As time runs out on 2008 our thoughts turn to 2009. If we’ve had a great year we want to capitalize on it, if it has been less than stellar we want improve on it. Either way, the one thing that is certain, a year from now we’ll be looking back at 2009 and evaluating our progress. To give ourselves the best chance of achieving what is possible we must be intentional and pro-active in our preparation for 2009. The key to successful preparation is answering the following questions and then developing a series of actions that will move you’re towards your intended results.

First, ask what are you trying to create? Where do you want to be in 10, 20, 30 years, this as much a personal question as a business question. Decisions you make now will affect the value of your business. If you want to sell it later or if you want to pass it to family members how easily will you be able to do that. Most business owners want enough time and money to create the life they want for themselves and their family but then practice short term strategies that make that hard. A great example of this can be seen in business owner’s attitude towards employees. In the vast majority of businesses, in order to grow profit to a level needed to accomplish their goals, owners need to bring on a significant number of employees or figure out how to outsource major functions of their business. This though goes against the basic nature of most business owners. Of all the businesses in the United States 96% have less than 10 employees. The vast majority having none. This creates a situation were the owner ends up working long hours and continually being short of money. This first step needs to be taken seriously because it’s against this vision that all the future strategies and tactics must align.

Second, decide where you would like to be at the end of next year. This includes revenue, profit, staffing, products and resources. One of the secrets of a great business is incremental improvement. The norm for small business is to put your head down and go to work producing good results but being no better at the end of the year than you were at the beginning. You need to lay out a plan that will have you be a better business every year. Do that two to three years in a row and you are well on your way to a great business.

Third, calculate what your business will need to look like in order to be the business you’ve decided it is going to be. Each business will have its own unique areas that need to be developed but the key areas are marketing, sales, customer service, finance, human resource, product development and leadership. Once you’ve figured out what you need, take a realistic view of where you are and calculate what needs to be done during the year in each area.

Fourth, divide 2009 into four quarters and develop waypoints for each quarter in each area of your business. Since small businesses have limited resources of time and money, a highly effective way of doing this is to focus on one or two different areas a quarter. You design your quarterly activities the same way as your yearly. Decide on the waypoint you’re trying for at the end of the quarter and then work backwards. An example of this would be choosing an area that we feel needs improvement such as prospecting. Once we have chosen the area, we need to document were we are and decide where we would like to be by the end of the quarter. In this example let’s say presently we are getting in front of two new prospects a week and we would like to be getting in front of five. The gap we are trying to fill is three prospects a week. Then decide on three ways that you could close the gap. Such as increasing referrals from existing clients, setting up strategic relationships and developing and implementing a direct mail campaign. Once you have done this, break each of these into actionable steps with a time line and who is responsible for each program and each actionable item.

Fifth, with our plan in place we now begin its execution. We need to develop communication systems that help us stay on track and measure our movement towards the stated waypoint. In the case of the prospecting initiative the company might develop a simple call to arms of “two to five systematically by April first.” The person responsible for the direct mail campaign might have a call to arms of “one hundred equals five equals one,” representing its waypoint of sending out one hundred direct mail pieces a month which produce five inquires which produces one prospect a week. This call to arms could be put on signs and posted in each area of responsibility. Using the area responsible for the direct mail program, their sign could read,

Company: Two to five systematically by April first

Task force: 100=5=1

With our waypoint clearly in place we begin the daily job of moving from where we are to where we are going. Since the movement needs to be daily the team needs to communicate daily. This can be just minutes a day; but everyone needs to report what progress is happening. By having daily reports we tend to stay on track better, which is critical with all the distractions that occur in a small business. This meeting can be in person on phone or any other way that works for the company, but it needs to be daily. This meeting should include daily numbers, key challenge and accomplishments.

Once a week we need a more substantial meeting were not just progress is reported, but what we have learned, what challenges we’ve encounted, help needed or waypoint changes made due to new information. This meeting should be thirty to 45 minutes depending on size of group and depth of project. Good news should be included in all meetings.

To recap, the flow of the business is being driven by the execution of five meetings with the supporting collateral material. These meetings are the:

1. Yearly meeting, where we develop the yearly waypoint and analyze the business resources and systems. Calculate gaps the business needs to fill and sets timelines by quarter. Includes all participants, needs to be documented in writing and supplied to all parties. This meeting should last eight to ten hours spread out over several days.

2. Quarterly meeting, where we review previous quarter results for each area decide on any further action needed and designs the next quarter’s way points and actions. Includes all participants, needs to be documented in writing and supplied to all parties. This meeting should last two to three hours.

3. Monthly meeting, where progress is reported, challenges discussed and mid coarse corrections are made. Includes all participants, needs to be documented in writing and supplied to all parties. This meeting should last one to one and a half hours.

4. Weekly meeting, where progress is reported, challenges discussed and mid-course corrections made. Includes only participants of individual task force, needs to have written notes. This meeting should last thirty to forty-five minutes long.

5. Daily meetings, quick daily reports including daily numbers, key challenges and accomplishments, this meeting should last five to ten minutes.

Why so many meeting? This is an often asked question in small businesses that are often hectic and crunched for time. There are three main reasons; first communication is the number one problem in business and this give a clear structure to the communications inside the business, second it develops a company culture of execution that can’t exist without the peer pressure that develops in group settings and third you take advantage of group intelligence that taps into the full potential of the participants.

Set this system in motion and within three to six months you’ll have a flow within your business which will make each successive project easier and more productive.

Make this the year that your business develops flow, builds systematically and is the year that you look back on as the year you’re changed to the world class business it has become.