The business plan, your compass – when did you last read it?

A wonderful future! It’s hard to even dare to write this when many entrepreneurs and leaders have to balance ever tighter budgets with high performance requirements. And I’m not saying that at Contrast we’re coasting on some kind of bread and butter right now.

What I mean is that it feels especially important to find a sense of hope amidst the chaos and to dare to look ahead. Because the light is indeed there, somewhere, in the future…

This is exactly what we spent a whole day on on Tuesday. We peeked into the unknown, into the future of Contrasts: We began creating our next business plan. If that’s a piece of advice I want to remind myself of in times of crisis, it’s this:

⭐️ Never underestimate a good business plan! ⭐️

In the first course in business administration at the university, ”Business Plan” was included as a part of the curriculum. The business plan is one of the most fundamental aspects of any business. Yet it often becomes something that is forgotten in everyday life. 

I know this from personal experience.

There was a period when the strategic approach took a back seat in favor of a short-term perspective, according to the thesis ”money now, not later.”. 

It turned out to be a costly lesson. 

This is how we handle the business plan today:

🎯 We set long-term goals (3 years) and create action plans that we then check off as we go along.

🎯 We chart a direction like a compass and follow it more or less slavishly. There is no randomness in what we do; everything follows a well-crafted plan. 

🎯 We set realistic goals for the business and what needs to be done to achieve those goals. This can involve organizational development, strategic recruitments, developing the offering, digitalization, new segments of customers, and so on.

🎯 We start from the business plan to continue with setting other strategies, such as the marketing plan and the sales strategy.

🎯 We start well in advance. Our next version of the business plan should be ready in the summer of 2024. 

🎯 We let the creation take time. Writing a good business plan has to take time. But it’s NOT wasted time.

🎯 And last but not least: We take help from outside. I know that many CEOs think they are less good if they take help, but in fact it’s not weirder than hiring accounting help today. You don’t have to be the superman who can handle everything. Our tip Victoria Hubertsson keeps us on the right track when we get too deep into customer projects.

Then I want to remind you that there is something very satisfying about looking back at the previous business plan and all the ticked off checklists… You see exactly what we accomplished. It gives a positive sense of momentum and action. It’s powerful.

Success is all about constantly moving forward, towards where you want to go. Systematically and structuredly.  

Hold on! And above all, keep the business plan close at hand.

Kram,

Ola