‘Planning is bringing the future into the present so that we could have a better tomorrow’.
April is a crucial month for many a companies to religiously revisit their business plans of last year and dwell on how to conduct business in the current year. Few companies use this annual ritual to create a path to growth and exploring windows of opportunities. Few companies discuss what failed last year and what to buttress in the following years. Success of the business plans largely rests on the 3 Ps of a company: People, Process and Products/Services. Most plans fail because of two reasons. Firstly, not identifying the right resources who would own and implement the plan. Secondly, not eliminating the bottlenecks that inhibit change. These failures occur because of “core rigidity, sticking to older ways and means of doing things even when the purpose and environment has changed. The major culprit causing this is the planning process itself.
In many companies the ideas flow from top, they are never questioned because of fear and rebuke. Another major cause is the subjective evaluation of performances and outcomes. Many companies carry senior resources on their roles who have neither the energy nor the commitment. Inability to control Smart Alec, Yes men, who like to be part of all strategy making but no responsibility is another jaundice that affects the low performing companies. Alignment of resources to the objectives and strategies of the plan is essential to achieve success. Make necessary business changes to derive desired benefits. Implement Process changes to bring in agility, clear ownership and reduction of waste. Cut down information latency, bring in continuous flow of information and efficiency in the activities of the organization. A good implementation strategy is breaking the plan into small buckets and to ensure the change is sustained. Finally, no plan works if there are no reinforcement mechanisms. Measure, control and direct to create an impact and achieve success with the desired change!
Pratibha Sharma
Sr. Asst Consultant (Strategy and Finance)