You know that big bold goal you have for next quarter? Or that revenue target you are trying to hit? You get there through planning.
Or maybe you've been winging it up to this point but you aren't confident that you'll be able to meet your goals?
Welcome to part 3 of the 4 part series on what it takes to sustainably scale your business where we are breaking down strategy planning systems and team. In part 1 we looked at the 4 layers of your lean dream team. In part 2 we looked at systems for scale and the 4 different levels of systems, 3 of which are often overlooked. Today we’re going to look at planning and in the next part of this series, we’ll look at strategy.
In Episode 89 of the Lean Out Your Business Podcast, I dive into how most planning systems really aren't designed for small businesses and how to make the big, bold business moves that you want to with the confidence that you'll be able to meet your goals and hit revenue targets.
In this episode, I dive into:
- The importance of strategic planning
- What Lean Strategic Planning System is and how it can help you scale your business
- The importance of strategy
- The four pillars of the Lean Strategic Planning System
- Why it's important to learn strategic planning and not rely on others
- What to expect at the Reimagine Retreat
- The context pillar
- The clarity pillar
- The commitment pillar
- The kaizen pillar
- Sneak peek from our next session
Tune into Episode 89 of the Lean Out Your Business Podcast or keep reading below.
The reality is that: entrepreneurs might be great idea generators, but they're not great idea implementers.
There are very tactical planning systems that are designed for personal productivity and they don't really work well when you get them into a team environment or there are these really big strategic planning practices that come out of the multi-billion dollar businesses but are completely overkill for our type and size of business.
I developed a planning system specifically for the scaling 6-7 figure business so you can cut through noise and distractions without having to work so much and give up the things that are important to you outside your business.
The Lean Strategic Planning System:
- Helps you take the big, bold vision that you have and connect it down to the day-to-day execution
- Gives you confidence that you're always working on the right, next best thing
- Provides clarity for what your team should be focused on
- Emphasizes flexibility and adaptability
- It helps you consistently achieve the goals that are going to have the biggest impact on your clients and drive the most profit for your business
You may be thinking...
"Yeah, I’ll just hire a project manager or OBM for that."
Here's why you absolutely need to learn this skill yourself and not rely on someone else:
A PM or OBM is going to execute that plan and ensure everything gets done, however, you need to be able to make effective decisions and course correct when needed. As the visionary of the company, you want to be able to take that vision that you have and determine what you want to focus on so your team can ensure that it gets done.
One of my clients is a women’s network for 6 and 7-figure female entrepreneurs and we have been working together to implement Lean Strategic Planning practices into their business. My team built out their system in Monday.com which is something we do as part of our done-for-you service offerings. We also implemented the planning cadences and meeting structures around it because while using a tool is great, it is the entire planning ecosystem that delivers results and how and when you plan and meet as a team is a key part of that.
The CEO and founder of the company does not and will probably will never be the one to facilitate those planning sessions or do that planning herself - but she understands it. She is the one who holds the vision and knows what the priorities are. She is the one who is able to help her team make decisions about what to focus on when they realize they can only get done half of what they planned when they consider their capacity and commitments. She’s the one who now has visibility into what’s getting done, what’s not able to get done, and where she needs to expand her team to accelerate her results.
You don't want to miss the ability to connect the vision to the execution!
Understanding the planning aspect is critical to the success of your business and your team. Reverse engineer your results by starting your strategy with your vision. We'll be focusing on this together at our Reimagine Retreat coming up on October 11-13 in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Overview of the Lean Strategic Planning System
Context: this is the BIG vision. Context ensures that you're working on the right things at the right time.
Clarity: ensuring that everything you're working on is aligned to your vision and goals and cutting out whatever is no longer serving you or adding value.
Commitment: fully committing to the plan and outcomes but leaving room for flexibility and innovation when you run into challenges.
Kaizen: making small continuous improvements and changes for the better - this is the step where you're going to be measuring your results on a regular basis!
Work with Crista:
Want to learn more about working with Crista and the Lean Out Method team to simplify and scale your business? Explore our limited series podcast Do Less, Scale Faster and learn more about our services and hear from our clients what it's like to work with us.
Want to join Crista and a group of high-achieving entrepreneurs IN PERSON to take yourself and your business to the next level this year? Join us for our luxury VIP retreat and mastermind experience.
Ready to eliminate complexity from your business and scale to multiple-7+ figures in simple and sustainable ways? Apply to join us at Simplify to Scale Ops Academy, a transformation group-mentorship experience for successful entrepreneurs ready to transform their business into a self-run company that's no longer dependent on them to scale.
Love this podcast? Then you'll want to join the Simplify and Scale Society, Crista's private FB community where she hosts a weekly live training + Q&A.
by Crista Grasso
Crista Grasso is the go-to strategic planning expert for leading global businesses and online entrepreneurs when they want to scale. Known as the "Business Optimizer", Crista has the ability to quickly cut through noise and focus on optimizing the core things that will make the biggest impact to scale a business simply and sustainably. She specializes in helping businesses gain clarity on the most important things that will drive maximum value for their clients and maximum profits for their business. She is the creator of the Lean Out Method, 90 Day Lean Out Planner, and host of the Lean Out Your Business Podcast.
