I've always been a fan of simplicity.  To be honest, it's probably because I'm inherently lazy and don't like doing the cognitive work required to understand complex things.... but, over time I've managed to turn this into a strength.

You see, simple things are more easily communicated, more easily understood and easier to engage with.  

This is critical when it comes to your business plan.

It should be something that your team can understand easily and get on board with.

A good plan provides direction and motivation, aligns your people and keeps everyone accountable to what's really important.

So let me ask you:  Do you have a simple, one page business plan for this year?  Is it clear & concise, does it provide direction and have definite measures of success?

If you're like many small and medium business owners the answer is no.  And mine was too, for so many years.  

Guess what, those were the years my business didn't go anywhere and I flip flopped around making 'ok' money.  Sure,  I worked hard and was busy, but I was busy going nowhere.  Like a Hamster running full speed on a wheel.

The crazy thing was, I had learned a really amazing business planning process while working for BHP Billiton.  One that managed to align and engage literally thousands of people.  Finally, I though 'why can't I do that at my small business?'.

Sure, it took some modification, but eventually I managed to get all the best bits of a thorough planning process without all the corporate waffle.

And here it is:

Over the next few weeks I'll break down each element for you so that you can understand what each item on this list is, why I think it's important and how to go about developing it for your business.

Stay tuned.