Strategy dictates starting with a blank piece of paper. Yet, the more you know or have experienced, the more you are likely to relate those experiences to what is happening and know what to do in situations.
The way to overcome planning obstacles is by figuring out what is the worst thing that can happen and then accept that it is a possibility. If you are in business, the worst thing that can happen is losing your business. So, your strategy will be, basically, to make decisions that prevent that from happening! If only it was that easy!
Start by understanding this: no one knows everything. Then realize that things happen. Your strategy must be developed in order for you to deal with those “things” AS THEY HAPPEN. If you don’t have a strategy when they happen, you’re just reacting. If you have a strategy, you will react to the event BASED ON THE STRATEGY. There’s a world of difference in those two responses.
For example, Interline’s strategy is: the most valuable asset of a business is its people. This strategy was put into practice by the way people are treated and the way we treat each other. Here’s what many businesses do not understand: every person in a company is a key person or that person should not be in your company!
Interline has some people with the company that have been here since the beginning in 1990. Why? Because of the strategy! Your business strategy – like our business strategy – is to make money. How does a service business do that? With PEOPLE! People provide service – not automated phone answering machines! Whether you are a single- person firm or a larger firm, your strategy must extend toward driving you to a single goal: making money.