Creating business Plans - for people

So a few years ago now I started in the capacity of General Manager for Sitepoint (and what at that stage was Learnable), and what normally happens in this kind of scenario is that you go through a business planning (or re-planning in some cases) process.

This case was no different, and in my position that involved both learning about the team, products and clients of the new organisation while at the same time thinking about what type of process to go through and how to tackle things to get the best outcomes.

Before I started and during the hiatus between roles (read: while I was sunning myself in Bali!) I was thinking a bit about the process, and something that became obvious as I researched and planned this time round was that a huge amount of business planning can very easily devolve into a box ticking exercise, particularly in the cases of new business owners and those who haven't run the process before in any detail.

Everyone knows they need to have a plan - it strikes me that a lot of people can easily forget that they're writing it for people! So with that in mind I thought that I'd try to put together some thoughts on business planning for people, not box ticking.

Executive Summary

Surprisingly seems to end up as the biggest part of the document half the time - which might be a bit counter-productive!

People tend to say that this is the most important part of the document as it outlines everything about the business, the projects, projections of growth, mission statements etc. Guess what - the thinking is the most important part of the document, not the documentation!

I'd suggest that anything more than a one-page executive summary is basically a waste of time and effort - it won't get read for one thing, more importantly if you can't describe the key aspects of your business in a page you probably have some bigger issues to consider.

The Company

Describe your key dammit! Why is the company here in the first place - what is the offer, how will it be offered, again outcomes based is good - what does the vision look like and how will the company reach it - relating this back to the goals of the people who are going to be helping along the way is important as well, given they're likely to be your main asset at the start...

Setting out your values, your goals and vision in an easy to communicate and engage with way is one of the most important things you can do in a business planning process.

Organisation and Management

This section of the business plan is normally built on the premise that it provides a focus on the structure of the business. Practically this normally ends up being a bunch of charts with helpful org structures and other stuff that is likely not going to actually be the case further down the track when you actually get to the point of doing it.

Kind of necessary, but at the same time a more 'people-centric' (in this case staff and customers) approach is to look at outcomes of the functions - providing an ideal-state value stream map is a good lean-thinking alternative to the traditional org-chart that gets you closer to an outcomes-focused approach. Valuable as well as it provides people new to the organisation and trying to work out where their role sits with a pretty good idea of the expected outcomes of their function, normally a hell of a lot more useful than an org chart if you're hanging around in the kitchen two days into your new role trying to work out what you're supposed to do next.

Market Analysis

Normal market analysis suggests the process of describing how large the expected market is, pricing structure, how you will remain competitive etc. What tends to get left out a lot is data on potential customers (interviews with actual customers are probably good too!). Harder to do in the nascent stages of a business but not hard at all in a running business in planning mode, and really useful if you want to get a handle on what people are expecting from your brand.

Services

Providing a more detailed view of what you are offering. I really like the approach of taking a customer-centric view on products and services (and we have done this during the process we've just been through). Why do our customers come to us in the first place - what are they looking for, and what is it that makes them leave if we're not providing it?

I'm subscribing more and more to the idea that you need to understand your competitors but not be focused on them and what they are doing, particularly in markets where there is a lot of opportunity - instead focus on your customers...what do they really need from you. Then make sure that you're providing it as an experience that makes them sing.

People

Okay so this section isn't one I've seen separated out to often in business planning, and it really should be. If you haven't done the other stuff properly, you're going to have a problem in this area at some point sooner or later.

As I said earlier people are going to be the most important asset you have in your early phases, so you want to have a real focus on the type of business you want to be and how you want your people to work, grow, interact and 'live' with your business (you're one of them too remember, so that goes for you too!).

The process of considering what you want for yourself and the people who will work in your business is one of the most important aspects of a business plan in my opinion - particularly for businesses that grow...getting caught short in this area can hurt a lot further down the track.

Financial Projections

Yep, if you want to run a business a keen eye on finance is important - just do it graphically and visually...not only is it easier to deal with for people but they retain the information better that way - and you want people to have a view to the finances!

Transparency on financial aspects of a business I now believe is absolutely key to having a successful business - how can anyone ever expect to see a business succeed with transparent targets and priorities in finance (and in other goals too!). Telling people what your working towards makes good sense to me.

Finally

The business plan is the first serious step toward starting a new business (or towards pivoting a current one!). A lot of businesses fail in the early stages, but it is absolutely true that you set yourself a much better chance of success through properly planning objectives, goals and strategies.

My advice, having done this a couple of times now, is to do it in such a way that you bring people along with you - successful businesses are those who are people-centric and who concentrate on their people as well as their finances and targets. Engaged, informed and supported people are a lot more likely to carry the plan to where it needs to go.