The Five Key Elements and the Five Key Steps to Successful Branch-Division Planning

The Operation/Branch plans must define the objectives, timeline and resources required to meet the growth objectives of the business unit, department or branch.

Analysis of opportunities is useless if it doesn’t degenerate into work. Operational planning, by definition, results in action plans for day-to-day work.

Branch/Operation Planning

The Five Key Elements:

1. A definition of services to be provided

2. Initiatives that support the End Game Vision--- What are the Branch Goals?

3. An examination of available synergy

4. A commitment to timing and sequence of major steps

5. An agreement to measurement criteria and targets

The Five Key Steps

Step 1 – A Definition of Services to be Provided

Criteria:

• It must be future oriented

• It must focus on the external environment

• It must consider local competition, customers and products

• It must consider branch weaknesses as well as strengths

• It must match strengths to local market needs

Typical Questions:

• What is the purpose of your business?

• What business are you in now?

• What business should you be in?

• What are you good at?

• What have you failed at?

• What differential advantage do you have over your competitors?

• What differential advantage do they have over you?

• What markets do you serve?

Step #2 – What are the branch goals?

Individual branch initiatives that support the end game must be identified. These initiatives not only include budgetary financial goals but they must also include support for all the non financial objectives identified in the end game that have not been deferred.

Step #3 -- An Examination of Available Synergy

Synergy arises when two actions performed jointly produce a greater result than they would if performed independently. When 2 + 2 = 5.

Influencing Factors

• Optimum scale of operations

• Expansion methods

• Negative effects – 2 + 2 =3

• Knowledge/expertise transference

Step 4 – A Commitment to Timing and Sequence of Major Steps

Since resources are always limited, a branch manager must decide what to do first and what to defer. An action planning process must occur for each initiative that supports the end game. Assigned accountability, expected results for each step in the plan and a completion date for each step of the action plan is essential.

Criteria:

1. Implementation is serial in nature

2. Parallel opportunities should be exploited

3. Determine foregone opportunities

Step 5 – An Agreement to Measurement Criteria and Targets

Typical Criteria:

1. Return on investment

2. Risk of losing investment

3. Company growth

4. Contribution to social welfare

5. Stability and security of employment

6. Prestige of the company

7. Future controls

8. Inventory turns

9. Fill rates

10. DSO (Days Sales Outstanding)

11. Cash to cash cycle

Remember:

• Work = Task Description + Tangible Output + Person Responsible +Due Date

• The Action Item is a piece of “bite sized” work that is scheduled to be complete prior to a review event.

• Effective creation requires major attention to available resources, e.g. time.

• Accountability = Authority +Responsibility

Article Source: http://www.content.onlypunjab.com

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