Think Like an Owner – Plan for Their Success

by | Mar 2, 2018 | Business Planning

A person in a white shirt stands facing a wall with diagrams. Four circles labeled "strategy," "solution," "success," and "consulting" are connected by arrows in a cyclical pattern, forming a plan for success. An arrow points toward a central oval labeled "execution.

Doug McClure, CEO Global Investment Strategies

It’s late on Friday and you just survived another hectic week. It seems that every time you turned around, there was another crisis to attend to or another emergency task to be done.

As you reflect on the week and all of the previous weeks that were just as demanding, you begin to wonder if there is any way to break out of the cycle. How can I gain control of this business? Can I ever get to the point where I run the business, rather than the business runs me?

Here at Global Investment Strategies we do something a little differently that helps with the constant demands.  Everyone thinks like an owner.

This means we all proactively plan ahead.  Our planning is a proactive process that helps alleviate the perpetually reactive situations we used to face. Planning has become a best practice crucial to our success.

Planning is figuring out what success looks like, and identifying the steps needed to get there. What enables this is knowing our markets and customers and knowing the advantages we bring to those customers.

We are a successful boutique business.  Doug McClure, Jay Clifford, Ken Cook, Kevin Marshall, Mike Baratta, we are all owners in process and thinking.  Without an ownership mentality we would be waiting for someone to tell us what to do.  We don’t have the time or resources to sit on the sideline.

Here are 3 reasons to think like an owner and plan for success.

Growth requires planning.

If you believe you are small and approach business in that manner, in all likelihood you will remain small. If you want to grow, planning helps you see beyond the present and envision what you can be. More importantly, it helps you determine how to get there.

Good planning forces choices.

When developing a plan you will choose between various courses or paths. By choosing one, you implicitly reject the other. This is good because it helps focus resources in areas where the anticipated return is greatest. As the plan rolls out it also evolves. Planning is not a one-time event – it is an ongoing process. Choices are based on best available information. As the information and situation changes, you re-evaluate and move forward again.

Good planning can mitigate risk.

All business activities involve risk. Planning and the inherent choices involved in a plan are no exception. Each choice is a risk. With a plan though, the risk is a calculated one. As such the risk is minimized; decisions are based on knowledge, not assumptions or intuition.

Ownership thinking and good planning will:

  • Protect your cash flow.
  • Improve your business decisions – decisions are based on the best information available.
  • Enhance your understanding of customers – the greater your understanding of customers, the better your chance to meet their needs and increase your revenues.
  • Increase the probability of beating competitors – if you can anticipate their actions, you can counter them.
  • Allow you to use resources more effectively – planning helps you effectively allocate resources and optimize returns.

Plan to be bigger. As market conditions change use the plan to focus, and re-focus, and re-focus again as needed. Always think about cash flow, because that is the fuel that powers growth.