Peak Peformance Business Coaching

Business Concept, Products, and Services
by Sheri@ThePPGinc.com (The Peak Performance Group -)
27 May 2009 at 5:26am
The next part of the Business Plan is describing your business concept, products and or services.

Describe in depth your products or services (technical specifications, drawings, photos, sales brochures, and other large items belong in Appendices).

Summarize the key technology, concept or strategy upon which your business is based. Do not include trademark or technical details in your plan. Such details should not be revealed in this document. Even a non-disclosure document may not protect your interests.

List general categories of your products, services, or intellectual concept.

What factors will give you competitive advantages or disadvantages? Examples include level of quality, unique, or proprietary features.

What are the pricing, fee, or leasing structures of your products or services?
Bay Area Business Magazine
by Sheri@ThePPGinc.com (The Peak Performance Group -)
13 May 2009 at 12:03pm
Sheri' was recently published in the Bay Area Business Magazine of Tampa Bay, Florida. Take a look at: http://www.babm.com/strategicplanning/7-steps.htm
Vision Statement
by Sheri@ThePPGinc.com (The Peak Performance Group -)
5 May 2009 at 7:46pm
The second part of your business plan is your Vision Statement. Organizations sometimes summarize goals and objectives into a mission statement and / or a vision statement:
A Definition of Vision in a dictionary: 'An Image of the future we seek to create'.

A vision statement describes in graphic terms where the goal-setters want to see themselves in the future. It may describe how they see events unfolding over 10 or 20 years if everything goes exactly as hoped.
A definition of Mission in a dictionary: purpose, reason for being; also, an inner calling to pursue an activity or perform a service.

Many people mistake vision statement for mission statement. The Vision describes a future identity and the Mission describes how it will be achieved. A Mission statement may define the purpose or broader goal for being in existence or in the business. It serves as an ongoing guide without time frame. The mission can remain the same for decades if crafted well. Vision is more specific in terms of objective and future state. Vision is related to some form of achievement if successful.

For example, "We help transport goods and people efficiently and cost effectively without damaging environment" is a mission statement. Ford's brief but powerful slogan "Quality is Job 1" could count as a mission statement. "We will be one amongst the top three transporters of goods and people in North America by 2010" is a vision statement. It is very concrete and unambiguous goal.

Mission and Values go hand in hand. To make the mission statement effective, it needs to be aligned with the prevailing culture of its stakeholders, organization, market and political sphere. A lofty mission statement means nothing if it is not in congruence with the values practiced by the organization. A statement of values provides guiding principles when ethical issues related to realizing the Vision, and undertaking the Mission, arise.

A mission statement can resemble a vision statement in a few companies, but that can be a grave mistake. It can confuse people. The vision statement can galvanize the people to achieve defined objectives, even if they are stretch objectives, provided the vision is SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time bound). A mission statement provides a path to realize the vision in line with its values. These statements have a direct bearing on the bottom line and success of the organization.

Features of an effective vision statement may include:

· Clarity and lack of ambiguity
· Paint a vivid and clear picture, not ambiguous
· Describing a bright future (hope)
· Memorable and engaging expression
· Realistic aspirations, achievable
· Alignment with organizational values and culture, Rational
· Time bound if it talks of achieving any goal or objective

In order to become really effective, an organizational vision statement must (the theory states) become assimilated into the organization's culture. Leaders have the responsibility of communicating the vision regularly, creating narratives that illustrate the vision, acting as role-models by embodying the vision, creating short-term objectives compatible with the vision, and encouraging others to craft their own personal vision compatible with the organization's overall vision.



Executive Summary
by Sheri@ThePPGinc.com (The Peak Performance Group -)
29 Apr 2009 at 7:49pm
This is the first series in developing your Peak Performance Strategic Business Plan. Stay tuned each week as continue to give you information on building your plan.

Creating the Executive Summary

If you are developing this Plan for your internal organizational purposes, concentrate on gaps, weaknesses, and challenges so that you can develop resources and strategy that overcome those challenges; ultimately resulting in a plan that guarantees success.

If this Plan will be used to raise money, be sure to develop a compelling Executive Summary and within the Management and Organization worksheet, thoroughly focus on the background of each person on your management the team. This is the most important part of your Business Plan.

This is the first impression your reader will get of your company. Because most readers will scan through it, it must make an impact if you want them to continue reading.

By completing each of the worksheets within the business plan document prior to completing the Executive Summary, you will have all of the components required for the development of a compelling Executive Summary.

Write this section last.

Make it less than two pages in length.

Divide each component into it?s own section or paragraph. Put them in the order they fall within the Business Plan.

Bulleting important information will help it stand out.

Sub-captions will make reading flow and help the reader absorb your information more effectively.

Keep it brief. If you were to present it verbally, it should take you less than 3 ? 5 minutes.

Explain your business concept clearly:
What will your product be?
Who will your customers be?
Who are the owners?
What do you think the future holds for your business and your industry?

Make it enthusiastic, professional, complete, and concise.

If applying for a loan, state clearly how much you want, precisely how you are going to use it, and how the money will make your business more profitable, thereby ensuring repayment.
Seven-Step Strategy to Business Excellence
by Sheri@ThePPGinc.com (The Peak Performance Group -)
27 Apr 2009 at 7:49pm

Develop your company?s Mission Statement.
The Mission statement speaks to the ?Why? of the organization. Why does it exist?

Develop your company?s Vision Statement.
The Vision Statement speaks to the ?Where.? Where does the organization want to see itself in the future?

Develop your company?s Value Statement.
The Value Statement speaks to the ?What? of the company. What is the character or personality of the organization? What are their values and principles?

These first three steps are important because they direct how everything gets done. They provide the ?soul? of the company. When a company isn?t sure what to do in a given situation, they can turn to their Mission, Vision, and Value statements to determine exactly the right thing to do.

Goal Setting.
The more vivid and concrete the longer-term goals are, the better the organization will do at aligning the near-term goals effectively. A one-year goal is always determined by the 3 ? 5 year goals.

Quarterly objectives are derived from the annual goals. These quarterly objectives now frame the activity that must be accomplished each quarter to achieve the annual goals.

Create Alignment.
Transferring strategic activities to the appropriate people is the first step in achieving effective execution.

As you might expect, communication throughout all levels of your company is critical to business success. If you fail to communicate your plan to all players, no one will have a clue what it takes to succeed. Your people need to be intimately familiar with your Mission, Vision, Values, and your Strategic Plan if you are serious about achieving success and excellence.

Execution.
Managing the timely execution of the strategic activities is one of the most profitable tasks a leader can undertake. If you have more than one person or one unit in your company, the strategic action steps must be delegated to all departments and all of the people who are best suited to execute on them. It is a waste of time to complete the previous steps if you don?t execute on the plan.

Measure.
Measuring outcomes against objectives is important. It provides information to course correct in a timely manner or to adjust goals for acceleration.

A Strategic Plan is a living, dynamic document. It drives your business and must be integrated into every aspect of your organization. Achieving business excellence is not automatic, but it can be fun and it is a worthy goal. If you aren?t playing to win, you might want to rethink what you are doing.

Contact Sheri? to learn how you can achieve competitive advantage and successive lifetime best years! For complimentary planning templates, visit our Next-Level Resource Center at http://theppginc.com/index.php.

The 7 Steps to Achieving Business Excellence
by Sheri@ThePPGinc.com (The Peak Performance Group -)
24 Apr 2009 at 8:32am
The Critical Nature of Planning and Executing What Counts!

Are you ready to make 2009 your lifetime best year? By following our seven steps to achieving business excellence you can create successive years of lifetime bests!

Business excellence occurs when a business relentlessly and consistently executes effective and strategic action steps that lead to goal achievement.

Execution is the systematic, accountability driven, measurable way of effecting concrete action steps that are driven by strategy. Execution is fundamental to strategy and must be taken into account during the strategy development phase.

A business' success is dependent on the leader understanding what strategy and execution is, how they balance one another, and how to navigate them through the obstacles and surprises that show up in the course of business. Balancing execution and strategy is the key to business excellence and it is a lifelong journey for every organization.

All of this probably sounds kind of mystical and perhaps, rather "corporate America," for the business leader who has never truly sat down and developed their company's mission, vision, goals, and strategic plan. We have developed an easy-to-follow, seven-step formula to achieving excellence.

Would it be worth a couple of hours each week planning and measuring results if you could increase revenue and profitability, while reducing the number of hours you have to work in a week? Yes? Then you will want to develop a strategic plan as soon as possible.

This is vitally important for every company - even solo-preneurs - that want to achieve business success and excellence. Therefore, creating time for planning is a must. Another alternative to going it alone is to work with a strategy expert who possesses the knowledge to support you in developing the most comprehensive, objective, strategic plan possible.

Stay tuned and we will be posting the Seven-Steps to Business Excellence!
Register to Develop Your Peak Performance Business Plan!
by Sheri@ThePPGinc.com (The Peak Performance Group -)
31 Jul 2007 at 7:58pm
Welcome to The Peak Performance Group Blog! Next week we will be kicking off a series of weeks focused on developing your Peak Performance Strategic Business Plan. We are offering our Peak Performance Strategic Business Plan as a complimentary gift to anyone who would like to participate in this series.

Simply email us to register for the Business Planning series today!

Who should participate?

· Everyone who is in business and does not have a current, up to date, completed, strategic business plan
· Business owners who have never completed a Market Analysis
· Business?s that have not performed a Competitive Analysis
· Business?s that are not using a comprehensive Marketing Plan
· Business owner?s who have not developed an Exit Strategy, or do not know what their business must ?look? like when it is time to make their exit
· Businesses that will depend on employees, staff, contract employees, or partners to achieve their goals and objectives
· Sales professionals who are serious about building a solid book of business
· Anyone considering a business start-up

Every business benefits from developing a business plan. Identifying your core competencies, competitors, unique selling proposition, target market, and market demand produces though provoking awareness and the ability to broaden your perspective while narrowing your most effective action steps.

Ultimately, your finished product will help you not only communicate your business concept more precisely, it will help you understand:

· The unique strengths that can contribute to competitive advantage
· Areas of weakness that otherwise may have gone unnoticed and unattended
· Where opportunities exist that otherwise would have never been actualized
· Market threats and potential obstacles for which you can develop plans to prevent, avoid, or develop solutions to overcome in advance

Developing your Peak Performance Strategic Business Plan will propel your business to new heights! You will create a perfect strategy to:

· Increase your revenue
· Improve profit margins
· Expand your market reach
· Launch new products or services

The Peak Performance Strategic Business Plan is comprised of about 13 components, the

Executive Summary
The Company
Business Concept, Products, and Services
Management and Organization
Strategic Position
Market Analysis
Competitive Analysis
Opportunities
Marketing Plan
Exit Strategy
Operations Plan
Financial Plan
Appendices and Exhibits

Each week, we?ll address a new section, with the exception of the Strategic Position and Market Analysis. We will spend two weeks addressing these components. I?ll be hosting weekly group conference calls to support you in the development of your unique plan. Calls are held on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 9:30 am ET. Email us for more information and to register for these calls.

My goal for you is that you complete the weekly ?homework? so that at the end of the series you will have a complete, concise, and comprehensive business plan. I have found that most small business owners will put the very important task of developing a business plan on the back burner, rarely finish, or never get to it. Most do this because they are either:

· intimidated by the process,
· simply don?t know how to develop a business plan
· operating their business with some level of effectiveness and believe that success will continue to befall them and therefore do not need a plan
· already invested in their business and are fearful that if they develop the business plan, they may find they don?t like the steps that must be executed to achieve success or that success requires far more than they anticipated and ?it?s better to never look at those facts than to be faced with a situation they do not know how to cure.?
· really believe success just happens
· hate to do the planning required to achieve success.

I?ve decided to tackle the plan in one-week segments so that you have a ?do-able? project, with a concrete and ?do-able? action plan that is able to be completed in about two hours each week. Each person and business being unique, you will find it may take you a little more or a little less time each week. Ultimately, you will end up with a plan that will guide you to the success you want to achieve within your business.

You are invited to visit the blog and post business plan questions that are pertinent to your unique business situation. Alternatively, you may wish to send your questions via email. Questions will be answered during the coaching conference calls.

Please spread the word to your friends and colleagues. Participants may join during any week. One-on-one support is available should you desire to receive individual coaching. Feel free to call me at 813.654.3009 for more information.

I look forward to supporting you in your business success! Until next week?

Sheri? Taber
Executive Coach & Life Strategist

The Peak Performance Group
1.813.654.3009
1.888.654.3009
Sheri@ThePPGinc.com
www.ThePPGinc.com


Strategic Business Plan Development Series
Visit us at www.ThePPGincBLOG.com
Developing Your Business Plan
by Sheri@ThePPGinc.com (The Peak Performance Group -)
11 Apr 2007 at 12:30pm
If you are in business for yourself, you need a business plan! I have been coaching business owners for many years. One thing almost everyone of them has in common is that they haven't put a plan to paper!This is true for the solo-preneur who is struggling to maintain a part-time practice as well as the forward thinking business owner whose business grew leaps and bounds over night. You might think, "I can understand why the struggling business owner may need one, but why does a successful business owner need a plan?"

Everyone needs a plan. If a business does not have a written plan, they don't know where they are going. The very busy organization may be drowning in unprofitable business and be too busy to manage the highest potential client or proposal.

The clients they do have may not be receiving legendary customer service. The principles of the business without a plan typically look like they are running around with their hair on fire.

Without a plan you don't know who your best client is, who your competition is, what type of marketing is most effective. Heck, without a plan one doesn't even know what effective looks like!

Not every business requires a comprehensive Business Plan. If you are not seeking start up funds, venture capital, or loans, a basic business plan will do. However, if you are seeking funds, you will want to go the comprehensive route.

Many an entrepreneur could have saved their life savings had they invested their time putting their plan on paper before going out and blindly starting up a business! In fact, several of my clients changed their minds about the businesses they thought they were hot for once they worked it all out on paper. They are still thanking me for insisting on the development of a plan.

I hope you will join me each week as I coach my readers in a step-by-step process for starting a business, making money, and achieving their goals!Until April 30, 2007, I am offering each subscriber a complimentary copy of The Peak Performance Business Plan! Click the link in the sidebar and request yours today!

I invite your questions via email at Sheri@ThePPGinc.com

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