As much as the end of the year is a time to wind down and take a break, it can also be the perfect opportunity to do some uninterrupted reassessing when it comes to your business plans and future projects. Just as we all reflect on our careers and personal lives, and take action by putting pen to paper in the form of New Year’s resolutions, your business could benefit from a bit of consideration too.
Now, you might want to push planning to the new year when your mind is more ‘switched on’ to the big ideas, seeking out opportunities or critically reflecting on the highs and lows. But when the new year dawns, your work week will likely be dominated by operational tasks, personnel management, and back-to-back meetings.
A detailed study of how CEOs use their time revealed that they conduct business on 79% of weekend days and 70% of vacation days.
Why do they do this? Because they are starved of time during the working week and these more peaceful days, where emails aren’t pinging every two minutes, allow time for strategic thinking and reflection. Now we’re not advocating spending your entire December break preparing for 2023 – taking a break boosts well-being and even enhances cardiovascular health according to research – but this quiet time is a valuable opportunity to become ‘future ready’ without the added pressure of daily deliverables. And even if you’re not yet in the CEO saddle, planning for your specific portfolio or project can yield the same beneficial results.
This planning time becomes even more critical when you’re faced with rising business competition. As codirectors of the INSEAD Blue Ocean Strategy Institute, W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne said: “When a company’s strategy is formed reactively as it tries to keep up with the competition, it loses its uniqueness.” You become reactive when you don’t have a clear plan in place that outlines, quite simply, ‘what to do when’ and gives you the steppingstones to achieving your business goals, financial and otherwise.
Without a solid plan, you’ll constantly be playing catch up and trying to change direction with each new development – whether that’s the launch of a new competitor product or a change in target market behaviour. And although changing direction can be good – a plan should be iterative according to managing partner of the entrepreneur investment company Cue Ball, Anthony Tjan – you need a solid foundation on which to adapt, and clear boundaries so you know what kind of pivoting your business can accommodate.
And as with any plan, it helps to have the input of major players from the outset. More often than not this will be the C-suite and other senior members from your team, but it can also include key Service Providers. In the past, we’ve discussed how to harness the power of a Service Provider who you can bring on as a true outsource partner, and have also unpacked the best ways to effectively outsource (clear and comprehensive Service Level Agreements are just one such way). In the context of New Year planning, a Service Provider with deep expertise, broad industry knowledge and experience dealing with business challenges that are perhaps similar to your own, can be an invaluable addition to the planning process.
Earlier we mentioned becoming ‘future ready’, and one of the key ways to do that is by “scaling up capabilities relevant to future competition” according to research. The quickest way to scale without bloating your overheads is by outsourcing to an experienced Service Provider who has the capabilities you’re looking for. It’s far easier to plan for the year ahead when you know, upfront, what functions you plan to outsource. It’s even better heading into the new year knowing that you have another well of experience to draw from to advance your position in market.
If your 2023 projects are remote and involve hosting large teams offsite, then iLodge is the outsource partner you want in your corner. Not only do we have more than a decade of experience in feeding, housing and transporting teams to the highest standards, but we can also assist you in your planning by conducting an audit of your specific requirements – or even a previous project – to demonstrate where we can not only add value, but save you money along the way.
