Get your strategic thinking cap on

Here are some ideas on strategic thinking and building your business. How am I going to grow the business from “just me doing it, doing it, doing it” to having other people doing it and me managing it?

1. DEVELOP THE PRIMARY AIM

• Am I in the business to sell it or stay in it?
• Start with the end result in mind
• Why do I want to get there - pain/pleasure
• Plan past the goal (e.g. being rich, not just becoming rich)
• Write my life story as I would like it to be - achievements

2. DECIDE HOW BIG THE BUSINESS WILL BE, AND WHEN

• Is your strategic thinking Local, Regional, National?

3. ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

• How must the business feel, look and act to achieve the goal?
• How am I doing now? - strive to make up the difference
• Define an organisation chart, even for a small, one-man business
• Keep a daily log for two weeks, of every task performed, and in which box it falls
• In a small business, 90% of the time should be spent on strategic thinking work
• Visualise the business in process, write it down and hone until extraordinary
• How can I organise my time so more is spent thinking than doing? - have systems!
• Think about the business as though I was going to franchise it
• The Change Process: Innovate - Quantify - Document - Orchestrate

4. MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT

• Define the steps required to reach the goal
• Ensure control, replication, predictability
• Do everything by intention: cleaning the trucks, answering the phone, …

5. PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT

• Everyone has to perceive that they are in control: employees/customers/
• suppliers/lenders
• Do not depend on great people
• Inspire them, not motivate them (make your mission their mission)

6. MARKETING DEVELOPMENT

• Who buys? Why? - to solve their key frustrations (see “matrix” below)
• Define the business to employees, customers, suppliers, lenders - stun them
• Matrix: Make it visual, emotional, functional and financial
• Identify the key buyer type - Tactile/neutral/withdrawal, experimental/transitional/traditional
• Define a single marketing strategy to target the above - can’t please everyone!

7. SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT

• Visual: colour, shape, dress, logo, vehicles etc.
• Words: how, why, history
• MIS: keeping count and showing how the rest is working