Business Planning the 100 day plan for 2024 Part 1
Business Planning the 100 day plan for 2024 – Part 1 – In recent years, the 100-day plan has become a popular tool for quickly transforming or reinventing a business. This accelerated timeline is especially valuable in today’s changing economy.
Here’s a straightforward “do-it-yourself” approach to implementing this plan. It was designed for various entities including commercial ventures, professional service firms, and non-profits.
Vision Crafting: The Foundation of Your 100-Day Plan
The first two steps focus on vision. To move forward, define what success looks like for your organization in the current climate.
- Step 1: Identify Core Functions List the 3-7 major functions or processes vital to your operations – marketing, service delivery, HR, finance, etc. Focus on the real workhorses.
- Step 2: Envision Excellence On a blank page, describe what each function would look like if it was highly effective right now, under current economic conditions. Paint a picture of optimal performance.
This step is crucial: focus solely on the “what”— the results and outcomes you aspire to achieve — not the “how.” You’re crafting a vision of operational excellence, not a to-do list. For marketing, you may describe a clear understanding of customer needs or motivational positioning.
At this stage, it’s not about knowing how to achieve this vision — it’s about understanding what an optimally functioning aspect of your business would look like.
Repeat for each function. Keep it to 1-2 pages – a concise vision of operational excellence. After this, you should be able to answer: How would we recognize success in today’s environment?
In Part 2, I’ll outline a simple system for managing the “how” – practical solutions for achieving your vision. With focus and discipline, the 100-day plan can transform your business for current challenges.
