A company’s ability to facilitate change through practical business planning practices is what makes transformation most effective.
The company has never undergone a formal business planning process for its departments. The finance department created an annual plan based on the previous year’s performance and predictions for growth in the upcoming year. The CEO wants the core departmental units (sales, marketing, and operations) to engage in the planning process to make the organization more hands-on, empowering the departments to achieve the company’s annual targets and goals.
The ABP spans a period of three to ten years. The ABP incorporates growth projections, revenues, profits, costs, marketing initiatives, brand product innovation, and the resources and investments involved in reaching the desired destination. The ABP illustrates all the details of how the company will operate and make its profits and revenues.
About business planning
An organization’s culture must be based on solid frameworks and disciplines. High-performing companies have a clear vision, superior leadership, and both short-term and long-term strategies. The high-level business targets are clear and aggressive but realistic, and they are adjusted regularly based on market situational structure and change needs each time. Employees feel a sense of urgency to change and have developed organizational capabilities to facilitate a change all the way through to execution. The organization consists of a few organizational layers with a strong sense of urgency. Full accountability is then fostered down to the lowest levels within the organization, founded on clear role-sorts and job descriptions.
Strategic marketing is set under the highest focus, and consumers and customer services are at the center of all thinking. Open cross-functional access between departments and business units enhances the proper sense of urgency, reducing complacency cultures. Employees get paid for their performance, and all departments have separate P&L targets (profit and loss). The key business indicators dashboard is constantly reviewed, measured, and tracked against actual performance. The culture, behaviors, and management methods must be appraised annually through a firm performance management process. High-performing company leaders deliver business targets at high confidence levels.
Our change process
Help the company and the departmental business units to design and develop a best-in-class business planning process that will be formally introduced and approved by the board of directors.
Core modules and content:
- Where are we at?
- Mastering winning strategies
- Rethink your business model
- Strategic marketing
- Develop strategic business plan
- Business unit pursuit of excellence
- The BP presentation and approval process
Formulating a business planning process for the first time is the most difficult. Learning and experience have proven it takes two to three years to engrave best-in-class business planning processes and winning cultures into organizational cultures.
Business planning is now regular
The company conducts an annual business planning process as part of its standard practices. Target and goal numbers are achieved through aggressive yet realistic objectives. The company grows sales and profits faster than its competitors.