Many business leaders finish their business planning too late. When you don’t prioritize the planning process, it impacts not only your bottom line but also the culture of your teams.
Instead, make a conscious effort to think about the planning process throughout the year. Ideally, devote at least one full day per quarter to planning, another to annual planning and a day each year to long-term planning.
Also, remember that business planning should trickle down to every person in the company. It’s not just for business owners. Department heads, team leads and individual contributors should also take part. Why? A company needs a plan, a department or delivery area requires a plan, and every team member needs a plan. For individuals, what are your goals for growth and training advancement? What key metrics do you need to be accountable for? Everyone needs to understand how their role impacts the business.
I’ll give you two examples. I was talking to a group of inside salespeople from MSPs, and I asked them, “How many of you know the annual MRR sales goal for the company?” Most didn’t know — think about that. These guys are sitting around all day and dialing phones, and they don’t even know why (What’s ironic is their bosses are the ones who are telling me how hard inside sales is.)
Here’s another example. Do your support desk people understand Picanomics? Have you explained the impact of support desk efficiency and what it means to the business model? All of this is critical! Tickets closed, seats managed and MRR per support resource are significant drivers.
Most importantly, if your team understands the model, they will find solutions you may never think of. They’ll also feel connected to the company, the team and the mission. If not, they’re closing endless tickets, just like the inside salesperson feels like they’re doing infinite dials.
Let’s go people! This is how a business plan can come alive and change a culture.
