In Business Planning, it's not size that matters, but how you use it.

Business planning is a competency that successful companies have acquired over time.  The question is:  how should the planning function be structured within the organization to optimize resources and achieve competency? We tend to think that size matters. I suggest it is not size, but how the function is utilized. 

I have led planning departments in silo driven organizations where department functions are hived off from one another and in a shared services organization. I prefer the shared services model because it is more efficient, engaging and builds organizational competency in planning. 

The silo model is more expensive to the organization, and may not necessarily result in the ultimate goal of building organizational competency for business planning. I would suggest that the days of large internal planning departments are less effective both financially and culturally. 

Consider the following.  

 A larger organization of 500 - 1000 employees, for example, often has a 6 person executive team, covering off the competencies needed to run the business: Finance, Communications, Human Resources, Technology, Operations and Marketing. Each of these executives is responsible to lead the organization to its strategic future.  From a resource perspective, their commitment to strategic planning should be about 80% of their time.  The other 20% of time should be dedicated to providing direction to their respective departments. 

In the Corporate environment where the governance structure consists of a shareholder or owner and board of directors, the business planning function often includes a strategic and operational business planning process, reporting cycle and development of business documents such as the business plan, quarterly reports, board reports, staff communications and strategies. The business planning function must also facilitate integration with enterprise risk, finance, communications and human resources performance management processes.  

In the silo business planning department model, the staff compliment may include a director - level at $100K plus, an analyst at $65K, a manager at $75K plus, and an administrator at $45K  for a grand total of almost $285K plus benefits.  

Here is a breakdown to time for a department that runs the corporate planning and reporting process:

• Administration:  8 weeks / year.   
• Document writing and review:  12 weeks/year. 
• Research and analysis of the environment: 3 weeks 
• Balanced Scorecard development: 3 weeks 
• Facilitation of executive, board planning:  4 weeks 
• Facilitation of management planning (assuming 6 departments):  6 weeks 
• Approval process:  3 weeks (assuming board and shareholder)
• Reporting coordination, writing and review:  4 weeks 

That's a grand total of 43 weeks / year.  The average available number of weeks for each employee is 32 weeks, allowing for weekends, statutory holidays, days off and vacations.  

The price tag of $285 K plus benefits does not utilize resources well, nor does it invite integration or shared learning. The resources are not utilized to their full capacity.  If the department is staffing 4 full time equivalents (FTEs), that means the company is paying for 128 weeks of time, 85 of which are not being used effectively.   

However,  in a shared services model, it is possible for one person with senior capabilities to lead the process with support. The Office of Strategic Management Model (OSM) by Kaplan and Norton provides the structure for this approach.  

In the OSM model, the role of the business planner is to direct and facilitate the process from the board, executive and management level, as well as to develop and implement the processes for implementation within other departments. 

The business planner will need access to administrative support to coordinate the process and book meetings, etc.(about 8 weeks / year), a person with communications expertise to help with the writing and document preparation and reporting, (about 12 weeks / year) and the borrowed time of a research or policy analyst if one exists elsewhere (about 4 weeks / year).  If the organization has a project management office, then a project manager's time of 4 weeks can be useful in assisting with the development of initiative plans that will later become projects.   

The business planner works hand in hand with the executive and the various managers to facilitate the development of integrated plans.  He or she must be adept at building relationships, interpreting information and working in an integrative manner across different teams, establishing a cooperative and collaborative approach.  

Given the role as director and facilitator of board, executive and management planning, the business planner requires an outsider's view. As an employee, the functionality can be marred by internal politics or power struggles which can cloud the process.  The business planner ultimately is responsible to the CEO, and therefore should not report to an individual member of the executive, but should work with all executives. 

Therefore, in my experience, while there are benefits to being an employee, there is greater value for the organization to hire an external resource on a 3 to 5 year contract to lead and integrate the process within.

 The organization can realize the same benefit for nominally less than $285K per year by using an external resource and opening the doors to an integrative shared services environment. 

The big pay off with an OSM / shared services model  is the creation of a strategy focused organization.  The company builds competence in business planning through engagement and making it part of their jobs.  That way, the organization is more successfully able to communicate the plan and integrate it into performance management processes at the employee level.  

Culture plays a big part in the success of the shared services / OSM model, where learning and cooperation are not only preferred, but expected.  From a leadership perspective, this type of organization is more effective and engaged, thereby increasing the opportunity for success. If the executive is indeed dedicating 80% of their time to strategic and collaborative leadership, then the shared success model has a greater chance of success.  

Once an organization can bring plan, people and processes together, profitability becomes more accessible.  The organization through this process of alignment becomes nimble and able to act on opportunity and weather storms.

Business Planning: Why you should do it.

Think of it this way:  You are driving down the highway at night, with your high beams on.  You can see the road, the ditch (for about 4 car lengths).  A deer shoots out in front of you and you have to react.  During the light of day, you would have seen it coming, and in fact, you would have seen them in the field much earlier.Having no plan is driving in the dark with a limited line of sight to react.

Lack of planning is one of the big reasons for failure in business.  According to Industry Canada, 80 percent of small and medium sized enterprises will not be around in 10 years.  Those that have developed skills in planning, communications, human resources, finance, operational effectiveness and technology and information management tend to have a better chance of survival and growth.

Growth is linked to the intent to growth.  Intent is established in planning.  Many business owners and entrepreneurs can see it, but they can`t say it. Some can`t see it, say it or write it down.  Neither are effective. The inability to see it and say it immediately limits the road upon which you travel. The company may well thrive as long as the owner is alive and able to keep the dream alive, but with no shared vision, there is no legacy.

Industry Canada says that we are facing a wave of retirement in the SME market, and that succession will need to occur for these businesses to continue. Without a succession plan in place, we could see these businesses sell or close their doors as a result.  This is no different than the family farm concept.  If the business planning does not occur, quite often succession is not in place and the land and farm are sold off in whole, or in parts.

There is a misnomer that small and medium sized business do not need to engage in formal planning processes and that a budget will suffice.  Business is business. Large or small, every business must be good at  certain things: planning and executing, communicating, human resources, finance, and marketing.

Business planning is number one on the list for these reasons:
1. It creates clarity. Vision and foresight shines the light on what is ahead, including trends, opportunities and risks.  

2. It creates focus on what needs to get done and keeps the business on track. 

3. It allows for balance. It allows the organization to look at multiple perspectives at once. 

No matter the size of company, organizations that apply business planning practices reap the following rewards: 

1.  Accountability is defined, so things get done. This gives the shareholders and stakeholders confidence in the management of the company. 

2.  Clarity about the the direction and goals of the company provides a clear line of sight for employees and owners. 

3.  What matters most is defined, creating focus.  

4.  Resources are aligned and money is spent in accordance with the goals of the company. 

5. Priorities and pressures are more easily managed within a cycle, instead of adhoc reactions. 

6.  Reviewing the plan allows for adjustments as needed. 

7. Companies that plan and execute are more nimble because they have developed competency in foresight, decision making and execution. 

8.  Companies with a business plan can more easily keep their eye on multiple facets of their business including customer satisfaction with products and service, employee satisfaction and experience,  internal processes and business practices, and the financial outcomes.  

Business planning is one of those things that you don`t know that you don`t know until you know.  Sounds confusing, but it`s like seeing in the dark.  If you never knew there was daylight, you would not know what you could have seen until you experience day light. 

But when the light goes on, the `aha`moment of what is possible with a plan is worth the journey.  That`s why I do what I do. 

Planner's nightmare realized.

Planning is one of those things you love, or not.  For some it is painful, possibly because of an experience.I have done some thinking about this and here are some conclusions as to why this phenomenon is occurring so vehemently.

1. We use words that no one else would use in the real world.

Planner speak: "Honey, I have undertaken an initiative to achieve maximized revenue potential by offsetting our spending in key focus areas, such as footwear, automobile usage and entertainment. This is necessary given that our financial strength is at risk this quarter, and I fear our shareholder will require additional capital, thus impacting our long term goal of future sustainability."

People speak: "You cannot spend another dime on shoes, hauling kids around and hanging out with your friends because we are broke. The bank is taking our house so we are out on the street.


2. We think flow charts are good communication tools.

Planner speak:

Step 1 - develop an environmental scan.
Step 2 - document risks.
Step 3 - Assess risk.
Step 4 - Develop action plan.
Step 5 - Seek approval.
(Step 5A: Make adjustments based on feedback.
Step 6 - determine resource requirement.
Step 7 - seek approval.
Step 8 - Implement.
Step 9 - Feedback.

People speak: What do we need to do? How much money do we need? How many people do we need?


3. We force them to do stuff they haven't done since grade school.

Planner speak: OK everyone, let's count off from 1 to 4:

Group 1 - you are talking about how we are going to achieve our employee satisfaction target of 80% in 5 years.

Group 2 - you are talking about how we are going to maintain our customer satisfaction rating of 85%.

Group 3 - you are talking about how to achieve our CSR Index of 85% by 2014.

Group 4 - you need to tell us how we are going to achieve our revenue targets by 2014 and ensure our expenses are in line."

People speak:

Group 1: Why should we care about employee satisfaction? Isn't it good enough that they have a job?

Group 2: "When do we go for a beer? OK, who is going to write this down. OK, so what do you think. Yea, I think so. That's good enough.

Group 3: Does anyone know what a CSR index means?

Group 4: We're expensive because you guys waste money. And we can't get our stuff done because you guys don't do what you are supposed to do.

All: OK. Who's presenting? (Tip: Pick the keener wanna-be planner with the smelly marker up his nose.)"


4. We think everyone cares.


Planner speak: "We will align the organization by ensuring each department plans includes the core measures of the balanced scorecard. Each measure will have supporting initiatives. (Pointing to the strategy map). At the end, we will document all the measures, targets and initiatives and be able to conclude that alignment is occurring and where gaps exist."

People speak: "blah, blah, blah. When is this over? If my boss can't figure this out, I am safe. Let's hope he cares less than I do. Oh, a text message. . . important business, gotta run."


So, here's the best I can offer for advice for those venturing into the next board room or full out planning process design:


1. Speak English. Use words you would use in a social environment. Use words they can spell and talk about with their friends.

2. Realize that your zeal is not shared. Kill the flow charts, flip charts, and smelly markers. They don't care. They just want to leave quickly. Set meetings for no more than 3 hours.

3. Make it entertaining. Kill the bossy facilitation style and resist the urge to be a grade school teacher unless you want them to throw spit balls. Give them the floor to talk about what matters the most and don't talk to too much during the meeting. Build in recreational activities and don't be afraid to sing and dance.

4. Make them look smart. After all the group work is done, take their ideas and turn them into a masterpiece that they will love and that makes them smart. The goal is to hear them say, "That's exactly what I meant to say. I get it."

5. Keep it simple. Do things once. Listen. Observe and don't expect them to do their job. If they wanted to plan, they would have done so by now.