five essential elements for effective planning and budgeting.
by bill penczak
ah, summer is finally here: baseball is back (sort of). the weather is getting hotter (although because i live in texas it’s sometimes difficult to tell). the kids are looking forward to school (albeit more “in” school than “at”).
more: re-thinking today’s firm with five global leaders | 5 things your firm should do differently this summer | do you have the guts to beat the covid crisis? | how to inoculate your firm against covid competition | ‘found money’ delights clients | the three r’s for beating the corona crisis
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and cpa firms are gearing up for partner retreats and 2022 strategic planning…
but most strategic plans are neither strategic nor plans. they are more likely to be a compilation of to-do lists and wishful thinking, as firms stumble through the planning process and return to their day jobs as soon as the planning session is complete, with most topics forgotten or relegated to the “we’ll look at that later” category.
i have seen the process work with client companies in manufacturing, retail, and packaged goods, and some of the lessons learned can apply to cpa firms that wish to exert greater control over their destinies and be market drivers instead of market riders:
- top down and bottom up. plans that emanate exclusively from the corner office, without buy-in and input from the partner group, are destined to fail. plans are successful when they are the result of input from the rank and file about market trends, a firm’s true capabilities and passions, and other success factors. one other suggestion is to form committees of partners and managers to analyze and address a potential strategic initiative, have them present it to the partner in a retreat forum, debate the issues, and agree on a path forward. committee categories could be m&a, new solutions, firm culture, business pursuits and process, it evolution, or succession planning. the firms that extend the conversation from the outset are far more likely to achieve their strategic goals.
- use smart goals. management guru peter drucker is often quoted as saying that “you can’t manage what you can’t measure.” it always strikes me as ironic that cpas – some of the most exacting professionals on the planet – are uncomfortable or reticent to tie themselves down to smart (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound) goals in their firm strategic planning efforts. creating specificity allows the team to commit to something and removes opinion from the formula. and it allows management to examine real metrics on the progression of any given initiative. the one thing i would add to the smart acronym is “who.” as an old boss of mine used to say, “who is waking up nervous about this?” a template that i’ve used extensively that includes smart goals is “ceo tools 2.0” by jim canfield. he provides guidance on the process and templates to use to lay the groundwork for greater success.
- make the discussion of planning initiatives part of every management meeting. while management committee meetings may have to deal with new, emerging issues (like getting everyone to work from home when covid hit), the constant focus should be on the bigger picture, and how the firm is achieving the milestones of the actions laid out in the strategic plan. a constant discussion will identify impediments and challenges, new ideas or even conclusions that an initiative is no longer viable or relevant. changing a plan in midstream should be viewed as an asset, not a liability. things change, and plans should as well. what’s important is that the firm is on a constant path toward execution. wells fargo ceo richard kovacevich is famously quoted that he could leave their strategic plan on a plane, have it fall into the hands of a competitor and “it wouldn’t make any difference. no one could execute it. our success has nothing to do with planning. it has to do with execution.”
- don’t do it all at once. there is a certain risk of trying to create too many initiatives at the same time, which is where three-year and one-year plans are the ideal model. anything longer than three years, unless you’re a huge conglomerate, is likely more speculation than strategy. we don’t know what we don’t know, and the pace of change has only grown more rapid in the past decade. so rather than cramming too many strategies into a given year, firms would be served to execute fewer, better, and maintain a rolling three-year plan. even if the managing partner is delegating some initiatives and not doing the heavy lifting themselves, it is difficult if not impossible for a midsize firm to execute on more than a few initiatives at a time. set realistic goals (which harkens back to the “achievable” in smart) and train the organization’s execution muscle.
- hold those responsible, accountable. i wrote a while back about accountability and how the paucity of it can derail firms on many levels. nowhere is accountability more important than in the execution of an agreed-upon strategic initiative. chances are, whoever you have on the team charged with leading a strategic initiative is one of the 20 percent of partners who always volunteer for new assignments or initiatives. take a minute, if you will, to think about your partner group and it’s likely that the same handful of partners are the ones with multiple firm management assignments. in the best cases, your strategic execution team will be comprised of those partners, who are likely to hold themselves to a high degree of accountability. but if there are partners who have been given an assignment and their dog is always eating their homework, have the guts to remove them from that responsibility and replace them with another partner, or better yet, a rising star, who will actually get things done.
all the planning in the world can’t save poor execution. agree on an approach, take action, adjust mid-course if needed, and get the right people on the bus. the strategic planning process can be hard to initiate, but once a firm gets into a rhythm, strategic planning success can make the difference between surviving and thriving in an ever-changing competitive landscape.