Don’t turn yours into a joke by getting the wrong help and taking the wrong direction with revising your strategic plan.
There are countless business strategic planning consultants and experts out there (although admittedly fewer with concentrated experience in the AEC business), and most all of them have some sort of a buzzword-laden process that they want to employ. But when it comes to strategic planning assistance, the only thing that matters is results. Did the planning effort put the firm on a new growth and market dominance trajectory or not?
Of course you won’t know that for a while. It could be a year or more after your plan is done before you find out the real results of your planning effort. What matters most isn’t the plan itself but rather the implementation of it and what happens with the business after the planning is done.
One cannot blame the mediocrity of most business plans entirely on the outsiders who helped craft them. The firm owners themselves are ultimately responsible for whatever it is they create and adopt for a plan. The firm owners are also responsible for implementing the plans. That said, a truly great plan IS more likely to generate excitement in the people who make up the company. If well-crafted, it is more likely to be followed. And if implementation of the plan shows signs of working early enough, that is going to help reinforce the plan and build momentum, and get even more traction for the plan as time goes on. Competent help here from a real business planning expert may not be a requirement of the planning process but definitely can be valuable.
I have been working with companies in our business for 44-plus years now – as an owner, manager, board member, and consultant. I have worked on and seen so many different plans and planning processes – I could probably fill a thousand-page book with all of the case studies of real businesses I have worked with over my career. And the truth is this – processes can help but anyone can go through a process and still end up with a lousy plan. It really boils down to a few fundamental things. Here they are:
- Understanding the people involved. It is foolhardy to think you can design a business plan for “what’s best” regardless of the people you already have in the organization. Your people are your opportunity and your constraint. And the owners of the business are the most important people of all. Whenever I have helped any company with their business planning, I have spent an inordinate amount of time getting to know the top people and what makes them tick. The more you know about them the better you can capitalize on their strengths and minimize their weaknesses. You cannot spend enough time getting to know the top people – it takes a serious effort. You have to get the top people into the right roles.
- Understanding the culture of the firm. “Culture” is not as mysterious as some people want to make it. It very simply comes down to what behaviors are rewarded in the firm and what behaviors are punished. You cannot craft a good business plan without having a clear picture of the culture. Many times the key to ultimate success of the planning effort requires changing the corporate culture. The wrong things are being rewarded. The wrong behaviors are being reinforced. Positive behaviors of goal achievement, playing well with others, quality, work ethic, and integrity have to be what’s most important.
- Understanding the financial aspects of the business. This is one place I see a lot of business planning consultants really fall down. They don’t understand the numbers of the business and what the numbers are saying about the business. This takes a deep knowledge of the industry and the same of finance, both. One or the other alone is not enough. Experience really does help here. I feel like I have learned so much about the financial aspects of our business over the years and am still learning every day. Capitalization, what creates value, pricing, efficiency, ownership transition, how the scorecard being kept impacts culture – there is a lot to know. And it all impacts the business planning.
- Understanding the markets served by the company. You can’t minimize this. The people in the business along with the clients they serve have to be the ones you listen to here. They must be asked to share their observations and recommendations. They can see trends unique to their specific industry that an outsider will never be able to see. And knowing these trends and where the market is heading should greatly impact what the AEC firm is going to do to address their needs.
- Understanding the macro environment the firm operates in. A wide range of general information gained by staying updated on current events may seem like a no-brainer when it comes to business planning, but a surprising number of people I know are burnt out or don’t want to make the time investment it takes to do this. It’s a problem. Yes, information overload is a problem, too, one that can give you a negative outlook. But spotting the risks and opportunities that present themselves when you are informed is invaluable and cannot be minimized.
Of course there is a lot more to this business planning stuff I have not covered here. Using clear language people understand is critical. Avoiding cliches is crucial to keep from turning people off. Having quantifiable goals is essential. Substantively defining what makes you unique in a sea of competitors is a requirement. Communicating the plan and constantly referring back to it is the only way to make it real. And being willing to update it or stray from it for many good reasons could be necessary as well. That departure from a strong plan is never easy.
The strategic business plan is but one tool of many you – as the leader of your business – can use to drive the growth, profitability, value, and enduring success of your business. If you get help with it, make sure you find the right help – people with the experience and personality necessary to make a real difference – not just people who will go through some sort of standard process!
Mark Zweig is Zweig Group’s chairman and founder. Contact him at mzweig@zweiggroup.com.
