You take a deep breath, and slowly push your seat away from the desk. Your inbox is empty, your notifications are cleared, your texts are returned and you have nothing else to do in this moment than reflect on your strategic plan and think about where you want your business to be in five years.
Said no business owner, ever.
More likely it goes something like this.
There are 25 things you have to do now, all of them urgent. Your email is blowing up, your smart watch is buzzing with text notifications and your calendar is reminding you of an appointment in 15 minutes that you totally forgot about.
There is a kinetic energy generated by constant busy-ness that propels us from one task to the next, but without clear direction, that momentum can lead us down a path we never intended to take. Sort of like the ‘good ole days’ when the family would take a mystery ride on a Sunday afternoon, only to find the mystery was that you had no idea where you were or how to get home.
Strategic Planning is like a GPS for your business. Your company vision is your destination, and the tactics you use towards that end will keep you moving in the right direction.
It is a sobering statistic for a business owner to face, but only half of start-ups survive more than five years and only one-third make it to 10. (source: www.sba.gov). And for those larger, long-standing institutions, we know you are more than familiar with the distractions that keep you from focusing on the company mission.
Clarity around where you want your business to be in 1 year/5 years/ 10 years is critical. It’s a big question. It’s an important question. And it deserves dedicated time to consider.
Don’t have a strategic plan in place? No worries. We’ll address that in our next blog.
