According to a Dun & Bradstreet study, 96% of businesses in America that fail, fail because they don’t develop and implement a strategy to take their business where they want it to go. Noted author and speaker Tony Robbins has said that “one reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power.”
In the March 2015 Newsletter I covered the “The Five Roles of a Leader”. The first role is “Develop and cast a compelling vision for your business” and the second one is to “Develop a strategy for achieving the vision for your business”.
While it is great to have a dream or Vision for your business, you must have a plan for accomplishing your Vision. This plan is your strategy. Your strategy must lay out the specific details of how you will go about achieving your Vision.
In working with many, many clients over my lifetime I have seen that many business owners view the development of a detailed business strategy document or strategic plan as a daunting and overwhelming task.
Critical Success Factors
However, an easy and effective way to develop your business strategy is to use a Critical Success Factor approach to create your strategy. This enables you to produce a workable and executable plan in small, easily accomplished steps as compared to creating a strategic plan from scratch. Remember the old saying: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!
The reason that determining your business’s Critical Success Factors is so very important is because every business has limited resources—limited time, money, and talent.
Therefore, a business must focus and channel its effort into the most important areas for that business. Utilization of a Critical Success Factors methodology will allow you to properly deploy your business’s resources in ways that are targeted on your Vision and Strategy.
What is a Critical Success Factor?
Critical Success Factors are the things on which you need to direct your focus and concentrate your power!
Your Critical Success Factors are the things that will either make or break your business, that is, they are the things that your business must absolutely do, and do correctly.
They are the actions or objectives that are indispensable in order for your business to accomplish its Vision. The first step in determining your Critical Success Factors is to analyze your business and look for things that must be done correctly. If not, your business will fail—they are indispensable to your business’s success.
These are not just nice things to have or do in your business; they are the things that will either make or break your business. That is, if you accomplish your business’s Critical Success Factors and everything else in your business “falls apart,” will you still be successful. If it is not a make-or-break item, it does not belong on the list. For instance, re-doing your reception area most likely would not be Critical Success Factor whereas developing and implementing a comprehensive marketing plan could very well be a Critical Success Factor for your business.
Address All Six Areas of Your Company
In identifying your Critical Success Factors bear in mind that you must address all six areas of your company. These areas are:
1) Vision and Leadership—What is your Vision for your business and what Leadership are you providing to drive your business into your Vision?
2) Marketing and Sales—How are you going to market your products/services and what will your sales process be?
3) Production—How are you going to produce what you are marketing and selling?
4) Finance and Administration—How are you going to manage finances and handle administrative activities?
5) Human Assets—How will you best manage your “Team”?
6) Information Technology—How can you leverage your internal Information technology area so that it provides you a strategic competitive advantage?
After you have determined each of your organization’s make or break factors, then develop and record the game plan for making them become a reality. This document will then become the foundation of your Strategy to achieve the goals for your business. Once you have identified the pillars of your strategy, you can then flesh out your entire strategy.
If you need assistance with identifying your Critical Success Factors or developing a comprehensive Strategy to take your business where you want it to go, please feel free to contact us for assistance.
www.FountainheadConsultingGroup.com
Office phone: (770) 642-4220
