3 things that need to be in your 2014 business plan

So if you are like us at PCE, you are already well into planning for 2014.

And part of that planning process invariably asks what is it that we do best and secondly what do we need to improve?

This is however where most business plans and therefore most businesses fail. What occurs thereafter are brainstorming sessions, that generate a plethora of ideas, of initiatives to deliver to go from "good to great" by innovating, coming up with the competitive edge that will blitz the competition.

Often the ability to deliver such growth is overstated and what ends up happening is that the business forgets to deliver the answer to the very first question : what is it that we do best?

Focussing on weaknesses highlights and delivers just that : weaknesses or at best improved weaknesses.

Paul Leinward and Cesare Mainardi (Harvard Business Review June 2010, pp 86-92) posed the question as to whether you business had the courage and discipline to focus intensely on what it does best.

Rather than chase business in markets where the company does not have capabilities to sustain success, "coherent" companies align what they do best with the right market positioning.

In other words they position their offer to their ideal clients in a way that resonates.

Every decision then is focussed on being able to answer 3 questions (the 3 that need to be in your business plan).

According to Leinward and Mainardi these are :

How are we going to face the market? In oner words : what is our value proposition? Understanding the value you create for the customer and being able to articulate it in a replicable/repeatable phrase is key here.

What capabilities do we need? In other word : To deliver on our value proposition what 3-6 capabilities to we need to display / deliver?

What are we going to sell and to whom? In other words: the product and services that make up the product mix are the ones that are key to your value proposition and highlight the capabilities that your business has, are delivered to the right customers in the right communication mix.

So the key is:

- figure our what you are really good at, develop the capabilities you have to deliver that so that they are best of breed, align this with the market place opportunities and be rewarded with sustained superior returns.

Ask these 3 questions in your business planning process : which by the way should include all team members (it's a great way to assess if you actually need to reassess whether the capabilities you have in your team are actually the right ones for you!!)