Calculated Planning
The statement, “In time of peace prepare for war” can take you by surprise. If you are reading this at the moment, I want to ask you, have you read or heard this before?
In what scenario would man’s mind work best for strategic thinking? When there is peace, or when there is trouble?
Yet, most individuals and businesses wait for war to react, barely surviving where they should thrive.
In this article, I have put together 3 simple steps for making calculated plans. Read all to discover what you have put in place and what you need to put in place.
3 Ts FOR ENGAGING CALCULATED PLANNING.
(Thinking, Testing, Treating)
- Thinking on paper (Write the Vision, Make it Plain).
A thought is a seed. And a simple thought can become a great idea. Ideas are successful when they are refined. That’s why we write them down. Then research, and write some more.
You can call thinking on paper planning. It helps you draw a vision no matter how big or small. It helps you ask questions like, who is doing what you want to do? Or something close. Who is doing as well as you or better?
Your research will help you answer questions such as what is your business – mission?
Where are you going – vision? Who are your customers and competitors? Who will you employ? When should you launch? How do you market? How much are you planning to make? How long will it take to recover your cost of investment?
Your thoughts become plans and must be documented in written form.
- Testing on paper. (Look before you leap)
Testing your plans is where many businesses fail with planning. Most businesses start the first phase of the test when doing their competitors’ audit, but never follow through with another test that checks what they have written in their plans.
Good plans don’t jump from paper to execution. You have to test what you have written down. You are not the only true wise king. Very many people have fought the battles you want to fight.
To test your ideas, pitch to experts or forerunners in the business you are focusing on. Take their critiques, questions and feedback. Create a minimum viable product.
An intending school owner can run a summer school camp as a test. A fashion brand can make samples for a few people and take their feedback. A food vendor can do a food sampling test.
Use the information you get from your pitch and the test to improve your plan. Document your lessons and they will guide you when you are ready to launch.
- Treating on paper. (Good is the enemy of better.)
Let’s call “treating on paper” the improvement of your previously documented plans, because successful plans never stop at testing. Otherwise, brands and businesses will never grow or make any progress.
As you document your plans, the need for improving never ends. You must keep a mindset of continuous improvement towards growth and profit maximisation.
Be flexible, but stay consistent with your vision and goals, review your plans and strategy. If there are wars or rumours of war, you can immediately go back to your book and check what you wrote about how you will deal with a particular business area if it gets problematic. That’s preparing for war.
As you explore the rest of the week, go back to your notes and check if you are missing any of these key points. If you haven’t started planning, get a pen, think, test and treat, then document your plans down. Write and run with it. Plan now when there is peace.
We would like to read from you. What are your business challenges in the first quarter of 2022?
You can write in the comments section, send us a DM, or send an email to feedback@streetsmartlab.com
©Adeyiga Awomuti
