The Private Practice Summer 2013/14 Page 20

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The 90-day plan seems to be increasing in
popularity across many business sectors, so
I thought a brief analysis of its strengths
and weaknesses might be of interest.

The main issue that arises around 90-day

planning remains whether or not the plan is
too shortsighted. The answer is, of course,
yes. But how much of a problem is this?

In all the business planning I have

done within blue-chip organisations, I put
together five-year plans. This supposedly
plans for years one to five but in essence,
years four and five are too far away for us
to really know where the product or market
will be. Therefore, years four and five
become a simple extrapolation of year three.

Three years tends to be a really good

medium-term plan timeframe, as it is not
so far away yet is just far enough away that
almost anything is possible. In three years
a business can change completely, whereas
in one year significant changes are not
always possible.

So, just how detailed does a three-year

plan have to be? I have always suggested
that it should be no more than the goals
or visions for the organisation. A few
sentences, including the overall strategy
and some key numbers (sales, customers,
etcetera), are probably all that is needed.

Most large companies will have a pretty

solid and certainly detailed 12-month plan,
and possibly an 18-month promotional
plan to go with it. So, where does the
90-day plan fit?

IN FOCUS

People who hear me speak will know I often
talk about the need for small business to focus
focus your time, money and resources only
on the activities that will achieve the greatest
result and get you to your goals the fastest.

Well, I think that is exactly where the

90-day plan fits. If five years is so far away we
can't see it, three years is within our sights
and 12 months is something we can plan out
in some detail, then 90 days becomes the
absolute focus for the business.

Ask yourself what are your key initiatives,

what are your measures and what are your
targets in the short-term? The answers
should be the absolute focus for you every
day. The 90-day plan gives you a greater focus
and encourages you to arrange your time
and resources around the absolute priority
activities. This sounds good to me.

Of course, once you have completed one

90-day plan you must complete the next
plan. This encourages planning to be an
ongoing activity and is likely to be further
stimulus to keep you on track.

The more you plan, the better you get at

planning, and the more able you are to match
your required outcomes with the available
resources. Thus your plans get more accurate.
The more accurate your planning is, the
more useful and motivating it becomes, and
therefore the more it becomes part of your
daily practice.

So, it's a snowball effect to make your

business more effective. The more I look at
the 90-day plan, the more I like it. Anything
that is going to focus your business to this
extent has to be a good thing!

SHORT & SHARP

Many of us apply long-term plans to our businesses, but as

Adam Basheer

writes, the 90-day plan is gaining momentum for all the right reasons.

Adam Basheer is
Managing Director at
Fit 4 Market Pty Ltd.

BUSINESS PLANNING