One of my personal frustrations is when people or companies say they want a slice of an absolutely huge pie, that's showing itself very well in just about every class - eg, a business sector that's romping all over the board, and bringing in profits with barely any effort - but then seem to find any and every reason to take as long as possible actually getting round to even picking up a plate!
I go bodyboarding when I get the time. One of the key facts in that world is that, by the time EVERYONE is able to see a wave breaking, if you're not already riding it, it's too late.
The same is true in business.
Whether it's an individual or a company being a hesitant wallflower in the face of the ride of a lifetime, the motivation seems to be the same: they'll waste time on business cases, business plans, and, if they're an organisation, corporate governance.
The prevailing attitude, certainly in the UK, often seems to be that business cases and business plans have to cover and answer every possible question, to the fullest possible extent, so that the proposal "just gets waved through" when it goes before the bank manager, or the Board.
Pro tip: the only questions you need to answer immediately are:
. How much is this actually going to cost? (purchase price, maintenance costs while momentum builds, overheads - eg, staff wages, holiday pay, sick pay, accommodations and adaptations for staff with disabilities, vehicles, stock, marketing, networking, your own salary...)
. How long are you going to give it before you accept it hasn't worked out the way you planned, and either a) change the plan, or b) exit the sector?
. What do you need to have the best chance of success?
. What do you bring that can enhance the sector?
. How are you going to ensure that accessibility and inclusion are designed-in, rather than an adjustment that needs to be made later?
That's it. Five questions.
My advice? Task 5 individuals, or 5 groups (depending on the size of your organisation or community) with answering a question each, and then come together to discuss how the answers link in to each other.
Give a MAXIMUM of an hour to each question.
Then spend a maximum of two hours with everyone working together to tell the story of what your first day, your first week, your first six months, your first year will look like. This is just a story; it's broad brush strokes. Tell it as though it's already happened, Eg;
"Our first day was a really energising community engagement experience; we made sure we'd created an attractive layout, that highlighted key offerings at a range of price points, and made sure our site (physical or virtual) was fully accessible, a genuinely inclusive and safe space, and easy to navigate. We weren't actively selling, we were just talking to people, and letting them get a proper look at what we're offering.
Our first week started quietly, but this gave us time to notice what caused people to stop and linger, so that we could optimise our offering. We also had quality conversations, which, towards the end of the week, we saw result in effective word of mouth marketing.
Our first six months was a steady growth in trade volume, with a constant receptiveness to feedback - for example, one of our most common complaints was: "I couldn't find the checkout button!" - we looked at our website, and realised that we needed to add a checkout button to our product thumbnails, to benefit from the initial "oohh, I like that! I want one!" - people weren't unable to find the checkout button, they got bored with the product descriptions we were so proud of, and had put so much time into, and left - those descriptions help with SEO (we can see this from our stats), but the checkout button needs to come before them so that the process works for people as well as algorithms.
Our first year was a process of continuous improvement - small changes in response to the actual problems behind customer moans, eg: "You're too expensive" actually means "I don't perceive any value to me from these products/services", so we need to look at what we're actually providing our customer - convenience? Comfort? A sense of 'being a socially responsible person?' A belief that they are taking control of their own health outcomes? A reward for surviving a challenging week? - and make that value clearer. We slowly built up a regular customer base, and were open to dynamic insights on what worked and what didn't. We've created a business we can grow at minimal cost, and which is ready to change to meet consumer demand and sector challenges, whilst still maintaining a recognisable, core identity." (It took me 35mins to come up with that. 2hrs will give you something epic.)
This story, paired with the answers to the five questions above, give you your business plan.
Governance, be it a Board or a bank manager, isn't about getting "waved through, because you answered all our questions" - good governance is about proactive support. Governance is about asking the pertinent questions you haven't thought of, it's about making you aware of threats you may not have seen. It's about showing you that you have a purely objective team in the background, ready to pull you out if you start sinking. To return to surfing/bodyboarding terms, your governance team are the jetski riders who circle in the background while you're doing your stuff. They're the people who can act quickly when things swamp you, and the people who can call the rescue helicopter when you get wiped out, and can't recover.
Governance bods and Boards: BE that support crew.
Call out where the best waves are before they start to break.
Direct your folk away from dangerously crowded spots, to the places they can do their best stuff.
Keep an eye on them.
Get them out if they're swamped.
Call for rescue if a wipe out leaves them helpless.
Don't have a Governance team that's on your side, and feel like you'd like one?
The Productive Pessimist offers Governance in its best form, at £50 per hour or £350 per day.
Drop us an email to talk about what you need. theproductivepessimist@yahoo.com
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