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How successful builders plan their year (3-part framework)
This is the planning process we use with every Highspire client.
This is part 3 of a 3-part series on building a stronger annual strategic plan for your construction business.
To read part 1 (on the four hallmarks of bad strategy), click here.
To read part 2 (on the role of assumptions in your strategy), click here.
And now we come to the meat and potatoes of this mini-series:
How to create a good annual strategic plan.
No two construction companies are built the same... but, the foundations of a strong plan never change.
At Highspire, we’ve distilled the planning process down to three core focus areas:
1) Diagnose the low-hanging fruit
These are all the tasks and projects that would give you a high-impact result for little effort.
Do a complete analysis in these six areas of your business:
Marketing
Sales
Operations
Human Resources
Leadership
Financial controls
Whether you’re doing $1 million or $80 million a year in revenue, make sure your strategic plan addresses all the potential low-hanging fruit in each area.
2) Assess your team
Even the best plan will fail without the right team.
Take a hard look at each member of your staff and address these questions:
Who aligns with our mission and core values?
Who has the capacity to do their job well?
Who wants to do their job well?
Can we financially support new hires, promotions, etc.?
Who do we have to professionally develop?
The answers will tell you what modifications you’ll need to make to your org chart over the next 1-3 years.
3) Make sure your plan is financially viable
If your goal is to grow your company, then that’ll cost money.
The more aggressive your growth, the more you’ll have to budget for:
Marketing, brand-building, and lead generation
Hiring and training employees (in advance of when you need them)
Expanding your capacity to sell and complete more jobs
Which in turn means you’ll need:
Solid cash flow forecasting
To have your business set up on hybrid accrual accounting (which is something most other industries don’t have)
None of the above is especially difficult to implement.
But it all takes specialized knowledge, which means you’ll need to budget for good coaches and consultants.
But before you start drafting your plan, a word of warning...
Take your time with this process!
There are a ton of moving parts here that are easy to overlook.
For that reason, we don’t let our Highspire Coaching clients even start building out a strategic plan until they’ve worked with us for two months, and we know their business from front to back.
Want more training like this?
If you’re interested in working with us to help you:
Master construction business management (so you can generate far more profit with far less effort)
Streamline your construction company’s operations and systems (until it becomes a self-managing entity that grows without constant supervision)
Become a real estate developer and investor (leveraging your construction company to create substantial wealth over the course of your career)
We’d love to hear from you!
Forward always,
Highspire