Upgrade Your BUSINESS

A strategic plan should start by asking “What is the real purpose of this organisation. What are we trying to achieve?”

         When you have a clear understanding of the situation and a good rapport with your staff, you will be ready to draft a workable plan.

(These steps apply to improving any type of organisation whether it is a small business, a school, a supermarket, a factory or a large international organisation.)

Five of the best tips to help upgrade an organisation

* Where do you want the organisation to go?

         What is your vision? What are your goals?

         Where do you want the business to be, and by when?

* What does the business do best ?

         Find out what is going on around you.

         What could be done better?

         What opposition is there?

         What are the long term prospects?

* Carry out a SWOT analysis

         List your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

         Decide on your priorities. Concentrate on your strengths and look for new opportunities.

* Prepare some SMART objectives

         These must be realistic and able to be measured. They should be like a journey.  

You need a map (plan), resources (a budget), a destination and a schedule and you will need to know when you arrive.  So make them SMART; Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and completed on Time.

* List the tasks to be done

         Plan each task and a get commitment from the key people to achieve the results by  specific dates.  

         Today’s preparations will determine tomorrow’s achievements.

–Geoffrey Moss

“Strategic planning doesn’t predict the future but it does help you cope with future contingencies.” 

Source: “Revitalise Your Business”, Moss Associates Ltd, and “Business Secrets” published by Cengage Learning Asia; by Se-Education Public Company Ltd, Thailand and Ane Books, India. Also available as e-books from Amazon.com and VitalSource.