Plan to Act: Join a GrowthCLUB

Plan to Act: Join a GrowthCLUB

Planning is a critical part of doing business. As a business owner however, do you get so busy doing things that you don’t have the time to plan the actions you need to be truly successful? Planning can seem cumbersome and without full organizational consensus, plans are often not implemented. Many believe that planning is ineffective and try to run their business moment to moment, or more accurately ‘by the seat of their pants’. Experts argue the contrary. “A business plan is also a road map that provides directions so a business can plan its future and helps it avoid bumps in the road. The time you spend making your business plan thorough and accurate, and keeping it up-to-date, is an investment that pays big dividends in the long term” (Entrepreneur.com, 2020).

https://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/business-plan

Without planning, frustration can take over, you end up doing a lot of rework and ultimately end up wasting resources on projects and activities that never bear fruit. Taking a moment to plan isn’t just good business, it could make the difference between experiencing a steady upward trajectory or having a sputtering, haphazard road ahead. But slowing down might feel the complete opposite to the entrepreneurial spirit that encourages you to sprint rather than a slow and steady pace.

Sometimes as a business owner you will create an initial business plan to meet funding requirements, then you pack it away never to be seen again. If you have ever had to create a business plan, I’m sure you understand how intricate and detailed they are. Comprehensive plans for a business overview often entail; an executive summary; marketing strategy; competitor analysis, design and development section; operational and management plan; and detailed financial reports. A useful business plan allows owners and investors to analyze the data collected which will identify specific projections of success. Once completed however, formal business plans are often never reviewed, revised or even read – they just gather dust.

A business plan should be seen as a living document. Regularly update and revised as necessary so that your business can be more proactive rather than reactive to changes made around you. For example,most businesses started the year 2020 with an optimistic outlook, some might have been more conservative than others due to their specific industry, but the majority of business owners were riding the positive waves of productivity and prosperity sweeping most global markets. Then overnight, the COVID-19 Pandemic changed everything.

The 2020 Pandemic swept the globe instantly and all plans for 2020 were sidelined in a matter of days. Over the course of 6-8 weeks for most businesses, it was crisis management mode. Whether you had to scale back, shut down or ramp up operations to meet new demands, no doubt you had to pivot and shift resources, capital, and employees immediately. Whatever plans were made have been replaced with whatever had to be done to simply survive.

As the Pandemic scare begins to subside and businesses reopen, nothing has been more crucial than to plan for the near future. It is vital that planning for a business not be relegated to intangible wish lists and hypothetical responses to ‘what if’  scenarios. Instead, a consistent and frequent business plan can lead to immediate success and help you establish long-term systems and processes for growth.

Regular and more short-term planning cycles allow a business to pivot and respond more effectively to external and internal changes. If an owner creates a healthy and productive planning process for their business, then at anytime and anywhere, they will always have vital information to hand. When a crisis hits, you won’t need to scramble to collect it. You are ready to jump into action, based on your ‘planned’ data, facts and historical information. You are well prepared for if something dramatic such as this pandemic happens to threaten the business’ well-being. Without a regular and consistent pattern of planning, from the outset business owners are starting on  the back foot. Using business planning as a means to end means that planning becomes an organic part of your business, instead of a special event.

At ActionCOACH the largest business coaching organizations in the world, certified business coaches such as myself establish regular planning cycles with our clients. Because planning is critical for success and often sheds light on opportunities, we use a systematic approach in which planning becomes a normal course of business. We develop planning habits through GrowthCLUB.  “It’s part of our comprehensive business coaching system. “GrowthCLUB is a unique approach to make planning regular and consistent”, says Brad Sugars, founder and CEO of ActionCOACH. “Market conditions are volatile and businesses have to adjust quickly. With new threats, like the pandemic, we have demonstrated to thousands of businesses just how critical business planning is regardless of size of the operation”, Sugars continues.

GrowthCLUB are held every 90 days and create actionable and relevant plans. GrowthCLUB is a quarterly workshop which was started to help clients and their management team plan and prepare their 90-day plan. The purpose of the workshop is to assess where a business is on their long-term plan and specifically what they did to achieve their goals in the last 90 days. In addition to a brief look back at what worked and what needs improvement, business owners work with their coaches to develop go forward plans for the next 90 days GrowthCLUBs are group events held virtually recently and provide business owners a way to share ideas with other business owners in a safe and non-competitive environment. GrowthCLUB is designed for business owners and employees to attend. It helps to increase learning and gives them a structure to plan growth in their business and personal lives.

To learn more about GrowthCLUB click here.
Sign up for a complimentary coaching session and find out how planning can transform your business.

Download this PDF to get beginner tips on business planning.