Businesses no matter what the size succeed or fail for many reasons. Persistence, hard work, the appeal of a product/service, marketing, customer demand or need can all play a part. Some say it is about luck; others say it is about ‘right time, right place’.
Most companies, divisions and departments fail because they have not thought through their strategic business plan after writing it, and instead merely put it on the shelf to never be looked at again. Many business owners and company leaders get tied up working “in” their business rather than working “on” their business, and therefore never really taking the time to plan the future.
For the successful organization, it not only needs a strategy followed by a practical business plan, but also requires the creation of a vision and a subsequent mission statement, to be followed by the implementation of that plan and regular checks of results throughout the year. Your best gauge of this progress is a Quarterly Business Review.
The Quarterly Business Review starts with analysis of the goals of the business:
a) Are they being accomplished?
b) What is the dollar impact?
c) Who is accountable?
Next a review of the organization is warranted:
1) Operations (new development, waste and production)
2) Sales and marketing
3) Talent and time management
Based on the results of the review, companies should have a good understanding of where they are stand and what still needs to be achieved. It is important to develop your plan and check each quarter that the business is meeting the stated goals. The wise suggestion is to examine the strategic plan every three months to confirm that the business is on the right track. If it is not, there is still the opportunity to correct it rather than waiting for year-end to be unhappily surprised.