“Plans are only good intentions until you carry them out.”

“A plan is not a static thing – it’s dynamic, and changes must be made to respond to changing environments.”

         As a leader, it’s your job to make sure the organisation survives and lives within the budget – for a commercial organisation good profits are essential for the organisation to survive.

         Managers must focus on some basic functions;

strategic planning, organising, directing, motivation, effective communication, and getting things done.

Strategic Planning

         The starting point is a vision, mission, or policy statement. This should clearly define the ambitions of the organisation in writing for all to see. Section leaders and their people should set goals needed to set strategies to achieve the vision.

Goals

         Goals are desired results – the end of an effort. They are often hard to measure but people know when they have been achieved.

Environmental scan

         This involves research to tell what’s going on around you. Look at your competition, international developments, and the political climate.

Situation Audit

         Take a hard look at your organisation. What does it do best? What could be done better? Can you give your clients a better service? Can you improve the quality of your products and services? etc.

A SWOT Analysis

         To help clarify the situation try a SWOT analysis

What are your  Strengths

                           Weaknesses

                           Opportunities and

                           Threats?

“At the beginning, there was much to do, but by whittling away, the tasks became few.”

Set SMART OBJECTIVES

         An objective is like a journey. You need a map (a plan), resources (a budget), a destination, and a schedule. You will need to know when you have arrived.

         Objectives should be SMART

                                              Specific

                                              Measurable

                                              Available

                                              Realistic

                                              Time-bound

Your ACTION PLAN

         Lists tasks and jobs to be done to meet your goals and objectives. Who does what by when?

         Carve large tasks into small bites and deal with one bite at a time.

“A vision goes downwards and the action plans and reports flow upwards.”

Geoffrey Moss(mossassociates.co.nz)