Have you ever seen a bad business plan?
I asked a few bank managers and they agreed that they’d never seen a bad one.
But they did add that they’d seen many that did not work out in practice.
So this made me wonder why this would be the case.
How come people prepare a business plan and then have so much trouble in executing their plan?
Well the simple truth is that many of the plans were doomed to failure before they even began because the business owner did not understand the numbers behind the plan.
The plan was full of assumptions that were never verified properly and therefore may not have been correct even though they produced a favourable set of numbers and a great looking business plan.
- So did you verify the numbers properly in your business plan?
- What is your experience with achieving your business plan?
- How have you overcome this problem in your business?
I’d love to hear your feedback on this.
The key factors we’ve experienced are a) not being able to foresee external influences -in 2006/7 decisions made by investment banks in the US resulted in the GFC – the cost to our business was a complete shredding of the business plan and 10 yrs work. b) The business plan has to be a living breathing tool and revisted weekly, reviewed, corrective action taken and amendments made – most of us write it for the bank manager and put it in the bottom draw until next year. c) Staff buy in and involvement – if the staff don’t understand where they’re going, it won’t happen. Invite them to participate in the planning process and incorporate their own goals.