“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” ~ Benjamin Franklin
Any business’s success depends upon its vision for the future and its steps to turn that vision into a stark reality. With the solid action plan’s help, you can make appropriate changes in your company that will drive your company into the path of success without any hassle whatsoever. But do you think you are familiar with the term ‘action plan’?
WHAT IS AN ACTION PLAN?
An action plan is a detailed outlining of the actions needed to reach business goals. Also, it is defined as a “sequence of steps taken or activities that are performed well, for a strategy to succeed.”
An action plan generally includes steps, milestones, progress measures, responsibilities, specific assignments, and a timeline. Whether considering scale image on a small or large scale, every company needs to prepare an action plan to effectively execute its strategies and ensure the appropriate scaling of its operations.
An action plan helps you keep things straightforward and synchronized. It enables you to know what needs to be done to complete a task, project, initiative, or strategy.
Action plans are an essential part of strategic planning, but many businesses stop after the strategic plans are laid out. For instance, a business owner states that he will rebrand his company, but he forgot to add details on achieving his goals.
It is similar to a person’s New Year resolution where he/she commits to losing weight, but without knowing the details on how he/she will achieve the goal. How will you lose weight? Will you follow intermittent fasting or join a gym?
So, How will you go about rebranding your business? Will you do it on your own or hire an expert for the same?
Making a strategic plan for your business without adding in the details is as good as making no plans. For instance, if your business goal is to transform your company into a global brand. This is a part of the strategic plan. Now you need to prepare a detailed outline; you need to know how you will transform your business into a global brand. In this case, the following questions should be asked and answered within the action plan:
- How will the business grow from a local company to a global brand?
- Will the business be expanded to one or two countries or to multiple countries?
- Are our products/services scalable at a global level?
- How much money will it take to transform the company into a global brand?
- How to arrange for the funds for transforming the company into a global brand?
- Do I have the right people?
- Will you need a consultant for the same?
- Will you need to hire extra staff? Etc.
Having a concrete action plan means the job is half done. As Abraham Lincoln has aptly stated, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” An action plan supplements the strategic plan by adding in the required details needed for achieving the goals that are brought up with the strategic plan.