7 Major Reasons Why Planning is Important in Achieving Your Business Goals

In football’s earlier times, the powerhouse of football was Latin American teams like Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, etc. They were known for the beauty they bring to the game. They had an upper hand against European teams in terms of Game Skills (for eg: dribbling), Physical Strength, Speed, Flexibility, and other factors. They were undefeatable in the field. And what do you think to put a stop to their reign? It was the introduction of “Formation” by some European Teams which in simple terms means, A Proper Game Plan.

 

The Game of Football is an amazing example of how a proper plan can make a difference in the result. The results of a Football game are always uncertain and are based on two things; matters which the team has control over and, those they don’t have. The same applies to a business.

 

 It is a major challenge for New and Existing businesses to survive and grow through the tough competition almost everywhere in the world and be a winner in the market. To overcome this challenge, proper Planning is key.

 

 The Saying is that The ‘luck’ factor is important in Major Football matches as well as  Business. But actually, a team or a company can determine its fate through proper planning and timely implementation. In the 2018 world cup, we saw Croatia, which was considered the least favorite to win the WorldCup in the beginning, reach the final. In this case, they overcame the luck factor with a proper game plan.

 

Here are 7 reasons why  planning is important in achieving business goals which Football shows us:

 

1.    Goals are the Goals

Setting goals and benchmarks are important for achieving the goals. In a football match, the main task is to score goals. The players are motivated to score these goals because there is a Goal Post at the opponent's half. If there is no target to achieve, then the game will be senseless.

 

The same is the case for a business. It is vital to set a goal for achieving. Planning Will Help in creating this target for your company and eases achieving those goals. The main benefit is that if there is a goal to achieve, then you will feel a sense of control.

 

Through proper planning, we can set goals that are SMART ( Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic & Time-Bound).

 

2.     Helps to Remove Uncertainty 

Before the starting of a tournament, a team will have a proper set of plans which should be implemented during the whole tournament. Without it, there will be a lack of communication and confusion for the players about what & when they should do. This confusion will impact the confidence of the players and may lead the team to get knocked out in the first round itself. 

Similarly, in a business, if there is no proper plan in place, it will be difficult for the company to achieve its desired result. There will be no direction for the company to focus on and no defined role for each member in the organization. A state of uncertainty will lay on the company and it will drain the confidence of every member. 

 

With planning, you can document your ideas and goals and can communicate those ideas to all in your business to think the same way you think to achieve the business goals efficiently. With a proper plan, a business can set the direction they want to focus on and can delegate roles to each team member according to their capability. This gives clarity to the business and it can improve productivity.

 

Pablo Picasso once said:

“Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.”

 

3.     Helps to Save Costs

“Attacks Win you Games, but Defense will win the Tournament” - Sir Alex Ferguson

 

In the match, scoring goals is not the only important thing. Not conceding goals is also equally important. If the whole team is only focusing on scoring goals, the result will be the cost of more goals falling on their post.

 

If there is no proper plan when running a business, the chances are higher that The cost will exceed the benefits. The business will lose its money and valuable time. By setting a plan, one can predict the cost and time which should be allocated to each stage you go through.

 

 

You can take steps to avoid unnecessary costs and utilize your time more efficiently with a plan. This will lead to cost-effectively achieving your business goals.

 

4.     To Work Smartly, Not Hardly

As mentioned earlier, European teams began to defeat Latin American teams through a well-defined formation. All they did was they planned well before the game, practiced it, and implemented it. In old matches, that is Before having a formation, they did all the hard work but yet they struggled to win. but later, what they did was smart work. They studied the opposite team and they began to play not only physically but with their minds too. That way they overcame their weaknesses.

 

 

Planning will enable an organization to work smartly. It will avoid putting unnecessary efforts and will help to focus on the necessary things. In this way, Businesses will get their results fastly which will lead to increased confidence.

 

 5.     Helps to Achieve Things that look impossible

We have seen many Dark Horses in the world cups, those small teams who were not considered favorites at the beginning of tournaments excelling in the tournament by defeating strong teams. They managed to do this because they had the tactics and game plan to overcome the strengths of those strong teams. They achieved things that everyone told them were impossible.

 

Some Businesses also feel that it is impossible to dream big for them or achieve the higher profits they desire. With proper planning, they can set stages to reach the desired result. They can make it to small tasks and then can achieve each task step by step until it reaches the final target and makes the impossible possible.

 6.     Enables Flexibility

Planning helps to predict the obstacles that may pop up during the journey. During a match, as the game is progressing, the team may face unexpected setbacks in the beginning. Things may not go as planned, and if they stick to the current plan, chances are high to lose that game. A good team will arrange their tactics in a way that there will be a set of plans which can be used according to the situation they face during the game, for them if things are not going according to the current plan, they will immediately switch to the next plan which is suitable for the situation and take control of the game back.

 

Sometimes businesses also face unpredictable events during their journey. Total conditions may change due to, for example, inflation, change in Government policy, etc. they may get stuck at certain points in their cycle of operations due to these events. They will struggle to handle those situations if they haven't taken certain measures in the beginning. By planning they can predict unfavorable events which may occur in the future and can establish a set of plans which can be used according to the situation.

 

7.   Fix past mistakes

Either for a football team or an organization, repeating mistakes will always bring unfavorable results. it will consume a lot of effort and time of organization. The planning process will help to consider past mistakes when you are setting a plan. 

 

By doing so, the chances of failing the plan can be minimized. Also fixing past mistakes will lead to generating new ideas which will add value to the team.

 

If you look into the successful businesses around you, you will find that there was a proper plan & Its execution  on a timely basis. So you must find a suitable plan for your business and stick on that plan to become successful.

 

(Author is an auditor and business consultant in AK & Partners Auditors and Chartered Accountants. AK is one of the leading audit firms in qatar. Please send your comments and suggestions to hafiz@akauditors.com )