunities for your company that are available now but were not before.
4. The next step is to use those goals to develop the strategies to achieve the goals for 2021 by quarter. Each of these strategies will help get the ball down the field toward that goal.
5. Here is a step that many business owners forget. To make this process work in the best way possible, you must develop responsibility for the goals within the team that should have that responsibility. This may include developing incentive pay based upon how the close to the goal that the team member attains. You will also need a scorecard to show how close you have come to that goal for each quarter.
6. Finally, it is helpful to use an outside professional to conduct the planning meetings, which will help to stimulate discussions by all parties in the team. Sometimes, if the business owner is the one running these meetings, the team may participate less, giving less of the valuable information that should be part of the plan.

Make 2021 a great year for your business!

If you want to be alerted to new articles as they come out, please follow us on LinkedIn. You can also Sign-up for our Email List, and our Weekly Blogs.

Denice Gierach

Gierach Law Firm

Denice Gierach is an attorney, CPA, Northwestern University business master's graduate, and has owned several businesses from real estate to manufacturing. She is the lead attorney at Gierach Law Firm in the Chicago area. With more than 30 years of experience, she has been a respected and sought-after resource for businesses looking to grow, sell, solve problems, and succeed long term. Her insights across business areas gives a fuller lens to business issues and solutions, and helps businesses grow and succeed with less time spent on legal issues and other time-consuming problems.

x

Blog Sign Up

First Name *

Last Name *

Email *

Phone

Subscribe to

Both Blogs Estate Planning Blog

Business Law Blog

 

Submit