Where Are You Going In The Future?

There is an old saying attributed to Lewis Carroll; “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.” As simple as this sounds, many organizations, large and small, make the mistake of rolling into a new year without a clear destination identified and/or communicated to their team. As a result, everyone just continues to follow the road they’re on, doing what they’re already doing and hoping for the best.

There is an answer to this dilemma and it’s called Strategic Planning! Unfortunately, when many leaders hear the words “Strategy” or “Strategic Planning” they roll their eyes and imagine a long, drawn-out process of days in a conference room or off-site location.  And afterwards, all they have is a two-inch thick document that goes in a binder on a shelf and never actually gets used.

But strategic planning doesn’t have to be boring. In fact, it can actually be fun!  Essentially, a strategic plan is the road map that outlines how an organization plans to go from where they are to where they want to be. It serves as a guide to keep the team moving in generally the same direction toward an identified “future state” which is often several years away. When done well, the strategic plan doesn’t change dramatically every year but rather, small course corrections are made in response to changes in markets, customers, or technology advancements, etc.

The other benefit of good strategic planning is that it challenges the current state of the organization and how well the company is responding to its served markets. Each year, you should also assess if there are changes in the external environment that could disrupt your product or service. Then ask what action should be taken now so that you’re not caught off guard. We all know of businesses that are gone because they didn’t adapt to changes so don’t let that happen to you!

All of us rely on various gadgets to help us get from here to there on a daily basis. Back when I was flying helicopters in the U.S. Army, we had paper maps and charts plus instruments such as Automatic Direction Finding (ADF) and VHF omnidirectional range (VOR). Today, everyone has some kind of GPS enabled navigation system in their car or on their phone, watch, tablet, or other device. But all these systems have one thing in common – YOU have to tell them where YOU want to go. Why wouldn’t you do the same for your business?  

Are you looking to grow your business? Brian can help you create a custom strategic plan and then work with you to implement it. Click here to book a complimentary phone call to learn more.