That is really the essence of business planning: determining what the businesses will look like at a certain point in the future and what must be done to achieve that end. When you see your business declining, it is hard to engage in a formal planning process. It is not the formality that makes the planning process valuable. It is the work behind the plan.

That is the journey that is needed to initiate a rebound when you find yourself in a deeply depressed business environment. Each step of the way should be planned to make sure that the results are achieved. You will need to specify short-term survival objectives and long-term strategy implementations to survive and thrive. All major objectives can best be realized by developing a detailed set of projects with clear responsibility and scheduled target dates identified. (Projects may be independent or combine both short-term survival objectives … and long-term thrive goals.).

One of the many things that is critical to success with business planning and operations is to have a measurement system in place or at least in development to assure progress is actually being made. We will address some of the diagnostic steps; the judicious changes in thinking required; and the planning techniques you can use to develop your shorter-term plans in the balance.