How To Create And Prioritize Your 2017 Business Plan

Now's the time to kick 2017 business (and life) planning up a gear!

Some of the folks I've talked to already have the plan finished and they're ready to roll. Others haven't even started planning yet.

Not to worry! It's certainly not too late - and it's not as hard as it sometimes seems. 

Here's a simple method to determine your 2017 priorities and get everyone on the same page:

• Grab your department heads and key employees, block off a couple hours, and sit down in a room together.
• Have each person brainstorm the top 3 things that are most important to the organization for next year.
• Take the ideas and put them into categories. (I've done this exercise a few times and it's amazing how, no matter how many people you have in the room, the ideas will fall into 3-6 categories.)

What's cool is that in the span of about an hour, you have a concise list of the topics that need attention in your organization.

Next is prioritizing, assigning action, and accountability. 

Using a method like this, it's really easy to get a high-level plan together. I'm by no means suggesting that accomplishing the initiatives is easy! But at least a good direction has been planned. 

This process also works really well for personal planning. Don't forget about yourself!

Let's make it a great 2017!

Marty