Planning for Measurable Success

Getting from point 'A' to any other point, whether it's point 'B' or point 'Z', requires a very specific road map or path. It's no different in your business. Getting from a point where everything is not quite in sync (today) to the point where your company is running like a well-oiled machine (tomorrow) takes careful planning and attention to all the markers and signs. Once you have established your goal-growth, increased efficiency, bottom line improvement, or simply making your business a better place to work, you must put the road map into place and follow the path to success.

We have eight steps on our planning path. We visit:

* Visioning & Mission Identification
* Culture Creation
* Information Gathering
* Strategic Planning
* Tactics
* Enterprise Level Support
* Management Development
* Milestones Workshop

Visioning & Mission Identification

The most important job of the CEO, president, or owner, is not sales, production, or finance. It is to be an effective helicopter pilot hovering above the day-to-day business challenges at 30,000 feet. It is from these heights that one can truly be free to formulate a vision or direction for the company's future. It is from here that one can identify the mission of the company answering the three basic questions. Firstly, what are you going to do? Next, for whom are you going to do it? And, lastly, in what fundamental ways are you going to do it? We assist you in finding the means to rise to the heights necessary to formulate the vision, identify the mission, and be sure that everyone's values are in alignment to support you.

Culture Creation

The culture of a business is a top-down creation emanating from the CEO or president through all levels of employees. It's the 'boss' who sets the tone, the values, and the means and methods of doing business. We help you understand the culture your organization operates under and suggest ways for you to analyze how it can be improved for the benefit of all.

Information Gathering

One of the key elements of our Internal Visualization paradigm is the gathering of important information to derive a complete internal picture of the business as seen by management and its employees. To this end, we use proven techniques that include surveys, focus groups, and interviews with key people. There are situations where customized surveys are required due to certain unique aspects of a client's business. In these instances, we design, test and employ questionnaires that are specific to the situation. We also offer information-gathering devices to help you understand how and what your suppliers and customers feel about your business.

Strategic Planning

Once you have a clear-cut vision, you must go through the process of planning how to achieve your goals. This is the essence of strategic planning and it requires buy-in from your entire organization. For the plan to be successful, all the employees must feel real ownership over the process, and that it included their input, whether or not it made it into the final version. We show you how to focus on the vision and how to negotiate with your staff to reach the goal with a committed team, all pulling in the same direction.

Tactics

Your strategic planning leads to the establishment of your goals. Tactics gives you the day-to-day plan of attack that enables you to achieve the goals. To be effective, tactical planning seeks to win the little battles through its ability to be flexible and change as the situation warrants. We show you how to understand the need for flexibility and how to keep your team focused on the goals while dancing the dance.

Enterprise Level Support

Some of the concepts we discuss may be foreign to you. Rather than deal in abstracts and send you off on your own, we have an extensive support program in place to help bring the ideas into reality. Our coaches work with you and your managers to build effective teams, assist in basic business processes like design, manufacturing, sales, and smooth out the manage-up and manage-down techniques. We show you how to get your team leaders to share their expertise with other team leaders to create a team of team leaders with a broad understanding of the 'big picture operation.' We won't leave you with a plan. We help you implement the one we design together.

Management Development

Some businesses find that there are employees who have grown up with them who have wonderful technical skills and capabilities, yet totally lack managerial capability. Oftentimes these people can do significant harm or just not be able to support the growth and development that the CEO really wants when they are placed in managerial roles. Our skilled consultants will diagnose these employees' strengths and needs, and then help you formulate and implement a plan that works to help you to build the infrastructure you need to grow your business using those who were always loyal to you.

Milestones Workshop

Between the 'plan' and the 'goal' there are a series of milestones along the way that can be readily identified. These intermediate, mini-goals are crucial to the achievement of the prize-the successful completion of the project or program. We teach you how to establish reasonable, attainable milestones that will instill excitement and dedication in and with your staff.