Delivering results for your business; step two

Results are what counts – not talk and hot air.

From working with hundreds of SME clients over the last 10 years, and from 15 years of personal experience in multinationals prior to that, I’ve distilled out my six top tips to ensure you have the know-how to do just that.

This week step two;

Create a 100 day plan

I’ve found this time frame works brilliantly – it’s long enough that lots can be achieved, and yet short enough that things can’t be put off for too long – avoiding the classic scenario I’ve seen with annual strategic plans where the actions are split between the first month and last month with nothing in between!

One client in the market research sector was approaching year end below target – with seemingly little prospect of turning things round. We set about creating a 100 day plan to build a sense of urgency and attention on bringing in new business, both from existing and new customers.

End result – over £100k of business came in within the period allowing them to hit their targets, and a similar additional amount came in during the next quarter as a consequence of the momentum built up.

For true effectiveness, break the plan down further into weekly and daily activities.

Next week – Engage people and resources.


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Hilary Briggs

A management consultant with over 15 years of industrial experience having held senior management positions at Rover Group, Whirlpool Corporation and The Laird Group plc. For the last 10 years, she’s worked with SME’s to improve their performance. Hilary is Managing Director of productivity specialists R2P Ltd.
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A management consultant with over 15 years of industrial experience having held senior management positions at Rover Group, Whirlpool Corporation and The Laird Group plc. For the last 10 years, she’s worked with SME’s to improve their performance. Hilary is Managing Director of productivity specialists R2P Ltd.