The most important thing you can do for your business is to build a Business Plan. Right now is the time to dust off the old business plan to make sure it is ready for the new year.

Begin by writing out the answers to the following questions: Who are you? What do you have to offer the world? What are you trying to achieve? Once you have determined your direction, you can craft a vision statement. Your vision should include big goals, core values and your core purpose. This is the foundation for your future business.

Build a strategy to drive you from where you are to the place you want to get to by answering the Who, What, and Why questions you began with. Driven by the tyranny of the urgent, daily tasks, and countless distractions, it is easy to get off track. Which is why building a strategy — and following it — is integral to your success.

To grow your business and achieve these big goals, you must also have a leadership team that can execute the plan. Your leaders have a dramatic impact on company culture, employee engagement, and the overall performance of their business. The leaders must be able to provide direction and keep the team focused on main goals and strategy or you might not have a future. 

The principal role of leadership is to set the vision, core values, and core purpose and to chart the course for people to follow and achieve growth and success. When everyone in the company is following the same vison, values, and core purpose, it creates a sense of meaning and positive momentum. Instead of feeling like they’re on the fringes, employees become active and engaged participants helping your business to thrive in the future. 

Alan Mulally, former CEO of Ford Motor Company, said, “Leadership is having a compelling vision, a comprehensive plan, relentless implementation, and talented people working together.”

Talented people are the critical success factor to relentlessly implementing the plan. Mulally turned the company around by implementing one team, one plan, one goal, and everyone knew where Ford was going. 

So, as we run down the clock on 2022, spend some time this week creating or updating your Business Plan. You will achieve the most benefit by starting on Jan. 1 ready to climb to new heights! Visit Achievable.com for more tips on goals setting and leadership.