In my last HVAC Talk blog I introduced the first half of my 60-minute business plan. We covered mostly big-picture business basics like identifying your issue, assumptions, values, and customer benefits. But, now, it’s time to take action.
Take your most pressing issue and prepare to resolve it with these final six steps of the 60-minute business plan:
- Obstacles: What obstacles currently exist to resolving the issue? Answer this question by listing what you currently struggle knowing how to do, such as how to measure employee performance or how to keep employee morale up. This technique turns we-can’t statements into we-will statements.
- Vital Signs: Select two items each from steps three to six to track, audit, and correct on a long-term basis. This will help you overcome the difficulty of your obstacles by staying focused on the importance of your values, vision, customer benefits, and other beneficiaries.
- Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities: Consider your company’s strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities as they relate to the issue. When considering opportunities, limit yourself to things you can easily change without a lot of disruption or expense.
- Strategies: Review steps seven (obstacles) and nine (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities), paying particular attention at this point to the obstacles and weaknesses categories. Choose three performance gaps from these categories and note the current and desired state of each item.
- Actions: What will it take to move the above strategies from current to desired status? Develop several possible actions that could advance your strategies.
- Title: Finally, identify three to four words to describe the vision you’ve developed for this issue. Think of this as a slogan meant to motivate yourself and your team into action and have fun with it.
In this second half of the 60-minute business plan, we move from obstacles to actions. If you want to take action on a business issue, get organized with this plan and let me know how it goes.
Mike Moore offers HVAC advice for managers, technicians, and sales teams daily on Facebook, Twitter, and a blog. Follow Mike and stay in the know.