Think about strategic planning in a new way to build company worth
In previous posts we’ve covered how companies can grow their net worth by building a strong strategic thinking and execution muscle. We refer to doing so as giving a gift to your future self because when you go to sell your business, an acquirer will see the results of what your strategy has built and could make you euphoric with the premium value, or worth, that they place on your business.
But far too many company owners and CEO’s don’t have teams that are strong at strategy, in fact they are mostly tactical. Very good at their product or service and good at supporting their customer but in the long run, this alone doesn’t build an asset that a third party will pay handsomely for. Equally unfortunate, many owners and CEO’s overcomplicate what strategic planning is so they never build an effective muscle in this critical area. Today, we want to give you a more effective way of thinking about your strategic planning.
Strategic planning is filling your gap. Here are the 3 steps:
- 1.) Ask yourself where is my company today?
- Where are we strong in the market, where are we challenged?
- 2.) Ask yourself where do I want my company to be in the future – and how do I describe what will make me euphoric when you sell your business one day?
- What outcome do you want your company to deliver for you personally and professionally one day?
- 3.) Ask yourself, in looking at my answer to question #1 and my answer to question #2, what’s causing the gap between the two – in other words, why isn’t your company already at your future desired state?
- What are the primary gaps that are keeping your company from already being where you want it to take you?
- Identify what steps, or initiatives, you could work on to eliminate the gaps – what are these steps and in what priority should you address them
- In looking at the gap(s), do you believe your plan for your company could get you to your future desired state or is your plan not aggressive enough to close the gap(s). If your plan clearly isn’t going to get you where you want to be, what additional strategic steps could you take to close the gap.
We are intentionally over-simplifying strategic planning. But not by very much. Strategic planning is simply the art of knowing where you are, where you want to be and conducting an honest assessment of what’s causing the gap to keep you from getting there. Knowing the gap(s) and their magnitude will help you know today how audacious your plan does or doesn’t have to be.
Give us a call and we can help you take a fresh new look at the strategic planning at your company. Use time as a friend in preparing for your future euphoric exit event and leverage a new approach that could help you with breakthrough strategic thinking and accelerate building the net worth of your company.