The Game Plan of Winners

Creating a strategic plan seems like a daunting task and so, too often we rely on a “wing and a prayer” to meet our business objectives. Breaking the task into manageable bite-size steps can overcome the hesitancy to just do it.
This article is the first in a 3-part series on strategic planning in an effort to:
1) Demonstrate the importance of a strategic plan
2) Provide guidance on how to create a plan
3) Stress the role of execution

It is meant to help you tackle the project and hit one out of the park for your business.
Who comes to mind when the concept of strategic planning is discussed – Peter Drucker, Henry Mintzberg? I’ll bet it’s not Paul "Bear" Bryant, Alabama’s legendary football coach and it certainly isn’t baseball legend, Yogi Bera. Yet, these two sports standouts provided more salient thought on the topic than most other “experts” because strategic planning is really about having the right game plan in place combined with the right team members to execute the plays.
Bryant succinctly described his formula for winning this way: 1) Surround yourself with people who love football, 2) Recruit winners, and, 3) Have a plan for everything.

Business executives universally seem to understand the need to acquire talented employees and I’m sure in your office you have built a team of dedicated, competent, courteous professionals to care for your clients. But, the critical difference between winning and losing, between success and failure, between high performance and mediocrity is often dependent on your willingness and ability to define and execute an effective business plan. Indeed, Bryant’s comments sum up his feelings that good planning is the key to victory, "Have a plan. Follow the plan, and you'll be surprised how successful you can be. Most people don't have a plan. That's why it's easy to beat most folks."

For his part, Yogi came at the subject in his own inimitable way. Most of his comments sound idiotic at first, but his witticisms are actually very clever, full of insight, and very applicable to business. Yogi once said, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll wind up somewhere else.” What a great argument for planning – setting a fixed direction and avoiding the inevitable drift that occurs when you don’t set a course in a fixed direction.

What both of these sports legends seem to know intuitively, and most of us have to learn is that only effective, efficient strategic planning can take your business to the level of performance you desire, especially during economic times as difficult and challenging as today.
But, just having a plan is not enough. Without incorporating a detailed set of tactics within the plan it will be difficult to execute. Further, the best strategic plan in the world won’t move your business ahead one inch if you don’t effectively communicate and reinforce it.

Having a strong plan for your business, means you and your employees know how their work contributes to a defined objective. The team will work together with energy and enthusiasm because they know how success is defined for each respective job and ultimately for the practice as a whole.

Yogi also said, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” In other words when you come to a place where you need to make a decision, don’t hesitate. Determine to develop a strategic plan, communicate it, reinforce it and your business will benefit from your discipline.
Stay tuned for “Spring Training” – guidance on how to create a plan…