Take a fresh look at your plan for 2015

OK, so 2015 has only just begun, but already as days whizz past do you really know where you are heading?

Did you write a 2015 plan in the rush before Christmas? That time of year when you were already time-pressured, struggling to meet last year’s goals before the turn of the year and just generally a little more stressed out than usual? The chances are you wrote a plan but actually, what you did was just tick the box to say you wrote a plan, as there wasn’t much thought or insight into what you produced – even though it may have taken many Skype calls, meetings with others and hours sat at your desk mulling over.

Grab that plan now and re-read it. Remember this was supposed to be your focus for 2015. Pretty embarrassing isn’t it. How many of the following phrases did you include in it:

Commit to quality / Deliver on opportunities / Enable technology / Identify new opportunities  Innovate through growth / Leverage existing assets  / Maximize returns / Operate more efficiently

There are many more of a similar ilk that actually are just puff. Vague statements of sentiment that when put to the test mean nothing and certainly aren’t a guide as to how to drive your business forward this new year.

Grab your diary. Now book a half-day next week to rework your plan before it is too late. Spend the next few days brainstorming ahead of it whenever you have spare moment. What your plan needs to have is specific targets. Stats and numbers drive us to achieve, so set some goals to hit by the end of Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q4. Make them realistic but not too easy. Make them adjustable too as the year progresses and the world and/or your business changes. Specific means you have something to measure against and make calls on effectiveness a few months down the line.

Your business is built on cold hard facts – such as does it make enough money to survive – so make sure you also build your business plans on facts too.