As we approach the end of the 1st month of the year, now would be a good time to check that all is well with your strategy and that the direction you’ve set your business on is still the right one.
If it isn’t then change it – you’re 4 weeks into your plan – it’s not too late.
If you’ve been reading my recent posts, you’ll know how important it is to set your business on a specific course in order to reach a well-defined strategic destination.
Just to clarify, that destination, divided up into manageable milestones and goals, doesn’t always mean growth.
Right now, with rising costs and the impending rises in April, a worthwhile strategic destination could be to make your care business financially resilient.
During good times setting a clear destination could make the difference between a business growing or staying flat.
But in these extraordinary times a clear, solid strategic destination may well make the difference between your care home or home care business being around or not.
Two important questions to ask right now:
1. Are you on course?
2. Is this course still the right one?
1. Are you on course?
If you followed my guidance then you’ll have broken your goals down into short milestones and you’ll have set one or two very short, early ones. The point of this is that you only need to focus on the next milestone because if you reach that when you planned to then you know you’re on course.
If you’re not on course and an early milestone has been missed or will be missed, don’t panic. If you’ve stayed focused on your key priorities, then it might simply be that the milestones and targets were too ambitious.
I’m serious about the not panicking bit. The last thing you need to do at this early stage is stress out and lose faith in your strategy or in your ability to make it happen. Give yourself a break – you don’t have a crystal ball, and neither are you a Time Lord so it’s ok to be slightly off what you planned.
Instead, amend your strategy, push back a little here and, if possible, pull in a little there. Don’t eliminate the challenge you’ve set but tweak it to make it realistic.
2. Is this course still the right one?
We live in a complex, fast-paced world – things can change and they can change overnight. Is the course you’ve set for your business still the right one?
Has a new opportunity come up? Have you had a flash of inspiration that requires a change of direction, but which will ultimately benefit your business and where you can get it? Has something unexpected happened which will impact your ability to achieve what you planned?
Right now the unexpected appears to be the norm. Challenges like changes in Covid rules, new cost hikes and staff shortages seem to be popping up and piling on the pressures on a seemingly weekly basis.
Many, unexpected challenges have the chance to derail you from your strategic path, again, don’t panic – adapt your strategy, set a new strategic destination and map the journey to reach it.
A strategy is a living, breathing entity that is there to help you. It can evolve and change to suit your needs and to fit into the reality of your life.
If it becomes anything else then it is not helping you and you will quickly abandon it. And that it when you’ll lose your compass and your business will meander and drift.
Your strategy is your best help provided it is fit for purpose. If it is not then change it – it is not set in stone.
Set aside the time now and check that the course you’re on is the right one.
