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Unlocking the gem in business planning |
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Why do some businesses believe they have no need for a business plan until they run into financial difficulties, whilst others spend colossal sums of money preparing a business plan exclusively for their shelves. These are questions I have asked very often as I work with SMEs, who consistently fall fowl of this practice. It may appear that the benefits of business planning are not quite understood by these businesses and hopefully this article will help shed some light on the subject.
From a practical perspective, it is inconceivable to find any reliable products in the market including our homes that was developed without any planning time set aside for the determination of the design, development and implementation process. One cannot deny that the process of planning can be time consuming and tedious, particularly as the benefits of the process is not immediate and often far from sight.
However, lurked within the planning process is the opportunity to discover flaws in original ideas, which in return provides opportunities for improvement.
What are the benefits that can be derived from business planning and how can a business maximise its returns from the process? In the first place we need to know what Business Planning is. Business planning is a management tool that aids the delivery of strategic objectives. The strategic objectives set out what a business wants to do and where. A business plan simply helps map the path to achieving corporate objectives.
It must however be stated that an organisation may not automatically maximize the potential benefits from the planning process just because it prepared a business plan. Getting the best results from business planning requires the right level of skills and competencies needed to deliver a business plan and the motivation to do so at management level in the organization.
A business plan can look great on paper but unless someone rolls up his sleeves and gets on with the work to bring the plan into reality, it will ultimately die with the business.
Therefore when an organisation prepares a business plan that is supported by a competent and motivated management team, as well as a competent workforce, here are some of the gems that can materialise:
• Effective alignment of a business’ resources in markets that draw on their strengths
• Effective development of marketing strategies born out of critical evaluation of the operating market
• Better resource planning for effective delivery of corporate goals and objectives.
Sheila Elliott is the managing director of Business Services Support Limited.
http://www.businessservicessupport.com/
Email: sheila@businessservicessupport.com
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