In today's episode, we, as dedicated proponents of effective business practices, discuss the paramount significance of planning in the world of business. We firmly believe that planning serves as the compass that guides businesses through turbulent waters, ensuring they not only survive but also thrive. In this discussion, we'll break down the essential elements of planning and highlight why adopting a proactive mindset is your secret weapon for sustainable success.

The Power of Strategic Preparation

Let's start with the basics. Effective planning is the backbone of any business, whether privately owned or operating as a not-for-profit entity. Consequently, neglecting this crucial aspect is akin to playing with fire. The consequences can be dire, as research reveals that many business failures can be attributed to a lack of financial foresight.

Fostering the Planning Mindset

At, we're all about fostering the mindset of strategic preparation. This isn't just about crafting rigid plans; it's about shifting your focus from the rearview mirror to the windshield. It's about staying ahead of the curve, continually monitoring progress, and adeptly adapting to evolving circumstances.

Defining Your Business Goals

To embark on this transformative journey, you must commence with the clear and well-defined establishment of your business objectives. Whether you're charting a course for the next 12 months, 2 years, or even 3 years, the magic often lies in the number three; it provides focus and clarity.

SMART Goals

Now, let's get SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound. These are the essential traits your goals should embody. Therefore, rather than formulating vague aspirations, set forth concrete targets that can be meticulously tracked and systematically accomplished.

Staying Focused

A crucial facet of successful strategic preparation is the unwavering maintenance of your focus. Nonetheless, resist the temptation to juggle an excessive number of objectives simultaneously. Overloading yourself with numerous goals can lead to unwarranted distractions and a dilution of your efforts.

Crafting Your Battle Plan

At this juncture, it's time to craft your strategic action plan. Think of it as preparing for a lengthy journey. What activities will propel you closer to your ultimate destination? Additionally, at this stage, we're not becoming bogged down in the minutiae; instead, we're wholly concentrating on the 'how' and 'what.'

Translating Strategy into Numbers

In due course, it becomes imperative to translate your meticulously devised action plans into tangible numerical figures. Furthermore, resist the urge to prematurely dismiss ambitious possibilities. Instead, contemplate the investments needed, envision the team you wish to assemble, and imagine the resources you're prepared to allocate.

Beyond the Plan

Remember, strategic preparation isn't a one-and-done endeavor; it's a continuous process. Liken it to the regular maintenance of your vehicle; periodic check-ups and maintenance are requisite to ensure seamless operations.

Conclusion: Embrace the Strategic Mindset

We trust you've gained valuable insights into the significance of strategic preparation. By fully embracing the strategic mindset, you'll alleviate stress, manifest your ambitions, and ensure your business flourishes. Share this episode and explore Numbers Knowhow for online tools to stay on track.

Hi folks, welcome to another episode of I Hate Numbers. And in today's episode, I'm going to be diving deep into the world of planning, going from the power of planning up to and including beyond the plan. My name is Mahmood, I'm a business finance fixer, accountant, tax advisor and author, who for over 28 plus years has been helping thousands of business owners, whether they're private or not-for-profit

make more money, reduce their stress and anxiety, save time and have the business lives they aspire to. And I want that for your business. Let's crack on with the podcast.

You are listening to the I Hate Numbers Podcast with Mahmood Reza. The I Hate Numbers podcast mission is to help your business survive and thrive by you better understanding and connecting with your numbers. Number love and care is what it's about. Tune in every week. Now, here's your host, Mahmood Reza. Now

planning is absolutely critical for any business, whether that business happens to be a private business or not for profit, it's an absolutely critical thing to do. Now, the planning or more so the power of planning means different things to different people. But here's the bottom line, folks. If you neglect to embrace a planning mindset in your business, you're playing with fire and you're going to get your fingers burnt.

Whether your business is a private one or a not-for-profit venture, the absence of planning can severely reduce your chances of weathering those storms, let alone prospering. Think of planning as the compass that is going to guide you through those choppy, turbulent financial and business seas. Without it, you're sailing blindfold, and the chances of you running aground increase dramatically.

What about the consequences of ignoring planning? Now, research and stats paint a very sobering picture. When businesses don't survive, when they crash and burn financially, and it does happen, there are a multitude of reasons why that disaster has befallen them. A very common culprit is the lack of financial planning, the inability for business owners to connect with their numbers, and the failure to use those figures as a roadmap to risk reduction and business guidance.

Just imagine you trying to navigate a dense forest without a map or compass to help you. You might stumble around for a while. But the chances of getting lost or facing obstacles you didn't anticipate are going to be very high. The planning mindset. What exactly is a planning mindset? Well, it's not just about having a physical plan or a rigid doctrine.

Instead, it's about shifting your focus from the rearview mirror of your business to the windscreen. It's about looking ahead. Monitoring your progress and continuously assessing how you're doing. Think of it like driving your car. You occasionally check your rearview mirror. You spend most of your time looking through the windscreen.

Or I certainly hope you do, watching the road ahead, defining your business goals. The first step in adopting that planning mindset is to establish your destination point, your Northern Star, your end point, your goals. What do you envision for your business? Is it a 12-month goal? Is it a two-year plan, a three-year vision?

Personally speaking, I prefer things in threes. A three-year time frame, we plan in more detail for the next 12 months, but we certainly have an idea what that three-year roadmap looks like. Some people prefer a much longer roadmap, a five to seven year. Now think of planning as your long road trip. You need to know where you're heading to before you can map out your route.

Smart goals. When you set your goals, your Northern Star, remember, those goals must be smart, specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. So for example, setting vague goals is like saying you want to get in shape. What does that actually mean? Smarter goals would be like aiming to lose 15 pounds, perhaps in six months, by exercising three times a week and following a healthy diet.

You can connect to that. You can look at it. You can monitor it. You can measure it, and it's more likely to be achieved than some vague vagary of a goal. Focus. More particularly, staying focused. It's crucial to stay focused on your goals, to stay in that lane, and avoid overloading yourself with too many objectives.

This will dilute your efforts. And would also lead to distractions. For example, picture yourself juggling those multiple balls in the air. Those many plates that are spinning, the more balls you add, the more plates you add, the harder it becomes to keep them all in motion. And what will happen is you'll lose sight and they will come crashing down.

Having said all that, let's think about the battle plan and crafting it and creating it. Once you've identified your goals, it's time to craft that battle plan - those activities that will actually move you to your destination. At this stage, folks, don't get bogged down in the numbers. Focus on the how and what you're going to do.

And it might sound quite strange for me as a numbers expert to talk about ignoring numbers, but they will come in later, but not yet at this stage. Think of it, for example, like preparing for a long walk, a long hike. You need to decide what equipment you need to pack, what trails you've got to follow before you start calculating the cost of doing so.

Journey first, activities first, and then translate that into numbers. Now when we come on to the translation stage, journey plans into numbers, don't limit your ambition. Don't say to yourself, Oh, I can't afford X. I can't afford to do this. You're limiting yourself before you've actually looked at your first draft of your plan.

Whatever your journey plan is saying, what does that mean in financial terms? What does that generate in terms of money coming in? What does that equate to for money going out? Do not limit the plan. Think about what you want to invest in, the team that you want to build, the resources you're going to expense.

By all means, you're going to come back and edit and refine, but not on the first cut. It's very much like brainstorming ideas for your novel or your blog posts. Don't worry about perfection at this stage, just dump your thoughts onto that document, onto that piece of paper. If you don't like the idea of bits of paper, spreadsheets by the way, check out the Numbers Knowhow platform folks, whereby you can do all your planning online, you can put in your scenarios, you can put in all the different objectives and goals that you wanted to, see what they look like, and you can edit and change

to your heart's delight check out the show notes for a link and a reference point. So once your plan is done, you need to think beyond the plan. Now, remember planning isn't about creating a document. It's a continual process. In the future episode for the I Hate Numbers podcast we're going to be talking about building a robust digital ecosystem defining your KPIs, setting milestones and getting the right mindset and maintaining it.

Think of it like maintaining your car. You need to perform regular checkups and maintenance to keep it running smoothly. Folks, that's about a wrap for today's episode of I Hate Numbers. I've hoped you've gained some valuable insights into the importance of having a planning mindset and planning as an important ingredient in your business success.

Having planning at the core of your business culture can lead to success. Reduce your stress and anxiety and help you realize and achieve your ambitions. If you found this episode helpful, I'd love it if you could share it with those who might benefit. Check the show notes for a link to the Numbers Knowhow platform

where you can access a free trial. Let me know your thoughts. Until next week, keep your planning mindset alive and execute and implement. We hope you enjoyed this episode and appreciate you taking the time to listen to the show. We hope you got some value. If you did, then we'd love it if you shared the episode.

We look forward to you joining us next week for another I Hate Numbers episode.