Blog Spot

• Commodity versus Added Value - 21/05/2013
• Competition: Niche - 15/05/2013
• Competition: Stealing your Profits – Past, Present or Future? - 08/05/2013
• Myth Four: It’s better to put up with poor employees than risk a tribunal - 01/05/2013
• Myth Three: If someone’s bad at their job, you need to lose them fast - 29/04/2013
• Myth Two: Most staff do it for the pay – they’re not interested - 24/04/2013
• Myth One: You just can’t find good staff - 17/04/2013
• Find the real profit in your business - 09/04/2013
• managing the resources in a business - 03/04/2013
• Skills - 02/04/2013
• Products - 27/03/2013
• having trouble with stuff - 20/03/2013
• The hidden profit loss…. - 13/03/2013
• Message - 06/03/2013
• KPI’s – Measuring and Monitoring - 27/02/2013
• Staff – Recruitment, Management and Monitoring - 25/02/2013
• Booking the holidays you deserve? - 20/02/2013
• Are you a business leader booking the holidays you deserve? - 11/02/2013
• Clicks to cash £££ - 30/01/2013
• Three approaches to customer service - 23/01/2013
• Website mastery - 14/01/2013
• How to create the marketing mind-set of high growth companies - 09/01/2013
• Planning is Not Everything – Successful Implementation is Key - 04/01/2013
• Keys to achieving a Successful 2013 - 03/01/2013
• What is Your New Year’s Resolution for 2013? - 27/12/2012
• A Decent Christmas Present – BUSINESS GROWTH! - 17/12/2012
• we thought we would end with a competition - 05/12/2012
• Cash flow, not sales, is the reality in business - 28/11/2012
• Sales are not the most important issue in a business… - 21/11/2012
• Sales are not the most important issue in a business… - 13/11/2012
• Where’s price ranked on buying decisions? - 31/10/2012
• How good is your Sales conversion process? - 24/10/2012
• The recent embarrassment for the Government - 15/10/2012
• Sell, sell and sell some more - 09/10/2012
• The edge over the competition - 03/10/2012
• The benefits that the IT explosion has given us - 25/09/2012
• Top 5 business IT tools - 18/09/2012
• Managing the wizard -  the role of your IT Manager or supplier? - 10/09/2012
• Setting achievable and challenging goals - 04/09/2012
• Goals for your business and personal life - 29/08/2012
• Knowledge to ensure the best chances for your business - 21/08/2012
• A business owners new found curiosity - 13/08/2012
• Is your business life a dream or a nightmare?.... - 13/08/2012
• fascinating tour of the frustrations and triumphs of customer service - 03/08/2012
• We explore the fascinating world of customer service - 30/07/2012
• An area of reflection for everyone that owns a business… - 19/07/2012
• I want to manage an airport… - 13/07/2012
• Too many business plans, not enough business - 21/05/2012

What our Clients say about ICON...

Quote from Paul Glazby - I have been working with Tano Rebora now for 12 months, In that time the Icon process has opened my eyes how to run a business

Too many business plans, not enough business

By Tano Rebora on 21/05/2012 - 1 Comments

It seems that every time I turn around there is yet another tack on ‘creating a business plan’. Of course, each different angle depends on the authors experience and expertise. Ranging from the simple ‘last year plus x% ‘ to the’ look out for production’  by way of the purely numeric.

The fact is that any specific focus in one area has impact on the whole; be that sales, Marketing, H.R., Operations or Financials.

Fewer still have the focus of Covey’s ‘start with the end in mind’ and, thus have little by way of real understating of where they are aiming to be in the next x years with little chance of ultimately keeping to the plan since they are now dealing with the unknown competition. The result is that there is little positioning of the company as a competitive leader or of real success.

This is not confined to any specific business size or complexity. The marketplace is littered with examples of both SMEs and corporates companies that have placed little emphasis on their true market or with the ‘due diligence’ on the future marketplace movements.

For example, where is Woolworths in the High Street now? The behemoth of the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s just did not see how the market was moving. Now the high street is full of retail outlets stocking stationery, CDs, DVDs, cameras, toys, school uniforms and other such items amongst their ‘real’ focus market.

When did Tesco’s move from just selling food? B&Q just selling tools?  Where is MFI?

The most successful companies are focused on where they need to be to fulfil their Owners/ Shareholders expectations in the next strategic time period across all their functions whilst answering the fundamental questions:

1. What is our vision?
2. What is our product/ service.
3. Who is our client?

The answers to these questions may not be as easy as first thought and, it is my experience, the value is in the process that helps define this positioning. Many companies do not engage in the process and the result is that they have to be very flexible in keeping ahead. At best they follow the market at worst they ultimately fail.

Run of the mill competitors will always follow. The question is: are they following you or are you following them?

There are 1 comments for this entry. Leave your comment below >>

Bar Stools - April/09/2013

Excellent blog here!

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