Do You Need a Yearly Plan?

New year, new you! Or maybe not?

Many people don’t believe they need a yearly plan. They believe they know enough about themselves or their businesses to bypass any planning process. Some people can get away with doing this. But, for most, having a plan and updating one on a yearly basis is essential to keep on track.

A yearly plan helps you to focus on what is important. There are too many events and things that happen during the year that we will simply forget about what needs to get done. The plan lets you see what needs allocation of funding. You can see how your expenses are affecting your bottom line.

If you have employees working for you, a yearly plan can help manage them. You can find out what vacations they are planning, and you can ensure that they are scheduled for training that you may require of them. You can’t account for everything that they may encounter over the course of the year. But, as long as you have the major events on your plan, you can make alternative plans.

When you implement your yearly plan, you solidify the necessary objectives to advance your organization. You and your employees can use it as a roadmap to make sure everyone is on the same page. There are going to be changes, and as the year goes on, you may find some initiatives are no longer relevant. But, overall, a plan is a great tool to help your company.

Without a plan, people and companies tend to flounder. They spend more money than they should, and they start projects that they often don’t complete. They have no way of knowing whether those projects are even going to help the company at all. It’s difficult to work as a cohesive unit when everyone is off doing whatever they feel like doing. Even if you have a manager who delegates the jobs, without a plan, the manager will also create projects as he or she goes.

A plan doesn’t have to be elaborate, nor does it need to be exceptionally long. It can be as informational as listing out dates and tasks. Then, assign people to those tasks. It is important to get everyone to participate, but once you get an agreement, they need to be held accountable. Business is difficult enough, without lacking some kind of plan or map to guide you in the right direction.