Dust Off Your Business Plan

A business plan is only as good as the effort you make to implement it. A quarterly review will keep you on track toward meeting your goals

BY GAIL DOBY, ASID

Here we are, nearly one-fourth of the way through GATHER INFORMATION AND SET A DATE. Schedule a reminder the year. When was the last time you consulted on your calendar for about a week or so after the end of the quaryour business plan? ter to gathering the data you will need Chances are it was to review your progress. This will include last December or Jan- “Effective leadership is information from your bookkeeper or uary. If that’s the case, now is the time to take it out and re- putting first things first. accountant, staff and/or freelancers and consultants, and possibly vendors and view your progress to date. Effective management service providers. At the same time, set

At the very least, you should conduct is discipline, carrying it a date for the review meeting and confirm with those who need to attend. a formal review of your business plan out.” – Stephen Covey Choose a time and place where you will at the end of each quarter. I strongly not be interrupted or distracted. recommend doing a weekly check-in on your personal business goals and performance and a monthly CREATE AN AGENDA. A quarterly review involves more than just a review of your revenue, cash flow, and marketing goals. The quar- taking your business’s pulse. You want to do a deep dive into the terly review is an opportunity to take a step back and look again at essential areas of your business plan, such as revenues, profit, the big picture of how your business is performing. cash flow, marketing, client acquisition and retention, current and committed projects, and any operational and growth goals you set for the year. Create an agenda that specifies who is responsible for presenting the data in each area to ensure that nothing is overlooked and the meeting stays on track.

CHART YOUR PROGRESS. Your quarterly review should begin with comparing your performance to date against the goals, milestones and measures you set in your business plan. Identify areas that may have been neglected due to other, more immediate priorities or that are lagging behind expectations. The objective here is not to find fault or chastise yourself or others. Rather, you want to ensure you are not losing sight of some objective that, if ignored, will negatively impact your plans later.

ASSESS YOUR CURRENT SITUATION. A lot can happen in three months. Take some time to look at how things stand now. Have new, unexpected obstacles arisen? Are you seeing new opportunities, either for business growth or marketing? What feedback are you getting from clients, from prospects who decided not to hire you, from vendors, suppliers and other contacts in your community? How might any of these developments affect or modify your plans and goals?

STRATEGIZE. While all this information is still fresh in your mind, conduct a quick strategy session. As they have been listening to the various reports, others around the table may have thoughts or insights to share on why something has or hasn’t happened, or how to remedy a shortcoming or resolve a problem. Tap into that collective brainpower. For more complicated issues, assign individuals to investigate and report back in a week or so with recommendations or action steps.

MAKE ANY NEEDED COURSE CORRECTIONS. Especially as you get further into the year, you may find that you will need to modify your business plan due to actual conditions, difficulties or unanticipated developments. You may even find that some objectives or goals are no longer relevant or priorities. That’s OK. It’s perfectly normal and nothing to become discouraged about. Don’t toss your plan into the wastebasket. Revise the parts of the plan that are affected and set new goals and measures relevant to your current situation.

SHARE SUCCESSES AND LEARNING. Finally, take time to celebrate what you’ve accomplished in the quarter and share any “aha” moments from which others can benefit. Focus on what can be improved and how, not on flaws.

A business plan is worthless unless you make the effort to implement it. Conducting a quarterly review is one way to make sure you do.