Everyone has plans. Some are formal. Some are informal. Putting your plans in writing usually helps you clarify your objectives and how to achieve them. Too often business plans are created only to satisfy the demands of partners, investors, or lenders. Once they have served their purpose you can find them sitting on a shelf – followed half-heartedly. They stare down like a snapshot of how you felt months ago, frozen in time. They are no longer relevant to your current situation. The prose is dead.
Executing your plan is more important than creating a plan. In order to be a useful guide your plan neesd to be dynamic. It should be regularly reviewed and updated to reflect changing circumstances.
As you prepare your plan, you always need to make sure you have the resources needed to execute. Equally important, you and your organization need to have the will to see your plan become reality. Will is the determination to complete your plans. It is the mental toughness to persevere.
This is where a written plan can really make a difference. You should share your business plan with everyone on your team. Parts of your plan may be confidential. If that’s the case, consider creating an abridged version or a simple one-page summary. That will help keep everyone on the same page, literally. Everyone needs to pull together to make your organization a success and your plan can point out the direction to pull.
Not every plan you make needs to be a formal document. But, if the success of your organization depends on a team to get things done, you need some way to communicate your plan and inspire the will to make it happen.