I’ve heard from many business owners over the years who get really frustrated mid-year if they aren’t pulling in the results they had projected at the beginning of the year. They created a strategic plan, and a tactical roadmap, but one thing followed another, and the plans didn’t come to fruition. Often, they have felt like giving up. I’ll hear over and over again, “See…? What use is business planning? It never works out!” Does this sound like you?
The first thing I’ll check is how you have been tracking results. What are you measuring, and how did the first several months stack up against the key performance indicators you had identified? Once we are able to start tracking efforts towards the goals, we will have some data to analyze. This is the point where you can really get some traction in the implementation of your goals. It is critical to take stock of where you are, and assess your progress month by month. Once you’ve done this assessment, and you have some results to analyze, you can see what is working, determine the results you’re achieving, and make adjustments if necessary! Here is where the mid-year pivot comes into play.
If you realize that your plan isn’t realistic after “living” it for a while, then you’ll need to adjust to keep your plan real and keep you moving forward. If your goals were too high, or too low, you can make the adjustments that will enable you to focus on achieving realistic targets and fulfill your plan. Pivots are a series of small adjustments that you’ll make based on tracking actual results. However, keep in mind, pivots are not a willy-nilly opportunity to change your plan. If you have one bad month, you might not want to change your entire goal. Instead – look at what happened, analyze your results and determine if it was either a one-off or part of a larger pattern. You have to know what is going on before you can adjust!
The important thing is to track, analyze, and make adjustments as necessary. That is why monthly tracking is so critical. Knowing exactly where you stand relative to your goals will help you determine what to tweak if need be. This activity can keep you focused on moving toward your ultimate goals in a realistic and productive manner.
