Business Implementation

Business Implementation Planning is necessary to map out what you need to do in order to achieve your goals. But without the execution of those plans, you won’t get anywhere. The implementation of an idea is how you start your journey towards achieving your goals and eventually reach your destination. For businesses, an implementation plan plays a crucial role in the development and execution of an idea, project, or methodology. In fact, the Harvard Business Review reported that companies with an implementation and execution plan saw 70 percent greater returns than those who don’t have one. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let’s first quickly understand what is an implementation plan, how do you make one, and how to execute it successfully? Read on… What is an Implementation Plan? (Definition) According to Wikipedia, implementation is the realization of an application, or execution of a plan, idea, model, design, specification, standard, algorithm, or policy. To put it simply, implementation is the act of executing a plan, decision, or method. Thus, an implementation plan is the documented steps you need to take to successfully achieve your implementation pursuits. Implementation plans are usually made to support the strategic plan created by an organization. Now, what is a strategic plan you ask? Well, a strategic plan is a document defining the strategy by which your team will accomplish certain goals or make decisions. Strategic plans are made to guide a business decision, a new business venture, or an upcoming project or initiative. Once an organization has mapped out the strategic plan, an implementation plan is made to map out how to bring the strategic plan to life. The implementation plan then breaks down tasks into identifiable steps, assigns tasks and responsibilities to the people involved, and creates a definitive timeline for the entire project. Therefore, the goal of the implementation plan is to effectively implement company strategy and lay down the step by step process of bringing the project to success. What are the Benefits of an Implementation Plan? The implementation plan puts organizational resources to use and develops a tactical plan to execute the strategic initiative. It thus plays a huge role in the success of your overall strategic plan. Even if you have the greatest and an iron-clad plan or strategy, it’s totally pointless if you don’t put the plan into action. Here are some of the many benefits of an implementation plan: 1. Provides Clarity Writing an implementation plan gives you better clarity of thought and improves your own understanding of the project. When you are forced to think things through, you are better able to document as well as communicate the plan to team members, upper management, and get everyone on board. 2. Keeps Everyone on Track Your implementation plan lays down exactly what tasks need to be done, how to do them, who needs to do them, keeping everyone on board, and removing any sort of confusion or doubtfulness. When everyone knows what their roles and responsibilities are, it’s easier to stay on track and keep everyone accountable. 3. Improved Cooperation Working on projects requires the cooperation and collaboration of many employees. The better the cooperation amongst team members, the better the synergy and the overall execution. By creating and communicating your implementation plan, you can not only assign responsibilities to team members but can also educate them about how their work affects the work of their peers and how it all fits in the broader organizational vision. 4. Increased Buy-In When you have a solid implementation plan that is well researched, documented, and presented, you ensure buy-in from all key stakeholders of your organization. When upper management is on board, it’s easier to get resources allocated to your project and ensure smooth project execution. Key Components of an Implementation Plan Every implementation plan comprises of some key components that need to be analyzed and thought-through before communicating the plan with your team: 1. Outline Goals/Objectives: Start with defining the goals and objectives of the implementation plan. What do you want to accomplish? What is the project scope? Why are these goals important? How do these goals fit into the overall organizational vision and mission? 2. Assign Responsibilities: Assigning roles and responsibilities provides a clear picture of what needs to be done and by whom. The clearer you define these responsibilities, the easier it will be to keep people accountable. 3. Implementation Schedule: Schedules help track, communicate, and keep an eye on progress for your project, keeping all stakeholders in the loop with what’s going on. 4. Resource Allocation: One of the main purposes of an implementation plan is to make sure that your team has access to enough resources in order to execute the plan effectively and without any hiccups. Make sure you know exactly what you need, how much you already have, and how you will procure what’s needed. 5. Define Metrics: How will you determine project success? Every implementation plan must identify KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) to establish how it will measure success and failure. This also allows you to measure progress and celebrate milestones to keep the team excited. 6. Contingency Plan: Planning for challenges is as important as planning for success. Make a plan for how your team will navigate rough waters in case you get over-budget, don’t have enough resources, or are approaching deadlines. This way you won’t get off-track when challenges arise and you will be able to steer clear of them easily. The Importance of Business Implementation Whether a business is a start-up or already well established, business implementation becomes the responsibility of all the employees. Implementation is the process of executing a plan or policy so that a concept becomes a reality. To implement a plan properly, managers should communicate clear goals and expectations, and supply employees with the resources needed to help the company achieve its goals. A. Improvement Through Change The implementation of a plan brings about change meant to help solve a problem. The changes can occur to policies, management development, budgets, processes, products or services. Since detrimental to a company, change can help improve the work customer experience. improve the company or structures, organizational the status quo can be environment and/or the B. Good Organizational Development Part of good organizational development involves including all employees in implemented changes. When a company shares its ideas and goals with workers, the workers will feel a sense of ownership and loyalty to the company, as well as feel included in something important that is larger than their respective job descriptions. Making workers feel valued also helps maintain or improve employee retention. Communicating goals to employees helps encourage participation and can give a plan a strong start. C. Increased Interdepartmental Cooperation When executed properly, business implementation can increase interdepartmental cooperation. It can be easy for a department within a business to work independently and only rely on another department when a need arises, particularly in large company. Business implementation helps unite departments, open the lines of communication, create a diverse culture within the organization and increase efficiency and productivity. Successful business implementation links performance factors with projects designed to develop and optimize individual and departmental activities. D. Setting Clear Priorities As well as communicating goals, business strategy implementation sets clear priorities. Priorities are generally based on due dates, client needs, financial concerns, worker needs or logistics. Deadlines help guarantee the implementation of a plan with realistic due dates, but a company must provide its workers with clear action steps and resources to ensure the success of the plan. Failure to communicate priorities can cause inefficiencies, miscommunications, worker frustration and low morale. When priorities or deadlines are realistic, employees feel as if a company is setting them up for success. E. Moving a Company Forward Business implementation is important for moving a company forward, as is not underestimating the importance of implementation planning. When a business fails to implement and execute its strategies properly, it fails to move forward and grow. According to website Business Balls, to implement and execute a plan successfully, there must be "motivational leadership," a plan of action and "performance management." Implementing Your Business Plan Objectives BY DANIEL RICHARDS Even the most well-thought-out business plan is just a stack of paper if it isn’t coupled with clear guidelines on your path toward implementing the business plan. Your implementation plan is the section of your greater business plan, where you’ll: 1. Clarify objectives 2. Assign tasks with deadlines 3. Chart your progress toward reaching goals and milestones All of these efforts are the tools you will use to grow your business. Defining Clear Objectives Your objectives should be crystal clear and specifically spelled out since you’ll use them as a building block for the rest of the implementation plan. For example, let’s assume your startup is a small consulting firm. Your objective should be tough but reachable, and could read something like this: Secure office space and be open for business in three months. Sign three clients within the first three months of operations. Sign 10 clients within the first year. Setting the right goals and objectives for the implementation of your business plan will push you to show up and perform every day. If you don't set goals that challenge you on a daily basis, it's easy to stagnate in your business and simply drift along doing ok. Your objectives are where hoping and ideas are translated into action. Breaking Them Down into Tasks This part of your business implementation plan details what must be accomplished, to achieve your greater objectives. Include a task manager for each step, so that roles are clearly defined, and there is accountability. As you create well-defined tasks and assignments for yourself, these descriptions should be plainly and generally stated; don’t get into a step-by-step, micromanaged explanation of how the tasks will be carried out. Instead, emphasize the expected results associated with these tasks. Continuing with the above example, the tasks section of your implementation plan might look like this: Secure ofÏce space – real estate agent Obtain licenses and permits – you Set up ofÏce phones and computers – ofÏce manager Begin recruiting clients – sales manager Create marketing collateral – marketing manager Solicit referrals from clients – relationship manager This list is very specific to this particular firm and is a brief illustration. You may wish to go into more details, assigning tasks to yourself such as obtaining financing, networking with prospective clients, and so on. Allocating Time To determine how realistic your implementation plan is, each task must be paired with an appropriate time frame for completion. Some tasks will naturally take more time than others, so do your best to set realistic estimates. If you're treading into unknown territory with any part of your plan, it's your responsibility to do the research, track down instructional resources that'll help you through implementation, or find a partner, mentor or contractor with more direct experience to help execute. You should be aggressive but reasonable with your time allocation to ensure not just completion, but also competent work. For assistance in framing this timescale, use a program such as Microsoft Project, or create your own Gantt chart – a helpful tool that shows how long it will take to complete different tasks and in which order the tasks should be finished. Making Progress You or a member of your management team needs to be in charge of monitoring each task’s progress and the completion percentage of each objective if you hope to implement your business plan without delay successfully. When delays do occur, however, try to get to the root of the problem. Did the person responsible drop the ball? Did he or she have too many responsibilities to handle? Did a third party, such as a supplier or the bank, fail to hold up its end of a deal? Adjust your Gantt chart appropriately to account for the delay, make a note of the previous deadline and the reason it was missed. While the above steps may seem like overkill, the early days of implementation in a startup are critically important; it’s a time when good management patterns are set and also probably a lean era when revenue has yet to start rolling in. The more efficiently you start implementing your business plan, the more likely it is that you will survive this early period.