The most valuable plan for today’s business

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Leanne Hoagland-Smith. | Provided photo~Sun-Times Media

Updated: January 15, 2012 10:05PM

Strategic business plans, sales plans, marketing plans and even social media plans are used by forward thinking organizations.

These plans set a course of action or actions to ensure the best use of resources allowing for the greatest growth, productivity and ultimately profitability. And historically they have been critical, but they may not be enough in today’s fast-paced business marketplace.

A report by Bersin & Associates said that of the organizations surveyed only 39 percent had a written plan for learning and development. Even though many of these organizations are considered large, such as Coca-Cola, Caterpillar or MacDonald’s, the report has value for the small business owner with 100 employees or less as well as the sole proprietors.

With information doubling every year and technology changing at warp speed, not having a written learning and development plan creates the “Captain Wing It” behaviors where one sprays his or her actions all over the place and then prays something will stick. These behaviors reduce all small businesses’ limited resources of time, energy, money and emotions.

Right now in the business world, mobile technology is the fastest growing industry. Between cloud computing to smart devices, not understanding the impact of being mobile to one’s business may be a recipe for disaster.

This past week I spoke with Mike Muhney, the creator of the Acts customer relationship management (CRM) system that many businesses use to manage their contacts, appointments and business interactions. Muhney is now the CEO of VIPOrbit and is in the process of distributing what some may say is 3.0 CRM system for iPhones and iPads. One interesting fact he shared with me is that currently there are approximately 12 million users of CRM systems with Act owning the largest portion of those users (10 million). However, today there are more than 1.5 billion mobile devices. The mobile market is largely untapped and more importantly its potential is also untapped.

Muhney used the term “Mobile Relationship Management,” which describes how business is currently being conducted. If you doubt that, just attend any business to business networking event and check out everyone using their phones or other smart devices.

This leads back to the issue of not having a written learning plan respective not only to technology, but to general business acumen and other trends such as video marketing to sustainability.

Of course learning is not just about what is happening in the outside world, but what is also happening to you as an individual. Human beings are hot wired to learn and to develop themselves. If this was not true, we would all still be living in caves, wearing animal skins and cooking over open pits.

So, where is your personal written development plan? For if you are not healthy physically, mentally, professionally, ethically, socially or financially, how will you have the energy to do what you need to do to increase sales and grow your business?

The word plan, for some in business, is truly a four-letter dirty word along with goal and does it. Yes, I know “do it” is two words, but if you say it fast it sounds like just one word.

If you are truly committed to taking your small business to that next level, then act upon that resolve. Invest some time to put together a learning and development plan for your business as well as for yourself. Now for some, these plans may be one and the same.

Failure to know the flow in today’s business world will have you far behind while your competitors are ahead of that flow and have a pretty good idea where the flow is going. The words of a past generation come to mind:

“Be There or Be Square”

P.S. Shout Out to Frey’s Dairy Queen of Hobart and Das Dairy Queen of Valparaiso because there is always room for ice cream.