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Business Planning: Planning is Management

by Tim Berry, Guest Blogger

  • Created: February 12, 2010, 12:21 am
  • Updated: December 12, 2011, 8:12 pm
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27 comments

Planning should become management and better business, long-term progress towards goals, prioritizing, and focus; but you have to do it. It’s up to you to make your planning work. It’s not really about the plan, per se; it’s about the discipline to use the plan to run the business.

 

A good business planning process grows organically; it evolves as your business evolves. With monthly review schedules and performance tracking, your planning, unlike the classic plan document, stays alive and present – on top of your mind where you consider it regularly.

 

For that to work, you have to keep assumptions at the forefront. You have to develop accountability by setting goals, usually with metrics, and then following up on performance with people.

 

Keep the plan visible, to all team members, using the review meetings if nothing else. Ideally, key points, numbers, metrics, and assumptions are somewhere that team members can see them.

 

 

Message Edited by AriM on 08-28-2009 12:15 PM

About the Author

Tim Berry's Profile Picture

Founder and Chairman of Palo Alto Software and bplans.com, on twitter as Timberry, doing social media business planning at smbplans.com, and blogging at timberry.bplans.com. Stanford MBA. Married 42 years, father of 5. Author of business plan software Business Plan Pro and www.liveplan.com and books including The Plan As You Go Business Plan, published by Entrepreneur Press, 2008.

Tags: Community Blogs, Business Planning Tutorials

Comments

Matthew09 | Window Shopper | 10/19/2011 - 7:45 am

Every successive business required a successive planning. Planning makes the programmer perfect and easy to handle. Planning is the complete and perfect source to minimize the chances of misleading. personal training richmond

Matthew09 | Window Shopper | 10/19/2011 - 6:39 am

Every kind of business management wants to develop the business management but the question is that how is it possible? I think this is enough for them. personal training richmond

Matthew09 | Window Shopper | 10/19/2011 - 6:14 am

Ledership development is the most important tool that makes the man perfect for business developement. personal training camberwell

Matthew09 | Window Shopper | 10/19/2011 - 3:52 am

Business planning is the most important tool for the business succession. It provides better decision for the business succession.home builder melbourne

Matthew09 | Window Shopper | 10/19/2011 - 3:23 am

Yeah, Really no doubt in this. Beceause you know a little bit about Planning is Management. Even if you don't know everything, you've done something worthwhile: you've expanded your knowledge. personal training melbourne

sinela | Window Shopper | 10/19/2011 - 2:37 am

I totally agree. To succeed you need to set your business goals, create a business plan and stick to it. This applies to every business; I employed it in my home internet business and each time I miss prioritizing the tasks I fail.
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White Media | Performer | 8/23/2011 - 4:13 pm

Planning truly does go a long way. When a good plan is instate, a team will form to execute that plan. The perfect example of this is a client of mine, an oral surgeon on long island . His business plan was so clear and focused, that his success was a logical product of that.

alfonsocole | Window Shopper | 8/22/2011 - 11:08 am

no business will succeed without planning. i had to take several courses in planning my auto transport business
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samuel07 | Window Shopper | 8/4/2011 - 10:22 am

I really admire and appreciate your firm and well fabricated thoughts on business plannings.Plans don't work unless and until they are not well guided towards the right path.And we should have to make our business plannings flexible for the upcoming future to make some changes according to the demand if it really needs that.Thank you for sharing such a great great business awareness with us. outdoor kitchen equipment
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cxoclub92 | Window Shopper | 8/4/2011 - 1:20 am

What a blog for the business planning i love your planning and i also use this in my business http://www.cxoclub.com/
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