Know-How Exchange : Strategy

I use a format that I first discovered at P&G many years ago, and it seems to work pretty well. It's called "Plans For Improving the Business," or "P4ITB."

Basically it includes the project names (so you can quickly identify them), objectives, next steps (in the next week/month), due date for next steps, and the person responsible. And, as only P&G can do it, we had to fit it all on one page. The rationale was that you can't possibly do a good job on important projects that take up more than a page to list/explain -- at least not all at the same time.

The form would get updated each month (can be more frequently, if you need to), and if you miss a due date, you need to explain why and what that does to overall project timing.

It's not rocket science, but it worked well then, and I've used it repeatedly with clients since, and it always seems to do the job.

Dear abblaz88,

You might want to consider making a list of aims, objectives, and outcomes.

Meaning: this is where we want to go, this is how we are going to get there, and this is what we will do (or how we will measure our success) once we arrive at whatever our destination is.

You might want to add other elements into your mix, such as:

1. What are we setting out to offer, prove, or solve in terms of our prospect's problem?

2. Why should they buy from us?

3. What do we do or ignore that other suppliers who provide the same or similar products, goods, or services don't?

4. What unmet needs are there in this sector right now that we could address in unusual ways or solve in an outstanding and memorable fashion that will make ourselves utterly unique in the eyes of our buyers?

Nail these questions and you'll be thousands of miles ahead of
the pack.

It's NOT easy to do this, but then, if it was easy, your competitors would be doing it and your market would be poorer for the multiple choices because there'd be less differentiation.

In markets where this does happen, most companies compete on price. But logically, to compete on price makes no sense because it drives down profit margins for EVERYONE, so nobody wins.

This explains why consumers are seeing so many carpet and furniture outlets plastered with gaudy posters proclaiming "WE WILL NOT BE UNDERSOLD!", posters that are often closely followed by even bigger posters that say "GOING OUT OF BUSINESS!"

I hope this helps you.

Gary Bloomer
Wilmington, DE, USA

Michael's suggestion is going to work quite well for most applications.

One addition I might suggest is "Cost" to enable you to keep track of your expenditure, so your columns would be headed:

1) Project name
2) Objectives
3) Milestones/Next Steps
4) Timing
5) Responsibilty (Who)
6) Budgeted Cost

Hope that helps.