Ready for 2013? – Lean Planning & Budgeting: Part 7

2013 – A step on the way to where?

This is the 7th in a series of blog posts under the main headline “Ready for 2013?”

This series addresses the #1 headache of any growing Independent Software Vendor: How to predict, budget and meet revenue targets.

The objective of the blog posts is to outline a 2013 “preparation process” where you end up having a plan and a budget which is a stepping stone to a position as the global market leader in the future and where the stakeholders are 100% aligned and committed to execute the plan and deliver the numbers for 2013.

Mission/Vision and the 3-5 year perspective

Your company most likely has a Mission and a Vision. How does 2013 fit into this picture?  While the Mission and the Vision helps your people and stakeholders understand why they are working for your company and where you are heading, it is often very difficult to assert that the 2013 plan/budget is the next logical step towards realizing your vision and living your mission.

Most stakeholders have a hard time comprehending anything beyond the 3-5 year perspective.  If you are a small local player today it may be tough for your stakeholders to comprehend your vision of being a leading global player in the future.  Being the global player may mean that you will grow from your current 50 people to 5.000 people, from your current 100 customers to 2 million customers and from one office in one country to 25 offices in 15 countries.  As business leaders we find this exiting and challenging.  We are sitting on the “bridge” and are steering the ship through the unchartered waters. The folks on and under the deck see things differently. They wanna know when we dock in the next harbor, so they can have some fun.

The 3-5 year perspective should be fairly precise in terms of market position, market coverage, number of customers, people, offices, revenue, profit and other tangible measures, which are meaningful for your business.  Meeting the 3-5 year ambition should be a logical tangible milestone in fulfilling you vision.

2013 – the next step

Although we need missions/visions and 3-5 year perspectives, execution is done one day at a time.  The budget and the positions we reach by the end of 2013 is what we can expect people to relate to here and now.  The 2013 plan will spell out what each person should do every day, week and month to make sure we all meet or exceed the 2013 objectives.

There is a need for a 3-5 year perspective as a milestone towards the grand vision

Other posts in this “Ready for 2013? –  Lean Planning & Budgeting” series:

The objective of the blog posts is to outline a 2013 “preparation process” where you end up having a plan and a budget, which is a stepping stone to a position as a the global market leader in the future and where the stakeholders are 100% aligned and committed to execute the plan and deliver the numbers for 2013

#1: Perform an Alignment Check before Planning and Budgeting
#2: Get the Key People Involved up Front
#3: How to do an Alignment and Identification Check
#4: The Revenue Challenge
#5: Planning Fundamentals
#6: Mitigating risk and exploiting opportunity
#7: Mission/Vision and the 3-5 Year Perspective
#8: What Comes First, the Plan or the Budget?
#9: Defining Key Performance Indicators for Plan and Budget Follow-up
#10: The People on the Bus