The Real Reason Business Plans Fail
01/08/10 09:29 AM Filed in: Management
Marketing
1. Power Point Poisoning - If I had a dime for every time my manager wordsmithed and told me to redo Power Point presentations to present what he/she wanted I could probably take a long long vacation. All too often middle managers know the barriers to getting things done within the organization and what is needed to correct them but they are omitted by overzealous managers who want only to paint a beautiful picture.
2. Too much research & not enough common sense - Use research for insights but don’t let it overrule your common sense. Focus groups are overused and relied on too much and even with a lot of research 85% of new products fail because someone along the line did not stand up and say "this is stupid"
3. We’re not ready - Business plans have to be shared with the whole organization and you need to gather input to ensure that even the soft stuff can be implemented without flaw but way too often people learn about the new initiative via a town hall and don’t have adequate time or resources to implement per the plan.
4. We’re all Bozo’s on this bus ! - Somewhere people need to stop worrying about being politically correct and stand up and call a pig a pig. If you disagree with a business plan than make your concerns heard don’t go along for the bus ride when you know the bus is full of clowns.
5. Inadequate measurements - Clear and defined milestones need to be clearly identified and communicated to the team so that if necessary corrective action can be taken quickly before the ship takes in more water.
6. The sky is not blue it’s cloudy - There are always going to be people who see the glass as half empty. Their subversive eMails or word of mouth can sink a business plan faster than a budget cut. You need to keep an eye on these people and remember “keep your friends close but your enemies closer”
