Are you Planning to Fail?

The old saying: “Failing to plan is planning to fail” is never truer than it is in these busy, fast moving times in the economy.
If you and your business do not have clear-cut plans for at least the next 12 months, the chances of still being in business this time next year are drastically reduced. Your team should all be on the same page with clear objectives and strategies for the near and far future.
Plans bring ideas and people together into a focused laser beam strategy that will coordinate effort and energies into a single destination. This obviously starts with a clear Vision, mission and purpose for the business. Then breaks down into long term goals and short term plans, sprints and accountability.
But remember that setting goals is like a budget: you need to measure your actual against it on a regular basis. Goals need to be timelined with critical paths and actual progress mapped against each activity. This gives you, the manager, a clear understanding of where you are and what may be any issues or obstacles that need managing around. This, when communicated to all team members build momentum and results in forward driven progress.
So, is it not time to sit down and map out a plan for 2017?