One of the main problems with a business is being able to see the scope of the company at the very beginning. We need to give our business time to grow. And when we’re looking at the initial business plan, we’ve got to have an idea at the back of our minds as to what will happen in the next year or two. But the best thing for anybody to do is to go a little bit further. Five is the magic number! A five-year strategic plan is a way to track your progress but how can you develop an effective five-year plan?
Define The Company’s Objectives
Look at your statements of intent. Looking at what they are now is that they could very well evolve over the next few years. But your statement of intent doesn’t necessarily need to be the same as your mission statement. For example, if you want to eventually offer shares of your business to the public you’ve got to find ways of understanding IPO process, but also remember that the public ownership of a business is about more than siphoning off cash for yourself. Financial intent is a tricky one. Ultimately, when you look at a five-year statement you would like to hope that you are better off at the end. But you’ve got to make sure that the company’s objectives are clearly defined first before you start to think about your retirement fund.
Decide On A Strategy
There are so many aspects dependent on a well-executed five-year plan that you have to create an appropriate framework. There are various strategic planning techniques out there. Many frameworks only take into account the financial components. But the Balanced Scorecard approach doesn’t just take into account the finances but it focuses on growth and development, the customer, as well as the internal processes. Choosing the right strategy for your company gives you the opportunity to analyze specific indicators but also make it a framework for all the projects to come together from every part of your business.
Go Back To The Mission Statement
If you haven’t already created a mission statement you have got to go back to your vision. A strategic plan is about where you want to see your business in five years’ time, but you’ve also got to ensure that to reach that endpoint, that you stay focused on your vision. You need to write a vision statement but then create a mission statement, which is something completely different. The vision statement focuses on how you’re going to change your vision from where you are now to five years’ time. But a mission statement is timeless. It may very well remain a part of your business for decades. Usually, we have a solid vision in place and it’s just about putting the framework in to achieve that. But if you don’t have a mission statement it’s now time to truly drill down and look at what you want to achieve.
A five-year plan can seem vast but five years will go by quicker than you will realize!
