Strategy and Planning
At Joseph Hale Advisors our team brings extensive strategic planning, insight, and a commitment to helping businesses like yours to develop a strategy for your wealth plan fueled by growth, not one that holds you back. At Joseph Hale Advisors, we help you identify the drivers of growth, the resources needed and the plan to execute for maximum success.
You may have set goals in the past, but those goals sometimes remain unmet if not managed and measured on a regular basis. The bad news is that there are many reasons why strategic goals are not achieved. The good news is that most of those reasons will be eliminated by following the steps outlined below. These 7 steps unlock the road to long-term strategic planning success that will fortify your wealth plan. JOSEPH HALE ADVISORS will facilitate all of this process for you.
Consensus from the Ownership Group
Before you start planning, be clear and in agreement on the elements to be addressed in your strategic wealth and business plan. There are many facets to consider: financial metrics like valuation, cash flow, business metrics like geographies, products, services, and personal or family goals including succession, community, cultural or employee matters …anything else on your list?
Include your senior leadership team in this process but ensure the senior leadership team has experience in these processes or coach them up. This team will be responsible for the implementation of the plan over time. Consider providing the senior leadership team with a long term incentive linked to your wealth success. We can help.
Start with an Annual Strategic Plan
Many companies try to start with a three-year plan or longer, only to find large gaps between the reality of what the Strategic Planning Team believes that they can achieve and the tasks necessary to get there.
So, keep your first plan to a single year. The Strategic Planning Team will be able to connect better to a period that is easily understood and still embrace the tasks that will stretch them toward those big goals. The three-year plan comes later when the Strategic Planning Team is experienced in the process.
Schedule a Strategic Planning Event and a S.W.O.T. Analysis
Strategic planning takes focus so schedule an offsite event with no interruptions.
Strategic planning starts by identifying what the company is, what it is not and what it could be in line with the owners’ wealth expectations. This is accomplished by a brainstorming session called a S.W.O.T., to identify Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Make sure you know “What moves the needle?”
Those details are surfaced by the Strategic Planning Team and converted to, companywide goals to accomplish in the next 12 months.
JOSEPH HALE ADVISORS will facilitate this process for you.
Assigning an Owner to Every Agreed Element of the Plan
Once the plan is surfaced, every big goal, supporting goal and even individual steps need to be “owned” by one Strategic Planning Team member who is responsible for its completion.
This does not mean that the person is responsible for doing all the work necessary to reach the goal, but rather that they are tracking progress and accountability.
Having more than three annual goals per team member potentially reduces the likelihood of success, so stick to three goals or fewer. Warning: Goals owned by more than one person will not get done, so don’t fall into that trap.
Make your Goals S-M-A-R-T
Use S-M-A-R-T goals as your guide; Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time bound. Document and break down key goals down into quarterly and monthly steps so that the goals seem impossible to miss. JOSEPH HALE ADVISORS will facilitate this process. The plan will be incorporated into a projected income statement and balance sheet for the next 12 months and beyond. JOSEPH HALE ADVISORS will coordinate modeling with your finance team.
Anticipate the impact of your Strategic Plan on the Balance Sheet
The Strategic Planning Team now has plans to generate more sales, increase profitability, hire more personnel and introduce new products or open a new location. That’s fantastic, you are well on the way but, what effect does the plan have on accounts receivable, inventory, accounts payable? And what capital investment does the plan need? And how do you fund it? JOSEPH HALE ADVISORS will facilitate these discussions.
The First 12 Months …. Check, Check and Re-Check
Use the Tools you Already Have – Just Sharpen Them!
The planning event is done, the S.W.O.T. is done, S-M-A-R-T goals are identified and written up with ‘small steps’ towards execution.
Now let’s work on measurement and its cousin, accountability, with your finance team. They likely have all the information you need in your accounting system – make it work for you and the Strategic Planning Team instead of just using the system to keep the historic score.
Your CFO is Your Friend in this Process – Have time set aside in your monthly or quarterly Strategic Planning Review meeting to review a financial summary of progress against the Strategic Plan.
From History, Spot Trends to Identify Expectations
The finance team can produce a 13-month side-by-side income statement look back and 12-month forward look with sales and gross profit broken out by departments or products with quantities or volumes identified. Those unit trends are an invaluable measurement tool and will allow the Strategic Planning Team to see what is happening against expectations.
The Strategic Plan – Year 2
Bring in the Managers
Have the Strategic Planning Team present the Plan to all their Managers. Make sure the management team understand the basics, it might take a couple of months, but you will be amazed how it sharpens their focus. Encourage feedback and suggestions.
Keep the Strategic Plan Visible and “Front and Center”
Out of sight is out of mind. Don’t get so caught up in day-to-day activities and fail to plan the course to get to your desired destination. Meet and review progress at least quarterly and stay on top of your goals to identify accountability issues within the team.
Acknowledge your Success
If you have championed the process and held people accountable along the way, make sure you celebrate as a team when you hit your goals.
One of the most often identified attributes that employees desire is a sense of purpose. Including them in your strategic plan and celebrating victories with them will give them that sense of purpose that they so desire. Your team will be glad that you did.
Let’s Talk Strategy – Strengthen Your Wealth Plan
Talk Strategy With Us Now – Schedule a consultation and start optimizing your financial future today.