Business Planning Services

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Organize, Plan and Manage Projects

  • Projects start out as an idea to achieve something new or different; a higher or new capability, a new level of knowledge, fixing a problem, etc.
  • Usually only the objective is stated, but how to accomplish the objective in a good time, at a minimum cost and achieve a quality result?

What I do...

Plan
  • I begin by writing down every possible step I can think of, as they come into my head. This is the WBS (Work Breakdown Structure)
  • I then organize this list to show
    • Approximate sequence
    • Which tasks can be done in parallel
    • Dependencies among tasks
  • A review of this reordered task list often identifies tasks I missed the first time.
  • Next I estimate the hours or days it will take to achieve each task
  • Finally I place the tasks on a time-line, taking into consideration task dependencies, ability to work on tasks in parallel and the number of resources (people) available to work in parallel.
  • If the project has many tasks, or is complex, I enter the tasks into MS Project.

We have now achieved the most difficult part - planning the work. Next we must work the plan. A favorite quote: "Failure to plan is a plan for failure"

Execute
  • As the execution phase begins, I track progress of each task and note changes in the schedule based on actual times.
  • The plan is continually adjusted as work continues and change occurs (resources, delays, unforeseen impact, etc.)
  • Finally, I bring the project to a conclusion, since projects, by definition, have starts and stops. Clean-up is done and the result is fully integrated into the company's operation.

Strategy

  • Strategy has two components, development and execution.
  • While I am capable of execution, I am more interested in strategy development

What I do...

Brainstorming
  • Some of the best ideas to improve the business come from employees, especially when they hear ideas from others. One idea spawns another.
  • I facilitate lively brainstorming sessions with groups of employees to stimulate idea generation around the topics of cost reduction and increased sales. I record the ideas on a visible flip chart and later develop action plans around them.
  • While they may not combine into a cohesive strategy, they can lead to new opportunities, solve problems and stimulate morale.
SWOT Analysis
  • SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats) analysis capture the ever changing environment of business.
  • I build up each category through interviews inside and outside of the business.
  • I periodically review the result with the business owner to determine if changes to existing strategies are required or if new strategies are needed.
Continuous Improvement
  • Every function and every group has room for improvement. But do they have a strategy to improve? An organized program to follow?
  • I begin by identifying the components of the business that are in the greatest need of improvement.
  • Next I will interview the owner and any intermediate management to identify where and how the component needs to improve.
  • Then I will turn the people doing the work, and perhaps use a brainstorming session to capture further areas or ideas.
  • Ideas and opportunities for improvement are then recorded and organized. Priorities, estimates, resources and measurements are attached to each.
  • An action register is set up for the first meeting with the stakeholders. Each item is discussed and assigned a lead person.
  • Periodic meetings are used to review the action register, progress since last time, resolve issues and identify new opportunities to improve.
  • The objective is to continually move forward until the action register is exhausted.
  • It is the persistence of the regular meetings, management attention, visibility of the action register and individual assignments that makes this work.
Structured Decision Making
  • Too often decisions among alternatives are made based on a mental picture of pros and cons. Almost always the importance given to pros and cons will vary between any two people.
  • In these situations, I prefer to use a more quantitative approach. I begin by making a matrix of alternatives across the top and pros/cons down the side.
  • Next we (participants in the decision) assign a importance weight to each pro or con.
  • Then we score each intersection of the matrix.
  • A little math that applies the importance weight will yield a score per alternative.
  • This method should not be used as the only criterion to decide, but certainly should be considered before the decision is made.

Problem Solving and Continuous Improvement

  • Often a business owner knows that problems exist within some part of the business, but doesn't have the time or resources to learn the root cause.
  • Examples of problems could be poor customer service, stock-outs, ineffective marketing campaigns, decreasing sales, decreasing profits, etc.
  • Too often, the symptoms are addressed, which masks the root cause and can make the problem even more complex.

What I do...

  • To understand the issue, I look at the one or more business processes involved. Other tools like Fishbone Diagrams can be helpful.
  • Next I try to measure the problem and contributing factors over time.
  • Pareto analysis is a powerful tool to measure contributing factors in an order from most to least. The greatest contributor to the problem is then analyzed and broken into its components. Pareto analysis is used again until I get to base contributors.
  • As I discover the factors that contribute to the problem, I develop remedies for each
  • These are then organized into a continuous improvement program, giving priority to the largest contributors to the original problem.
  • Once the improvement program begins, I measure results at all levels to ensure continuous and lasting improvement.