HBR Blogs: Three Questions Executives Should Ask for the New Year
I love the Harvard Business Review blogs. It’s where all the great research they do gets turned into practical guidance that can make a real difference!
Melissa Raffoni wrote a terrific article, brief enough to be read quickly, but meaty enough to be invaluable long term. In a nutshell, she identifies characteristics of successful CEOs, signs of under-performers, and the 3 questions to ask yourself as CEO as you set your 2010 goals.
Don’t miss this!
written by Nancy Chorpenning
\\ tags: goals, Management, Planning
… about Strategic Planning!
Check out this link!
written by Nancy Chorpenning
Do you know Chris Brogan? He’s one of the current gurus of social media, and has some very entertaining and interesting observations about marketing. If you’re looking for practical marketing tips to permit you some online success, you might try subscribing to his e-newsletter here.
His latest newsletter includes a story that resonates with me, “Simple Goals on Paper.” (I couldn’t find this on his website, or I’d have provided the link here.) The story starts with Chris confessing to a less-then-productive yet very “busy” day. (Not that any of US have ever had one…) Then he tells how he turned things around to help keep himself focused. Here is his process:
Step 1: I looked at my bigger goals for the remainder of 2009, and what I plan to do for the first half of 2010.
Step 2: I wrote down three things to accomplish today that would move those goals forward, and I kept them in front of me ALL DAY. I took breaks, but I never deviated from the goals in front of me. Continue reading »
written by Nancy Chorpenning
Some recent articles have included some extraordinary – yet not surprising – statistics: companies with just the strategic section of a business plan have 50% more profits and revenue than non-planning businesses. Another survey found business planning companies have 63% higher revenue growth and 100% more profit.
If that isn’t enough reason, here are a few more:
- To anticipate and prevent problems before they occur
- To successfully attract the funding you need to run your business
- To reduce anxiety from not being in control of your business
- To have an impact on your success rather than leaving it to chance
Check out this white paper if you want a place to begin. CLICK HERE
written by Nancy Chorpenning
\\ tags: business planning, Focus, Management
Why You Need a Business Plan – WSJ.com
What a great article on Planning for Business in the Wall Street Journal! And no, I didn’t commission it.
Planning – note the active voice – is at the heart of my practice and my life. Is it because my dad had me sitting at the kitchen table writing my goals for the week every Saturday starting at age 5? Perhaps, but it sure has served me well.
Planning – not just “plans” – is critical to the success of any organization. Smaller or newer businesses have a more acute need, as they have less ballast to weather such economic events as we have just been going through the past year.
Next month, I’m presenting a webinar called “Plan” is NOT a 4-Letter Word. In it, I suggest that the Top 5 Reasons for Business Planning include:
- Forestalling problems – if you can anticipate and avoid a problem, isn’t that better than having to solve a problem or crisis?
- Securing funding – whether you’re seeking venture capital or a loan from your community bank, a clear plan will help convince your investor or lender that you have anticipated eventualities, and that their investment is a good one.
- Management – planning can be your best friend for managing products and services as well as employees. It can be the road map for all to follow in concert.
- Profitability – recent research about small businesses found those that plan actively have profits 50-100% higher than those that don’t Nuf sed.
- Reduce anxiety – stress and overwhelm are common conditions of business owners. Why waste energy with worry when a plan can help you FOCUS and improve productivity.
If you’re interested in attending this webinar, send me an email and I’ll get you invited.
written by Nancy Chorpenning
\\ tags: business planning, business plans, small business, strategic planning
How to Fix a Sales Problem [5 Second MBA] | Gruzzles | Fast Company
Have you seen this 5-Second MBA feature in Fast Company? This is a WONDERFUL image, and oh so true. Simple but not easy to execute.
written by Nancy Chorpenning
\\ tags: Business Development, Sales
When It Feels Wrong To Be Right – Trust Your Gut – Entrepreneur.com
Interesting article opens with: “‘I trust my gut.’ That sounds so alpha-male cool, I know. It’s also a very dumb approach to running the major aspects of your business.” Perhaps not only “alpha-male cool” – women call it intuition, men call it “gut feeling.”
While I agree there is no silver bullet or panacea for today’s business challenges, entrepreneurs ignore your senses at your own peril!
Having said that, before you listen to your gut or follow your intuition, check these signposts:
- Conventional wisdom may not serve you well. Analyze beneath that first cell layer.
- Equip yourself to be a business owner, not just an operator. Most business owners spend the majority of their hours working IN their business. Your success comes from how well you balance managing working IN your business and working ON it. Make time to engage your brain regularly.
- Sometimes a decision feels wrong because it IS. Make sure you are leading towards the right goal, not merely “tripping” for the sake of being different.
written by Nancy Chorpenning
\\ tags: business intuition, decision-making, entrepreneur
Scrum for Social Media
Although this is an article specific to Social Media (a current passion!), there are some very practical and simple lessons for managers wanting a structured process to get things done thoroughly and quickly. No, the two are not mutually exclusive. It’s about FOCUS and ACCOUNTABILITY. Of yes, and if you happen to be planning, say, developing a company website there are direct applications.
My favorite learning is the new definition of “Scrum.” Not referring to Rubgy, the new definition:
“a project management process with less planning, more prototyping and faster turnaround. Taken from agile software development process, scrum is easy to learn; requires little effort to start using; and works ideally for social media [and OTHER!] projects.”
This isn’t the only way to manage introducing a new product, but it is one to consider. See how it fits your business!
written by Nancy Chorpenning
\\ tags: Accountability, Focus, Management, Marketing
Nearly everyone would agree that accountability is important to successful business management. How many have identified it as a critical component to growth? Virtually every one of our small business owner clients encounters it as a common symptom while they are trying to go from a micro business to a small business, or from small to medium.
Read a solid article from Tim Berry, President of Palo Alto Software (makers of Business Plan Pro) about accountability. A recent client is struggling with accountability as they grow from a 30-something person firm. So Tim’s graphic, “The Accountability Dip” is helpful to show them they’re right on track to be running into the logjams they’re finding.
We’re working currently with a client to build a business plan (which they haven’t had during their 50-year history…not uncommon) and in so doing, introduce accountability – by the way, it was the #1 word their top level managers used to identify the main thing preventing them from growth! It can be the elephant in the room, and it needs to be addressed.
written by Nancy Chorpenning
\\ tags: Accountability, business planning, goals, objectives
Don’t Skimp On Ad Budgets – Forbes.com:
So you read or heard the news the other day (and I use the term “news” loosely) – the US is in a recession and has been since December of ‘07. I’m so glad there’s a group of academics poised to tell us such things!
More helpful is the advice from Knowledge@Wharton via Forbes.com: Now is not the time to slash your ad budget! This harkens back to what I’ve preached for some time (see my Oct 15 post) but it is very hard for most small business owners to buy into. It takes particular intestinal fortitude this season, but this is precisely when it has the potential to pay off the Continue reading »
written by Nancy Chorpenning
\\ tags: Advertising, long-term planning, Planning
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