Forecasts and plans

/in /by

“Forecasts of $XXM in revenue in five years” is a shot in the dark. All longer than one-year projections are guesses. Waste no time on false precision. Focus on the burn and your path toward achieving the definite milestones.

“How will you get the customers in the first few months or quarters? How will you bootstrap when starting out?”  Details matter more than gross, unproven assumptions.

Typically, a few corporate managers work together to write a plan that no one without actual field experience can challenge. The process shields planning from the current market reality. Why? Such a method is past-driven and myopic. A plan must be developed from the bottom up. Only people with in-depth, intimate knowledge of the field can develop an effective strategy.

The way many businesses work with marketing firms has often puzzled me. The companies will engage a marketing outfit to execute the tactics. However, the company prepares strategy before the engagement without the expert knowledge of tactics that usually resides with the marketing firm! Since planning is mostly guesswork, it is better to focus on this week, not this year. Make just-in-time decisions.  Figure out the best next thing and do that.

Coming soon: The Starters’ playbook

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