BUSINESS Tools for Managing Your Business: Business Planning Now for the Planning So now that I have it, how do I use my SWOT Analysis? In sum- mary, once we have developed our SWOT list, (a.k.a. SWOTs) we should have a snapshot of the company’s: Strengths - are to be leveraged Weaknesses - are to be fortified and reinforced while being improved upon Opportunities - are to be exploited Threats - are to be anticipated, protected against and planned for What’s Next? With the SWOT Analysis as our foundation, we can now proceed to answer the obvious next question: “So… what are we going to do about it?” Use your SWOTs to form the overarching goals for your company, and then form the objectives, strategies and action plans to achieve those goals. As we move ahead in this process, it can be useful and instructive to think in terms of military operations, such as the WWII famous D-Day invasion of occupied Europe, which was perhaps the greatest planning challenge in military history. Let’s examine some relevant terms and insert D-Day examples (not necessarily historically accurate) into each category below, for illustration purposes. See examples in italics in numbers 1-4 below. Again, if you are unfamiliar with some of these terms, don’t get hung up on the jargon! Let’s look at four basic planning definitions: 1. Goals - the position or condition we strive to arrive at. a. A liberated Europe As a side note, you have probably witnessed the terms “sales” and “marketing” used interchangeably. The same thing tends to happen with the terms “goal” and “objective.” Hopefully, the contents of this page, plus Figure 2, will help to sort this out. 2. Objectives - Answers the what that we need to accomplish to move toward our goals. These should be specific, measurable (ideally) and in support of some goal(s). a. To capture Normandy and secure surrounding areas by June 8, 1944 b. To liberate France by June 30, 1944 c. To capture Berlin by September 15, 1944 24 KEYNOTES JUNE 2019 “When developing a list during a SWOT Analysis, it’s best to keep the list to a manageable size.” 3. Strategies - Answers the how by which we expect to achieve our objectives. a. Develop deceptive, diversionary and misinformation initiatives b. Deploy amphibious ground forces and invade target beaches c. Airdrop xxx battalions of paratroops behind enemy lines d. Develop and implement a coordinated European resistance movement in support of the planned invasion 4. Action Plans - are specific, detailed initiatives/activities to support our strategies. This includes: primary process steps, timelines/milestones, resources required, deliver- ables and ownership. This will make more sense when we get to Figure 2. Given the magnitude of the D-Day invasion, it’s difficult for us to even imagine the scope of logistical challenges. For each strategy, it’s likely there would have been dozens or even hundreds of action plans that detailed the specific initiatives and steps to be taken. Following are some possible examples: a. Create imaginary military divisions in the U.K., as a diversion b. Develop detailed invasion plan for Utah and other beaches c. Develop detailed plans for airdrops of paratroops behind enemy lines d. Identify detailed pre-invasion bombardment plans e. Develop detailed specific tactical preparation missions required It’s important that each objective be supported by at least one strategy, which in turn is supported by one or more ac- tion plans, to form a related set. Now that we have discussed the concept and are familiar with the various planning terms, let’s move onto Figure 2 to apply what we’ve covered, to our business. WWW.ALOA.ORG
