Pestworld Magazine Focusing on the Business of Pest Management
It’s no secret that pest management business leaders have an exceptionally demanding job. As you juggle countless day-to-day duties and challenges, it can be easy to lose sight of the future—and your long-term business plans can quickly go off the rails. Does any of this sound familiar? If so, it may be time for a strategic plan update.
“Business leaders should assess progress on their strategic direction at least annually,” says Jim Meffert, senior consultant at Tecker International LLC, a consulting services company. “The most successful businesses we have worked with build assessment of progress on their long-term strategic direction as part of their annual budgeting process and the development of annual operating plans. This helps leaders assess investment decisions, operations, personnel and more on a long-term, rather than short-term basis.”
As you probably know, a strategic business plan is like a roadmap to your future goals. It serves as your guiding light as you strive to improve, evolve and grow your business. In fact, studies show that a business plan doubles a company’s chances for success. According to a survey by Palo Alto Software, companies with business plans are twice as likely to grow their businesses or obtain capital as businesses without a plan.
Unfortunately, many companies write an initial business plan and then tuck it away in a dusty filing cabinet, never to be seen again. If you want to keep your business on track, it’s essential to assess and update this plan as often as possible. This enables you to look beyond the day-to-day tasks and keep an eye on long-term goals.
“Business leaders I work with struggle to stay focused on a long-term vision,” Meffert remarks. “Short term investments for publicly traded companies, the daily decisions all leaders must make, and an instinct to survive now—these all create significant challenges. We find that regular review of a long-term truly strategic business plan that is linked to annual operations and budgeting is essential to long-term success.”
Ready to get back on track with a strategic plan revamp? Here are a few things to keep in mind as you tackle this critical task.
By Amy Bell
