Sustainable business success originates from an executable strategic plan. However, creating a strategic plan does have a price tag. The underlying business strategy is to realize a positive return on investment (ROI) by quickly achieving specific and aligned organizational goals.

Business owners to executives have a plethora of resources from which to select the type of strategic plan along with the numerous business coaches, business consultants or national training organizations who can help them to create strategic plans. Yet, most of the outside resources fail to deliver a quick positive return on investment.

The creation of a strategic plan has 3 costs: money, time and results. When analyzing the cost of a strategic plan, each of these costs should be reviewed and compared.

* Money

A recent review of a national seminar offering strategic planning 3 day to 2-day workshops indicated a cost ranging between $2,000 and $1,500. These dollar costs do not include travel, lodging along with salaries.

When compared to business coaches or consultants offering strategic planning on site or off site with fees ranging from $3,000 to $10,000 and up, the national seminars appear to be the best deal, but are they?

Research suggests that a one time exposure to a learning event. If there are not additional opportunities for performance that being the application of learning, then the money spent whether $1,500 to $12,000 is moot. This is why most traditional training offered through a 2 or 3 day event fails to deliver a positive return on investment.

* Time

How much time does it take to create an executable strategic plan? From my experience has a business coach, this ranges from 20 to 30 hours to create the plan and then another 10 to 20 hours to monitor the plan so that the business goals are achieved. Two day to three day traditional training seminars or retreats fall short of the basic time necessary to develop a solid strategic plan. Also, these off site locations do not allow the participants time to do complete the necessary research or answer specific questions necessary to operationalize the strategic plan.

* Results

What results are you getting from the traditional approach to strategic planning? First, the origins of the word strategy mean as a general to deceive the enemy. In today’s world, that means to out think and simultaneously out perform the competition.

From the initial meeting, a good strategic planning process will begin to deliver immediate results. Additionally every strategic plan should contain a strategic action plan that is everyone works from on a daily basis. In this way the results are almost continuous.

When a strategic plan is created off site in a few days, the likelihood of immediate results has been greatly diminished because of this learning structure. By crunching some numbers, we can immediately see the advantage for a longer planning cycle

A 3 days event probably means 6 hours per day planning or a total of 18 hours at an investment of $2,000. Adding in 3 nights of lodging, meals and miscellaneous experiences results in at least another $600. The hourly rate for this seminar per participant is at least $145.00. And what results or deliverables do you have from such an investment?

Comparing a 10-week (3 hours per week) on site with 6 monthly follow-ups suggests at least 39 hours. Since there are no travel costs, the hourly rate based upon a $5,000 fee is $128.45. And the results are a tangible, active, dynamic and interactive strategic plan that is being executed every week ensuring measurable outcomes.

Given that most national seminars require payment up front and do not offer a money back guarantee, this becomes a win win for them and a potential lose lose for your firm. If you charge the costs, then your hourly rate has just increased not to mention the charges for any other costs. However, if you can locate a strategic business coach who provides a money back guarantee in some format and will work with you by offering non-traditional forms of payment, then what makes more sense?

If you are deciding to seek some help in the creation of you strategic plan, congratulations. Just make sure that you have analyzed ALL the costs and have a better idea of your potential ROI.

In today’s regulatory environment, timely, accurate and comprehensive information is more critical than ever. While traditional business intelligence (BI) solutions have dominated the corporate environment based on their ability to quickly query, access and then report on information, they often lack the processes and metrics needed to measure and manage business performance. As a result, business performance management (BPM) solutions are gaining momentum as a more complete way to address the need for financial transparency and provide users with a means to act on information.

“Companies are starting to realize that traditional business intelligence is not enough to improve business performance,” said Crispin Read, Chief Marketing Officer at Cartesis, the world’s leading specialist in finance and business performance management software. “BPM solutions are filling this gap, allowing companies to achieve faster, more flexible planning cycles and to gain deeper financial insight.”

BPM: A More Integrated Approach to BI

Business Intelligence solutions unlock critical management information and attempt to put that information in front of decision makers who need it to run the business. However, one of the challenges with BI tools has been that the data that they do unlock isn’t always consistent across the enterprise. For example, BI tools can’t add up revenue numbers in different currencies because they lack the financial intelligence to translate from one currency to the other.

Another area where business intelligence solutions have fallen short is in addressing the requirement for financial transparency, one reason some traditional BI vendors have acquired BPM vendors for financial and performance management capabilities. The need for such transparency is greatest within finance departments where specific challenges demand just one set of numbers and ideally one set of applications. Whereas a business user of a BI query tool is generally satisfied with the content he gets and how this helps him look into defining next week’s stock ordering, the group controller or CFO needs the most accurate, real-time information for mission-critical functions such as budgeting, planning, compliance with financial reporting regulations, and performance improvement.

BI infrastructures have also become increasingly complex and costly, with large corporations managing dozens of silos encompassing OLAP databases, data integration tools, reporting tools and query and reporting analysis tools.

Evolving perfectly to address these BI challenges is BPM with its more integrated, holistic approach.

“Performance management is sort of changing the mindset of BI and moving it away from the spot approach where five or six reporting tools are involved,” said John Van Decker, Senior Vice President and Principal Research Fellow at the Robert Frances Group, an IT research and advisory firm based in Westport, CT.

Accuracy and Control

Beyond transparency, BPM systems, such as the Cartesis 10 business performance management suite, ensure the consistency and accuracy of information that finance departments need to meet the requirements of external stakeholders and legal/regulatory bodies. Financial information can’t be used if it isn’t 100 percent accurate, and there is tremendous cost if it is inaccurate, including the potential for criminal charges against the CFO and other employees. And with so much riding on the accuracy of a company’s numbers, finance departments need greater control over the budgeting and reporting processes — and the ability to look deeper into the numbers.

“Companies have to report accurate numbers; if they don’t then they are in breach of a number of laws, and penalties will come down on the companies and the people who work for them,” Cartesis’ Read said. And accuracy is not only mission-critical for financial consolidation and statutory reporting applications but for planning, budgeting and forecasting, he said. “If you don’t know at the end of the month if you are over budget or under budget, then you are flying blind and you’ll crash the company.”

Once a corporation is certain it has accurate information, getting that information to key decision makers quickly is vital. Cartesis 10 employs a single data model that ensures one source of accurate, consistent data between applications, as well as between the people and business processes involved. The suite also provides auditing controls to allow the finance department to easily review and verify every accounting step from source to disclosure.

Learn the secrets of the integrated planning process in "The Truth About the Power in Planning." Patrick J. Below of CEO Consulting Services of Madison, Wisconsin shares some of the secrets on how he has done for over 35 years. Below is also the author of the highly acclaimed "The Executive Guide to Strategic Planning" which has been chosen by China's Productivity Center as one of the top ten books on business management. Learn the essence of the "Integrated Planning Process," which if followed precisely guarantees sustainable growth and profitability year in and year out. Below also reveals some underlying spiritual principles that have resulted in him being one of the most respected strategic planner in the nation.

In our desire to create, design, and develop sustainable business success, we are often times caught in the dilemma about how in fact we should go about manifesting this reality in our daily lives.

In these times in which we live in, we are ever reminded of how once successful businesses, out of expediency for short term profits coupled with erroneous thinking, found themselves in a ditch. Planning without the multitude of wise counselors is summed up aptly in the book of Proverbs…

Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21

God’s intent for business success and longevity is chronicled very precisely in the Biblical record, as He lays out the foundation that will best serve His eternal purpose for business success that genuinely honors and glorifies His name.

“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD” Jeremiah 29:11-14

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Patrick Below, President and CEO, of CEO Consulting Services, headquartered in Madison, WI. Below is a leading strategic thinker, management writer and business consultant specializing in the areas of business strategy and growth. He is also affiliated with Leadership Management, Inc., LMI is a national franchise organization with a nationwide network of over 200 independent partners.

Since 1970, Below has personally consulted with over 200 small and medium-size clients across a wide variety of industrial and service sectors. He is the co-author of the The Executive Guide to Strategic Planning which was selected by the Chinese Productivity Center in Taiwan, as one of the “ten best books on management” and has been translated into Chinese. His most recent book, The CEO Challenge … A New Paradigm for Delivering Sustainable Results was published in 2004.

Below has extensive experience and a proven track record of working with CEOs and their executive team to put in place a proven management system focused on developing people and strengthening their planning process to produce improved results.

I fielded a series of questions to Below to capture the essence of both his philosophy and practical first-hand knowledge and experience.

Q: Why do you feel planning is the top priority of Business Owners and CEOs?

Running an organization of any size is a complex and demanding job. In fact, it may well be one of the most challenging positions I can think of.

“The bottom line of leading and managing a company boils down to two words; “improved results.” This could be improved sales, improved profitability, or improved people attitudes and skills.

“The Planning Process, when done correctly and consistently, is the best management tool I know of for ensuring improved results, year after year.”

Q: What do you mean by planning? How would you describe what “correct planning” is?

“A great question. Every business plans – some better than others. But not every Business owner plans effectively.

“Over the years, I have developed a planning framework called the “Integrated Planning Process” (See diagram). In the past 36 years, we have used this process with over 200 organizations ranging in size from 50 employees to 500.with amazing results. This diagram depicts what we mean by our practical, results-oriented planning process.” As we continually remind all our clients, the purpose of planning is not to produce plans, it is to produce results!”

Q: How does one begin?

“As simple as this sounds, I would read a credible book on planning. Unfortunately, while there are many books on both planning and management, there are very few on exactly how to go about planning. In 1987, I co-authored a book entitled The Executive Guide to Strategic Planning (Jossey-Bass). After almost 20 years in print, this book continues to sell.”

Q: Who does one involve in the planning process?

“Ultimately, everyone in the organization should be involved in at least some aspect of your planning process. If a person receives a paycheck, they have a mind that can contribute to both your plans and results.

“Strategic planning clearly involves the senior management team. But don’t stop there. I would look for people within the organization that are good strategic thinkers and could bring different perspectives to the strategic planning process.

“Operational or tactical planning, on the other hand, should involve all managers, supervisors, and employees. Operational planning is the implementation vehicle for your Strategic Plan. And everyone in the organization is capable of having one or two written goals that directly support the overall organization goals.

“Results Management, the third leg of the Integrated Planning Process, is often given short shrift in most organizations. Results Management keeps everyone honest. This is where the “rubber meets the road” in terms of implementation and execution. This process also makes planning come alive and stay alive. It also keeps plans fresh, relevant, and dynamic in terms of plan correction and adjustment.”

Q: Any final thoughts on planning?

“Yes, Planning always starts with and continually requires a high degree of faith, belief and solid thinking. The longer I’m in this field, the more I have witnessed and personally experienced the hand of God in guiding both myself and my clients to realized improved results.

“One of my favorite Bible verses is Proverbs 29:18. “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Another way of stating this verse is: “Where there is a Vision, the Company will flourish!

“One other personal thought. I start every day reading my Daily Word , which I also call my Daily Bread . I have rarely missed a day in the past ten years. This disciplined habit allows me to start every day being centered and feeling totally at peace regardless of what happens that day.

On January 1, 2000, a significant day for many reasons, I am continually inspired by the message that was listed in my Daily Word. “Thought by thought, I am helping to create a new Vision for a New World.”

I am so blessed and grateful for the daily guidance I receive from the Holy Spirit which, in turn, enables me to guide and counsel my clients.”

Well there you have it, sage insights and wisdom from Patrick Below, perspective that is inspired by Godly thought and purpose. As you delight yourself in the Lord and his thoughts, then and only then can you realize and rest in your planning decisions and vision that He has directed you towards.

As the Scripture clearly states in the book of Proverbs… “in the multitudes of counselors, there is safety.” By proactively engaging Godly perspectives from trusted counselors, the executive team and all employees, you will spawn the productive action that will assuredly produce the sustainable and the eternally minded profitable results that you are seeking.

A detailed description of a new or existing business, including the company's product or service, marketing plan, financial statements and projections and management principles, require a plan to be implemented. A document that spells out a company's expected course of action for a specified period usually includes a detailed listing and analysis of risks and uncertainties. For the small business, it should examine the proposed products, the market, the industry, the management policies, the marketing policies, production needs and financial needs. Frequently, it is used as a prospectus for potential investors and lenders.

Think of it as a production line. What's go in the start are raw materials and unfinished assemblies. Here, the raw materials include:

-Talent and initiative from employees
-Capital -Market position
-The company's creditworthiness
-The firm's earning capacity
-Assessment of changes in the marketplace.

It should have four major aspects:

- Its contribution to purpose and objectives
- Its primacy among the manager's tasks
- Its pervasiveness
- The efficiency of resulting plans.

The Contribution of Planning to Purpose and Objectives: Every plan and all its supporting plans should contribute to the accomplishment of the purpose and objectives of the enterprise.

The Primacy of Planning Manager must plan in such a way that it leads to proper organizing, staffing, leading and controlling which support the accomplishment of enterprise objectives. Planning and controlling are inseparable. Any attempt to control without a plan is meaningless, since there is no way for people to tell whether they are going where they want to go. Plans thus furnish the standards of control.

The Pervasiveness of Planning: Planning is a function of all managers, which vary with each manager's authority and with the nature of the policies and plans assigned by superiors. If managers are not allowed to a certain degree of discretion and planning responsibility, they are not truly managers.

The Efficiency of Plans: The effectiveness of plan refers to its contribution to the purpose and objectives. Plan is efficient if it achieves its purpose at a reasonable cost, when cost is measured not only in terms of time or money or production but also in the degree of individual and group satisfaction.

Procedures: Procedures are plans that establish a required method of handling future activities. They are chronological sequences of required actions. They are guides to action rather than to thinking and they detail the exact manner in which certain activities must be accomplished.

Rules: Rules are unlike procedures in that they guide action without specifying a time sequence. In fact, a procedure might be looked upon as a sequence of rules. Rule may be a part of procedure.

Programs: Programs are a complex of goals, policies, procedures, rules, task assignments, steps to be taken, resources to be employed and other elements necessary to carry out a given course of action; further supported by budgets.

Budgets: Budget is a statement of expected results expressed in numerical terms. Financial operating budget is often called a "profit plan". This budget can be expressed in financial terms, in terms of labor- hours, units of product or machine hours or in any other numerically measurable term.

Steps in Planning: Being aware of opportunities, a manager should take a preliminary look at possible future opportunities and see them clearly and completely know where they stand in light of their strengths and weaknesses, understand what problems they wish to solve, and why and know what they expect to gain. Planning requires a realistic diagnosis of the opportunity situation.

Establishing objectives: This is to be done for the long term as well as for the short term. Objectives specify the expected results and indicate the end points of what is to be done, where the primary emphasis is to be placed and what is to be accomplished by the network of strategies, policies, procedures, rules, budgets and programs. Objectives form a hierarchy.

Developing premises: There are assumptions about the environment in which the plan is to be carried out. It is important for all managers involved in planning to agree on the premises. Forecasting is important in premising: what kind of markets will there be? What volume of sales? What prices? What products? What technical developments? What costs? What wage rates? What tax rates and policies? What new plans? How will expansion be financed? What are the long-term trends? Because the future is so complex, it would not be profitable or realistic to make assumption about every detail of the future environment of a plan.

Determining alternative courses: The more common problem is not finding alternatives but reducing the number of alternatives so that the most promising may be analyzed. The planner must usually make a preliminary examination to discover the most fruitful possibilities.

Starting your own business is an exciting adventure. Each of us has great expectations of how running our own business from home will release us from Corporate America, give us more freedom, and soon bring us to the ultimate dream of financial freedom.

There are numerous factors that come into play when we decide to start our own home based business, but the most overlooked is an iron clad Business Plan. I do not mean some ideas floating around in your head of unrealistic goals and no set way to reach them.

Your Business Plan should include but not be limited to the following ideas.

First and foremost, is the start-up of a business, which includes issue such as:

1.Choosing a Business - you should choose an area that is of interest to you and you can be excited about promoting but also that is something that others are also interested in so the need is there.

2.Choose a Name for Your Business – think long and hard about this before registering a name that later you regret. Make it memorable and creative.

3.Business Location – Where are you going to “set up shop”? It must be in an area that is free from distractions and you can shut yourself off as you go to “work” each day ~ an area to call your own.

4.Legal Requirements – check out the requirements in your state to make sure you meet any licensing required.

5.Financing – Know what you have to spend and keep detailed records. Over obligating oneself can often mean failure before you even start.

6.Sales & Marketing – How are you going to get word out there that you have a business? Who is your target audience?

7.Research – research the market, talk to people that are successful in this area, visit Forums

8.Knowledge – Learn about your industry and what is required to be successful and make sure you have and are capable of these items.

Once you have the start-up in place, you must now decide on your goals, do you need a website, and how are you going to promote your business? So often, people jot down a few ideas that are unrealistic compared to their time available to spend on the business, their financial means, and their work ethic.

Here are some questions to ask yourself when you are developing your business plan:

1.Where am I now and where am I going?

2.What do I want to have, to do, to be?

3.What will it cost?

4.What am I willing to sacrifice?

5.What will be my method or tools to reach this goal?

6.Who can I involve?

7.How many hours a week do I have to work on this business?

8.What areas of advertising and marketing can I use?

9.What knowledge do I need?

10.Do I have the right attitude, the desire and the commitment?

Now, sit down and start putting your ideas on paper. Remember to develop short and long term goals. Make sure your goals are realistic and obtainable. Make 90-Day plans, monthly plans, or even weekly plans. Your business plan is an ongoing process that must be changed as you move further and further into your business and gain the knowledge to know what you need and desire. Make no mistake, having it in writing will make you more focused and accountable.

Numerous studies, articles and books have remarked recently on a key governance gap for many technology companies’ boards of directors. Attention to this issue arises from survey results that show only about 14% of technologies focused companies have well developed global technology intelligence scanning practices. What expectations and fiduciary assessment practices should be instituted in the boardroom to assess how well management can explain the company’s product development strategy in terms of the ever changing global technologies landscape and the competition?

These 7 questions represent the strategic questions mentioned in recent publications that should be asked of CEO’s.

1 - Do we have a complete view of what our technology stacks are? Does our picture of the technology stacks include potential disruptive as well as sustaining options? Does management have a clear and up-to-date understanding of the technology innovation landscapes for all of the layers of our technology stacks?

2 - What is the sense of urgency regarding the opportunities and risks that exist in our technology stack? Is there consensus among company stakeholders about the strategic priorities of the technologies in these stacks in terms of the current competitiveness of the company’s technology portfolio and strategic innovation roadmap? What compelling visual tools are used to ensure people “see it and believe it,” regarding urgency and impact?

3 - What is our on-going process for technology innovation intelligence gathering, and how do we ensure that we are getting the most reliable information? If the service or data is being outsourced, how do we ensure that the analysis is tuned to our company’s specific strategies, rather than being generically common data that any competitors in this marketplace can also view and act upon?

4 - Are we able to involve our key domain experts in the technology innovation discovery and analysis process early enough in the process for them to spot truly innovative, “out-of-the-box” ideas that no one else would perceive? What process and tools are in place to ensure that whoever in the company that might contribute to the discovery of viable insights is kept in the loop early on when creative ideas can still have time to be considered. Outsiders can’t generate some of the insightful business ideas that can “connect” in the minds of people who are living and breathing a business daily – are we involving the right internal people in the process?

5 - How effective are we at finding potential technology partners and assessing the true synergistic value of their technology? Do we have a way to do thorough homework on potential partners’ technologies capabilities before approaching them? Are we able to surprise them with how much we know about their capabilities and intents, so we can quickly get to the real truths? Can we easily prove to them with hard data the profit-making synergistic technologies fits of our proposed partnering ideas?

6 - Do we have a clear picture of what real intellectual property barriers in a technology area look like? Do we have built into the process the analysis and visualizations that can give us the confidence to know why and when to say no? Especially before we decide on our strategic direction of new initiatives, and begin to invest and develop or acquire technology? Alternatively, can we easily drill down deep into the data that proves a winning idea’s technology risk proposition?

7 - Who in our organization fully understands our technology landscape and can present our technology innovation strategic plan in a way that everyone can understand it? How deep is our bench? Is everyone visualizing the company’s future from the same playbook? Could each and every one of the key managers in R&D, or Business Development, or Marketing, or Partnering “pinch hit” for the CEO on this subject? Could they each make a strategic level technology landscape presentation to the Board in terms that the Board would understand

Recently, I was privileged to be in Mobile, Alabama at the Senior Bowl, where all the great college football players who are graduating seniors come together for their last big game.

I was asked to come down to conduct leadership training to 900 NFL coaches and scouts. The NFL coaches were there, as they always are, looking at the guys who were finishing college to find out who had the potential to be pro football players.

While I was there speaking to the coaches, Dom Capers came up to me. For those of you who don't know, Dom coaches the new Houston franchise, and was the coach of the Carolina Panthers for several years. He said, "John, let's do lunch, I want to talk to you about leadership."

He had an agenda — he wanted to ask me some questions on leadership; but I also had an agenda — I wanted to ask him what it was like to start an expansion team. As the head coach of the expansion Carolina Panthers, he had been so successful that when Houston started their franchise, they said, "We want Dom Capers here."

I sat down with him and said, "Okay, talk to me about Carolina, first of all." I'll never forget. He said, "John, there were some amazing lessons I learned. The good news is, we immediately started winning, but the bad news is, we couldn't sustain that winning."

I knew that he was getting ready to tell me something that was pure gold, and I looked at Dom and said, "Okay, talk to me about this. Why could you not sustain the winning?" He looked at me and said, "John, we took shortcuts. I went after players who could give me instant success." I think that Carolina went 9 and 7 the first year — they had a winning record. He said, "I went after players who could help me win today, but I didn't develop and I didn't build the team for the long haul."

"In fact," he said, "I had NFL coaches come to me and say, 'Dom, don't do that. You're winning too fast. You're going to spoil the people in Carolina; they're going to think that this is easier than it really is.'" Then he said, "Here's the blueprint for an expansion team to become a champion: don't go for the quick fix. Build slowly and solidly.

"In the expansion draft, there are so many good players and so many veteran players. If I were to pick the best players off of these other teams, I believe I could have a winning record my first year in Houston; but my goal is not to have a winning record the first year. In fact, we've already determined that we'll take no one over the age of thirty in the expansion draft. We're going to go after young players, we're going to draft well, we're going to spend our time developing our players, and we're going to build slowly for the long haul."

A Strategic Thinking Coach focuses on bringing new perspectives to clients. With an understanding and appreciation of the past, the strategic thinking business coach helps shape the future of the client and his or her respective business. Strategic thinkers are always looking at opportunities and challenges from a long-term point of view. We know the future does not just happen. The future can be and must be built with a plan and this is especially true regarding succession planning.

Many business people detest thinking about succession planning, let alone actually doing succession planning. It becomes another one of those items to be done “tomorrow.” The enormous risk in putting this off is that without a succession plan in place, the continuity of the business and its future direction could be totally lost. And it is important to impress upon you that succession planning is needed earlier in your life of your business, not later.

So let’s hear it out there. Do you or don’t you have a succession plan? And if you do, is it written down somewhere so it can be found? Or is it in your mind and no one else has any idea of what your succession plan looks like or where to find it? And if you cannot find it do you know what to do?

In many instances, people have great difficulty in handing over the controls of their business and it is very painful to do so. However, if you use good solid strategic thinking and planning you can develop a well designed succession plan. Time after time I see and read about an owner getting very sick, injured, dying or plain “burned out” without any system in place to see that the business continues and the owner’s family is taken care of in the future.

Based upon my recent readings and my business coaching practice experiences, there is some solid advice available for what to do for your succession planning. Here are my eight (8) strongest recommended actions to take if you do not have or cannot find your succession plan.

Action #1: Start now, not later, to think about and begin your succession planning.

Action #2: Develop a clearly focused vision of your goals for succession planning.

Action #3: Seek guidance from someone skilled in the succession planning process.

Action #4: Gain a clear understanding that great tax planning and great succession planning have different focuses. Tax planning focuses on the financial and succession planning focuses on the future ownership and leadership of the business.

Action #5: Develop alternate scenarios for the ownership succession transitions and rank the scenarios based upon your vision, goals and other preferences and constraints.

Action #6: Develop a business plan with the selected succession scenario.

Action # 7: Consult with an outside advisory firm with a strong reputation and solid experience with succession plans.

Action #8: Inform your family, management team and employees that a succession plan exists and share whatever level of information about the plan that is appropriate.

Glenn Ebersole, Jr. is a multi-faceted professional, who is recognized as a visionary, guide and facilitator in the fields of business coaching, marketing, public relations, management, strategic planning and engineering. Glenn is the Founder and Chief Executive of two Lancaster, PA based consulting practices: The Renaissance Group, a creative marketing, public relations, strategic planning and business development consulting firm and J. G. Ebersole Associates, an independent professional engineering, marketing, and management consulting firm. He is a Certified Facilitator and serves as a business coach and a strategic planning facilitator and consultant to a diverse list of clients. Glenn is also the author of a monthly newsletter, “Glenn’s Guiding Lines – Thoughts From Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach” and has published more than 225 articles on business.

A Strategic Thinking Coach focuses on bringing new perspectives to clients. With an understanding and appreciation of the past, the strategic thinking business coach helps shape the future of the client and his or her respective business. Strategic thinkers are always looking at opportunities and challenges from a long-term point of view. We know the future does not just happen. The future can be and must be built with a plan and this is especially true regarding succession planning.

Many business people detest thinking about succession planning, let alone actually doing succession planning. It becomes another one of those items to be done “tomorrow.” The enormous risk in putting this off is that without a succession plan in place, the continuity of the business and its future direction could be totally lost. And it is important to impress upon you that succession planning is needed earlier in your life of your business, not later.

So let’s hear it out there. Do you or don’t you have a succession plan? And if you do, is it written down somewhere so it can be found? Or is it in your mind and no one else has any idea of what your succession plan looks like or where to find it? And if you cannot find it do you know what to do?

In many instances, people have great difficulty in handing over the controls of their business and it is very painful to do so. However, if you use good solid strategic thinking and planning you can develop a well designed succession plan. Time after time I see and read about an owner getting very sick, injured, dying or plain “burned out” without any system in place to see that the business continues and the owner’s family is taken care of in the future.

Based upon my recent readings and my business coaching practice experiences, there is some solid advice available for what to do for your succession planning. Here are my eight (8) strongest recommended actions to take if you do not have or cannot find your succession plan.

Action #1: Start now, not later, to think about and begin your succession planning.

Action #2: Develop a clearly focused vision of your goals for succession planning.

Action #3: Seek guidance from someone skilled in the succession planning process.

Action #4: Gain a clear understanding that great tax planning and great succession planning have different focuses. Tax planning focuses on the financial and succession planning focuses on the future ownership and leadership of the business.

Action #5: Develop alternate scenarios for the ownership succession transitions and rank the scenarios based upon your vision, goals and other preferences and constraints.

Action #6: Develop a business plan with the selected succession scenario.

Action # 7: Consult with an outside advisory firm with a strong reputation and solid experience with succession plans.

Action #8: Inform your family, management team and employees that a succession plan exists and share whatever level of information about the plan that is appropriate.

Glenn Ebersole, Jr. is a multi-faceted professional, who is recognized as a visionary, guide and facilitator in the fields of business coaching, marketing, public relations, management, strategic planning and engineering. Glenn is the Founder and Chief Executive of two Lancaster, PA based consulting practices: The Renaissance Group, a creative marketing, public relations, strategic planning and business development consulting firm and J. G. Ebersole Associates, an independent professional engineering, marketing, and management consulting firm. He is a Certified Facilitator and serves as a business coach and a strategic planning facilitator and consultant to a diverse list of clients. Glenn is also the author of a monthly newsletter, “Glenn’s Guiding Lines – Thoughts From Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach” and has published more than 225 articles on business.

You should consider a shareholders' agreement as a "pre-nuptial" agreement. You are trying to reach a consensus in advance of a possible breakdown in the relationship. 1 in 3 marriages fail and the failure rate for business is much higher. Negotiating with your business partners ought to be a lot easier than with your spouse as the "don't you love me" doesn't come into it!

Here is a non-exhaustive list which you could use as a limited agenda for discussions between proposed or existing shareholders. This should be followed by detailed legal advice and then a written agreement between the parties.

1. Alternatives: limited company, partnership or limited liability partnership etc

Assuming you select a limited company:

2. Purpose of venture. Business plan. Expectations.

3. Share split

a. Implications of key thresholds: 5%, 10%, >25%, 50%, >50%, 75%
b. Deadlock vs controlling stake vs negative control/ability to block
c. "Ordinary", "Special", "Written" resolutions
d. class: ordinary, preferred, redeemable etc
e. dilution (now and future)

4. Directors

a. Day-to-day management
b. How many
c. Right to appoint/remove
d. Chairman; casting vote?
e. Service agreements: salary level?

5. Company name, company secretary, registered office, accountant/auditor

6. Finance

a. Share capital vs debt
i. Allotment of new shares
ii. Cash/non-cash
iii. Director's loan
iv. Second round
b. Security? Debentures/charges. Personal guarantees. Indemnity to each other?
c. Working capital
d. Bank mandate: joint signatories?
e. Dividend policy
i. consider minimum % profits to be distributed or retained if no agreement
ii. dividend versus salary balance

7. Business plan and budget incl cash flow; agreed intervals

8. Exit strategy (the important one!)

a. Share valuation mechanism
b. Discount/premium for certain stakes
c. Ability to transfer part or whole stake only
d. Staggered exit – tax and valuation implications
e. Trigger events eg
i. Death/serious illness
ii. Divorce
iii. Trade sale
iv. One party wishes to leave
f. When to wind company up
g. Pre-emption rights
h. Ability to transfer to spouse/children
i. "Shoot-out" provision: party receiving notice must elect either to purchase shares of other party or sell its shares to that party
j. "Bring-along" provision: transferor must require third party purchaser to offer to buy also the other party's interest at the same price per share
k. "Drag-along" provision: selling party can oblige other party also to transfer its shares to the same purchaser
l. Put/call options included at outset

9. Matters requiring unanimity

10. Dispute/deadlock resolution mechanism (Ultimate sanction: specific right after minimum period for either party to call for liquidation)

11. Personal tax planning issues affecting structure

12. Intellectual property

13. Non-compete/non-solicitation

14. Confidentiality

15. Life/term assurance: key man, cross option

That age old adage,” If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail” may be more true in today’s business world, than at any other time. I have been truly amazed at how many clients I have that will tell me that they never had any kind of business plan, marketing plan, financial plan, strategic plan or any kind of plan, until they met me and starting working with me in a business coaching relationship. And they all shared various forms of challenges, frustrations, issues, etc. with their business. Well, honestly, in the absence of planning or in the presence of dysfunctional planning, the diagnosis is simple as to the reasons for the struggles.

So, let me share why I say that dysfunctional planning of goals will facilitate failure. And to make it easier for the reader, I decided to do this by setting out ten (10) things you can do to facilitate failure. Here are (10) actions to facilitate failure in your business.

+ Decide to do no planning whatsoever!

+ Develop a list of why it is impossible for you to plan and reach any goals. + Decide to put off any planning until you have time to plan.

+ Develop goals that are so vague, they are meaningless.

+ Constantly change your goals so they cannot be easily visualized.

+ Always speak negatively about your goals and tell everyone that you cannot achieve them.

+ Totally ignore any deadlines to reach your goals.

+ Set goals that you know are absolutely impossible for you to reach.

+ Avoid any accountability for any goals you set.

+ Talk about your goals, but never take any actions toward achieving your goals.

In today’s regulatory environment, timely, accurate and comprehensive information is more critical than ever. While traditional business intelligence (BI) solutions have dominated the corporate environment based on their ability to quickly query, access and then report on information, they often lack the processes and metrics needed to measure and manage business performance. As a result, business performance management (BPM) solutions are gaining momentum as a more complete way to address the need for financial transparency and provide users with a means to act on information.

“Companies are starting to realize that traditional business intelligence is not enough to improve business performance,” said Crispin Read, Chief Marketing Officer at Cartesis, the world’s leading specialist in finance and business performance management software. “BPM solutions are filling this gap, allowing companies to achieve faster, more flexible planning cycles and to gain deeper financial insight.”

BPM: A More Integrated Approach to BI

Business Intelligence solutions unlock critical management information and attempt to put that information in front of decision makers who need it to run the business. However, one of the challenges with BI tools has been that the data that they do unlock isn’t always consistent across the enterprise. For example, BI tools can’t add up revenue numbers in different currencies because they lack the financial intelligence to translate from one currency to the other.

Another area where business intelligence solutions have fallen short is in addressing the requirement for financial transparency, one reason some traditional BI vendors have acquired BPM vendors for financial and performance management capabilities. The need for such transparency is greatest within finance departments where specific challenges demand just one set of numbers and ideally one set of applications. Whereas a business user of a BI query tool is generally satisfied with the content he gets and how this helps him look into defining next week’s stock ordering, the group controller or CFO needs the most accurate, real-time information for mission-critical functions such as budgeting, planning, compliance with financial reporting regulations, and performance improvement.

BI infrastructures have also become increasingly complex and costly, with large corporations managing dozens of silos encompassing OLAP databases, data integration tools, reporting tools and query and reporting analysis tools.

Evolving perfectly to address these BI challenges is BPM with its more integrated, holistic approach.

“Performance management is sort of changing the mindset of BI and moving it away from the spot approach where five or six reporting tools are involved,” said John Van Decker, Senior Vice President and Principal Research Fellow at the Robert Frances Group, an IT research and advisory firm based in Westport, CT.

Accuracy and Control

Beyond transparency, BPM systems, such as the Cartesis 10 business performance management suite, ensure the consistency and accuracy of information that finance departments need to meet the requirements of external stakeholders and legal/regulatory bodies. Financial information can’t be used if it isn’t 100 percent accurate, and there is tremendous cost if it is inaccurate, including the potential for criminal charges against the CFO and other employees. And with so much riding on the accuracy of a company’s numbers, finance departments need greater control over the budgeting and reporting processes — and the ability to look deeper into the numbers.

“Companies have to report accurate numbers; if they don’t then they are in breach of a number of laws, and penalties will come down on the companies and the people who work for them,” Cartesis’ Read said. And accuracy is not only mission-critical for financial consolidation and statutory reporting applications but for planning, budgeting and forecasting, he said. “If you don’t know at the end of the month if you are over budget or under budget, then you are flying blind and you’ll crash the company.”

Once a corporation is certain it has accurate information, getting that information to key decision makers quickly is vital. Cartesis 10 employs a single data model that ensures one source of accurate, consistent data between applications, as well as between the people and business processes involved. The suite also provides auditing controls to allow the finance department to easily review and verify every accounting step from source to disclosure.

Learn the secrets of the integrated planning process in "The Truth About the Power in Planning." Patrick J. Below of CEO Consulting Services of Madison, Wisconsin shares some of the secrets on how he has done for over 35 years. Below is also the author of the highly acclaimed "The Executive Guide to Strategic Planning" which has been chosen by China's Productivity Center as one of the top ten books on business management. Learn the essence of the "Integrated Planning Process," which if followed precisely guarantees sustainable growth and profitability year in and year out. Below also reveals some underlying spiritual principles that have resulted in him being one of the most respected strategic planner in the nation.

In our desire to create, design, and develop sustainable business success, we are often times caught in the dilemma about how in fact we should go about manifesting this reality in our daily lives.

In these times in which we live in, we are ever reminded of how once successful businesses, out of expediency for short term profits coupled with erroneous thinking, found themselves in a ditch. Planning without the multitude of wise counselors is summed up aptly in the book of Proverbs…

Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21

God’s intent for business success and longevity is chronicled very precisely in the Biblical record, as He lays out the foundation that will best serve His eternal purpose for business success that genuinely honors and glorifies His name.

“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD” Jeremiah 29:11-14

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Patrick Below, President and CEO, of CEO Consulting Services, headquartered in Madison, WI. Below is a leading strategic thinker, management writer and business consultant specializing in the areas of business strategy and growth. He is also affiliated with Leadership Management, Inc., LMI is a national franchise organization with a nationwide network of over 200 independent partners.

Since 1970, Below has personally consulted with over 200 small and medium-size clients across a wide variety of industrial and service sectors. He is the co-author of the The Executive Guide to Strategic Planning which was selected by the Chinese Productivity Center in Taiwan, as one of the “ten best books on management” and has been translated into Chinese. His most recent book, The CEO Challenge … A New Paradigm for Delivering Sustainable Results was published in 2004.

Below has extensive experience and a proven track record of working with CEOs and their executive team to put in place a proven management system focused on developing people and strengthening their planning process to produce improved results.

I fielded a series of questions to Below to capture the essence of both his philosophy and practical first-hand knowledge and experience.

Q: Why do you feel planning is the top priority of Business Owners and CEOs?

Running an organization of any size is a complex and demanding job. In fact, it may well be one of the most challenging positions I can think of.

“The bottom line of leading and managing a company boils down to two words; “improved results.” This could be improved sales, improved profitability, or improved people attitudes and skills.

“The Planning Process, when done correctly and consistently, is the best management tool I know of for ensuring improved results, year after year.”

Q: What do you mean by planning? How would you describe what “correct planning” is?

“A great question. Every business plans – some better than others. But not every Business owner plans effectively.

“Over the years, I have developed a planning framework called the “Integrated Planning Process” (See diagram). In the past 36 years, we have used this process with over 200 organizations ranging in size from 50 employees to 500.with amazing results. This diagram depicts what we mean by our practical, results-oriented planning process.” As we continually remind all our clients, the purpose of planning is not to produce plans, it is to produce results!”

Q: How does one begin?

“As simple as this sounds, I would read a credible book on planning. Unfortunately, while there are many books on both planning and management, there are very few on exactly how to go about planning. In 1987, I co-authored a book entitled The Executive Guide to Strategic Planning (Jossey-Bass). After almost 20 years in print, this book continues to sell.”

Q: Who does one involve in the planning process?

“Ultimately, everyone in the organization should be involved in at least some aspect of your planning process. If a person receives a paycheck, they have a mind that can contribute to both your plans and results.

“Strategic planning clearly involves the senior management team. But don’t stop there. I would look for people within the organization that are good strategic thinkers and could bring different perspectives to the strategic planning process.

“Operational or tactical planning, on the other hand, should involve all managers, supervisors, and employees. Operational planning is the implementation vehicle for your Strategic Plan. And everyone in the organization is capable of having one or two written goals that directly support the overall organization goals.

“Results Management, the third leg of the Integrated Planning Process, is often given short shrift in most organizations. Results Management keeps everyone honest. This is where the “rubber meets the road” in terms of implementation and execution. This process also makes planning come alive and stay alive. It also keeps plans fresh, relevant, and dynamic in terms of plan correction and adjustment.”

Q: Any final thoughts on planning?

“Yes, Planning always starts with and continually requires a high degree of faith, belief and solid thinking. The longer I’m in this field, the more I have witnessed and personally experienced the hand of God in guiding both myself and my clients to realized improved results.

“One of my favorite Bible verses is Proverbs 29:18. “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Another way of stating this verse is: “Where there is a Vision, the Company will flourish!

“One other personal thought. I start every day reading my Daily Word , which I also call my Daily Bread . I have rarely missed a day in the past ten years. This disciplined habit allows me to start every day being centered and feeling totally at peace regardless of what happens that day.

On January 1, 2000, a significant day for many reasons, I am continually inspired by the message that was listed in my Daily Word. “Thought by thought, I am helping to create a new Vision for a New World.”

I am so blessed and grateful for the daily guidance I receive from the Holy Spirit which, in turn, enables me to guide and counsel my clients.”

Well there you have it, sage insights and wisdom from Patrick Below, perspective that is inspired by Godly thought and purpose. As you delight yourself in the Lord and his thoughts, then and only then can you realize and rest in your planning decisions and vision that He has directed you towards.

As the Scripture clearly states in the book of Proverbs… “in the multitudes of counselors, there is safety.” By proactively engaging Godly perspectives from trusted counselors, the executive team and all employees, you will spawn the productive action that will assuredly produce the sustainable and the eternally minded profitable results that you are seeking.

A detailed description of a new or existing business, including the company's product or service, marketing plan, financial statements and projections and management principles, require a plan to be implemented. A document that spells out a company's expected course of action for a specified period usually includes a detailed listing and analysis of risks and uncertainties. For the small business, it should examine the proposed products, the market, the industry, the management policies, the marketing policies, production needs and financial needs. Frequently, it is used as a prospectus for potential investors and lenders.

Think of it as a production line. What's go in the start are raw materials and unfinished assemblies. Here, the raw materials include:

-Talent and initiative from employees
-Capital -Market position
-The company's creditworthiness
-The firm's earning capacity
-Assessment of changes in the marketplace.

It should have four major aspects:

- Its contribution to purpose and objectives
- Its primacy among the manager's tasks
- Its pervasiveness
- The efficiency of resulting plans.

The Contribution of Planning to Purpose and Objectives: Every plan and all its supporting plans should contribute to the accomplishment of the purpose and objectives of the enterprise.

The Primacy of Planning Manager must plan in such a way that it leads to proper organizing, staffing, leading and controlling which support the accomplishment of enterprise objectives. Planning and controlling are inseparable. Any attempt to control without a plan is meaningless, since there is no way for people to tell whether they are going where they want to go. Plans thus furnish the standards of control.

The Pervasiveness of Planning: Planning is a function of all managers, which vary with each manager's authority and with the nature of the policies and plans assigned by superiors. If managers are not allowed to a certain degree of discretion and planning responsibility, they are not truly managers.

The Efficiency of Plans: The effectiveness of plan refers to its contribution to the purpose and objectives. Plan is efficient if it achieves its purpose at a reasonable cost, when cost is measured not only in terms of time or money or production but also in the degree of individual and group satisfaction.

Procedures: Procedures are plans that establish a required method of handling future activities. They are chronological sequences of required actions. They are guides to action rather than to thinking and they detail the exact manner in which certain activities must be accomplished.

Rules: Rules are unlike procedures in that they guide action without specifying a time sequence. In fact, a procedure might be looked upon as a sequence of rules. Rule may be a part of procedure.

Programs: Programs are a complex of goals, policies, procedures, rules, task assignments, steps to be taken, resources to be employed and other elements necessary to carry out a given course of action; further supported by budgets.

Budgets: Budget is a statement of expected results expressed in numerical terms. Financial operating budget is often called a "profit plan". This budget can be expressed in financial terms, in terms of labor- hours, units of product or machine hours or in any other numerically measurable term.

Steps in Planning: Being aware of opportunities, a manager should take a preliminary look at possible future opportunities and see them clearly and completely know where they stand in light of their strengths and weaknesses, understand what problems they wish to solve, and why and know what they expect to gain. Planning requires a realistic diagnosis of the opportunity situation.

Establishing objectives: This is to be done for the long term as well as for the short term. Objectives specify the expected results and indicate the end points of what is to be done, where the primary emphasis is to be placed and what is to be accomplished by the network of strategies, policies, procedures, rules, budgets and programs. Objectives form a hierarchy.

Developing premises: There are assumptions about the environment in which the plan is to be carried out. It is important for all managers involved in planning to agree on the premises. Forecasting is important in premising: what kind of markets will there be? What volume of sales? What prices? What products? What technical developments? What costs? What wage rates? What tax rates and policies? What new plans? How will expansion be financed? What are the long-term trends? Because the future is so complex, it would not be profitable or realistic to make assumption about every detail of the future environment of a plan.

Determining alternative courses: The more common problem is not finding alternatives but reducing the number of alternatives so that the most promising may be analyzed. The planner must usually make a preliminary examination to discover the most fruitful possibilities.

Evaluating alternative courses: From the various alternatives available proper evaluation should be done which may involve ash flow.

Starting your own business is an exciting adventure. Each of us has great expectations of how running our own business from home will release us from Corporate America, give us more freedom, and soon bring us to the ultimate dream of financial freedom.

There are numerous factors that come into play when we decide to start our own home based business, but the most overlooked is an iron clad Business Plan. I do not mean some ideas floating around in your head of unrealistic goals and no set way to reach them.

Your Business Plan should include but not be limited to the following ideas.

First and foremost, is the start-up of a business, which includes issue such as:

1.Choosing a Business - you should choose an area that is of interest to you and you can be excited about promoting but also that is something that others are also interested in so the need is there.

2.Choose a Name for Your Business – think long and hard about this before registering a name that later you regret. Make it memorable and creative.

3.Business Location – Where are you going to “set up shop”? It must be in an area that is free from distractions and you can shut yourself off as you go to “work” each day ~ an area to call your own.

4.Legal Requirements – check out the requirements in your state to make sure you meet any licensing required.

5.Financing – Know what you have to spend and keep detailed records. Over obligating oneself can often mean failure before you even start.

6.Sales & Marketing – How are you going to get word out there that you have a business? Who is your target audience?

7.Research – research the market, talk to people that are successful in this area, visit Forums

8.Knowledge – Learn about your industry and what is required to be successful and make sure you have and are capable of these items.

Once you have the start-up in place, you must now decide on your goals, do you need a website, and how are you going to promote your business? So often, people jot down a few ideas that are unrealistic compared to their time available to spend on the business, their financial means, and their work ethic.

Here are some questions to ask yourself when you are developing your business plan:

1.Where am I now and where am I going?

2.What do I want to have, to do, to be?

3.What will it cost?

4.What am I willing to sacrifice?

5.What will be my method or tools to reach this goal?

6.Who can I involve?

7.How many hours a week do I have to work on this business?

8.What areas of advertising and marketing can I use?

9.What knowledge do I need?

10.Do I have the right attitude, the desire and the commitment?

Now, sit down and start putting your ideas on paper. Remember to develop short and long term goals. Make sure your goals are realistic and obtainable. Make 90-Day plans, monthly plans, or even weekly plans. Your business plan is an ongoing process that must be changed as you move further and further into your business and gain the knowledge to know what you need and desire. Make no mistake, having it in writing will make you more focused and accountable.

Numerous studies, articles and books have remarked recently on a key governance gap for many technology companies’ boards of directors. Attention to this issue arises from survey results that show only about 14% of technologies focused companies have well developed global technology intelligence scanning practices. What expectations and fiduciary assessment practices should be instituted in the boardroom to assess how well management can explain the company’s product development strategy in terms of the ever changing global technologies landscape and the competition?

These 7 questions represent the strategic questions mentioned in recent publications that should be asked of CEO’s.

1 - Do we have a complete view of what our technology stacks are? Does our picture of the technology stacks include potential disruptive as well as sustaining options? Does management have a clear and up-to-date understanding of the technology innovation landscapes for all of the layers of our technology stacks?

2 - What is the sense of urgency regarding the opportunities and risks that exist in our technology stack? Is there consensus among company stakeholders about the strategic priorities of the technologies in these stacks in terms of the current competitiveness of the company’s technology portfolio and strategic innovation roadmap? What compelling visual tools are used to ensure people “see it and believe it,” regarding urgency and impact?

3 - What is our on-going process for technology innovation intelligence gathering, and how do we ensure that we are getting the most reliable information? If the service or data is being outsourced, how do we ensure that the analysis is tuned to our company’s specific strategies, rather than being generically common data that any competitors in this marketplace can also view and act upon?

4 - Are we able to involve our key domain experts in the technology innovation discovery and analysis process early enough in the process for them to spot truly innovative, “out-of-the-box” ideas that no one else would perceive? What process and tools are in place to ensure that whoever in the company that might contribute to the discovery of viable insights is kept in the loop early on when creative ideas can still have time to be considered. Outsiders can’t generate some of the insightful business ideas that can “connect” in the minds of people who are living and breathing a business daily – are we involving the right internal people in the process?

5 - How effective are we at finding potential technology partners and assessing the true synergistic value of their technology? Do we have a way to do thorough homework on potential partners’ technologies capabilities before approaching them? Are we able to surprise them with how much we know about their capabilities and intents, so we can quickly get to the real truths? Can we easily prove to them with hard data the profit-making synergistic technologies fits of our proposed partnering ideas?

6 - Do we have a clear picture of what real intellectual property barriers in a technology area look like? Do we have built into the process the analysis and visualizations that can give us the confidence to know why and when to say no? Especially before we decide on our strategic direction of new initiatives, and begin to invest and develop or acquire technology? Alternatively, can we easily drill down deep into the data that proves a winning idea’s technology risk proposition?

7 - Who in our organization fully understands our technology landscape and can present our technology innovation strategic plan in a way that everyone can understand it? How deep is our bench? Is everyone visualizing the company’s future from the same playbook? Could each and every one of the key managers in R&D, or Business Development, or Marketing, or Partnering “pinch hit” for the CEO on this subject? Could they each make a strategic level technology landscape presentation to the Board in terms that the Board would understand?

Most importantly a final question, if we can’t do this all now, can we get most of these answers in time for the next board meeting in 8 weeks?