MODULE 402SUSTAINABLE PLANNING

Contact Person

Dr. Mario Denton

Crown Financial Ministries Marketplace Programme Director for Africa

Africa Director for FCCI (The Fellowship for Companies for Christ International)

CEO STRONG MESSAGE BUSINESS CONSULTANT

Let's keep the good marketplace vibes alive. Let's network. Tel (w) + 27(0) 82 88 29903. E-mail address: mario@crown.org.za Website: www.crown.org.za and click on marketplace

E-mail address: marden@mweb.co.za website: www. strongmessage.co.za

Skype: mario.denton

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Table of Contents1. Foundation

2. Clarifying the vision and mission of the organisation

3. Implementing your vision and mission

4. Application assignment

5. Appendix

Sustainable planningThe Lord to the Jeremiah: For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11 NASB)

I. Introduction- We often confuse tremendous activity with effectiveness

“Therefore, I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way as not beating the air” The apostle Paul 1 Corinthians 9:27 NASB)

Boxing background

A. Why plan?

1. Focus time2. Focus energy

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3. Focus people4. Focus cash5. Aim at nothing, hit nothing 6. Shoot an arrow at the wall, then paint the target

B. What is a plan?

1. Roadmap2. Establishes goals3. Establishes who will do what by when

C. Is there a Biblical basis for planning?

1. “The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, but everyone who is hasty comes surly to poverty” (Proverbs 21:5 NASB)

We may believe we don’t have time to plan, but our haste may lead us to ruin

2. “You do such wonderful things! You planned them long ago, and now you have accomplished them” (Isaiah 25:1 NLT)

What a word picture on how planning leads to accomplishment

3. “Set up for yourselves road marks, place for yourself guideposts; direct your mind to the highway” (Jeremiah 31:21 NASB)

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If you do not establish road marks, how do you know when you arrive at a destination?

4. “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid the foundation, and is not ale to finish, all who observe begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish” (Luke 14:28-30 NASB)

Note that Jesus was almost casual in reflecting on the principle of “counting the cost”, to Him it was a no brainier

5. “Much dreaming and many words are meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 5:7 NIV)

It is the execution that makes the difference. How many people do you know who continually talk a good game, but never get the ball in the end zone?

D. Plan should be in writing

“Then the Lord answered me and said, record the vision and inscribe it on tablets, that the one who reads it may run” (Habakkuk 2:2 NASB)

1. We forget2. Keeps our team on the same page3. Keeps us focused and accountable

E. Symptoms of not planning

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1. Drifting day by day

“A man of understanding keeps a straight course” (Proverbs 15:21 NIV)

The apostle Paul wrote, “we are no longer…tossed here and there by every wind…” (Ephesians 4:14)

a. Lack of focusb. Time Spent Fighting Firesc. Responding to events rather then initiating actiond. How many leaders would say “I just feel like I am

drifting, I’m not in charge?

2. Unable to grow

“Where no oxen are, the manager is clean, but much increase comes by the strength of ox” (Proverbs 14:4 NASB)

Planning required for preparing for the oxen

Save the money needed to buy the ox

Required a place to stay, a fence, a tie down to restrain the beast

Food, needed to have feed available

Needed to have a shovel available to clean up the manure

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Effective planning allowed the owner to reap the benefits of the ox

a. Outgrowing facilitiesb. Outgrowing Staffc. No cash available for growth

Example: Heating and cooling contractor mad major investment in marketing- business grew by 1/3, lacked qualified staff to make calls, unable to stock needed parts. Should have invested part of the marketing dollars into upgrading staff.

3. No training for leadership or staff

“Train even your weaklings to be warriors” Joel 3:10 NLT

a. Staff forced to work beyond experience levelb. No people development for future growth

Example: Owner of Rug cleaning business grew quickly, adding new cleaning crews, but failed to train a person to lead each new crew.

4. Staff unclear what is expected

“Through presumption comes nothing but strife…” (Proverbs 13:10 NASB)

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a. Colleagues make different assumptions, causing frustration and friction

b. Colleagues unclear as to owners dreamc. Colleagues have no clear context for decision

making, become paralyzed

F. Benefits of effective planning

1. Increases moral as everyone understands the direction of the business

“All this I have told you so that you will not go astray” (John 16:1 NIV)

A key to high staff moral is to understand the goals of the business and then participate as the organization reaches those goals

2. Increases clarity for all colleagues and framework to

“We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.” (Hebrews 2:1 NIV)

a. Make decisions b. Communicationc. Problem solving d. Training new staff

A plan, written down and communicated to staff will keep you, and your team from drifting

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3. Reduces frustration, tension and pressures on colleagues by putting assumptions in writing.

“Zeal without knowledge is not good; a person who moves to quickly may go the wrong way” (Proverbs 19:2 NLT)

Go back to the boxer, moving all over the ring, using up energy with great zeal, but accomplishing little.

Window company example:

Sold windows to builders

Would contact scores of builders to quote, spent hours quoting work- worked at a furious pace

After planning, identified that a window product sold best

Custom colors were in high demand by interior designers and high end architects

Focused sales efforts on these perspective customers, increasing sales with the same efforts

Planning focused sales efforts more effectively

II. New York Police example

A. Anyone have enough time to accomplish everything?B. Anyone have enough cash to accomplish everything?C. We must target our efforts

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Example: New York City Chief Bratton

Reviewed every operating systems and assumptions within the department

Largest allocation of resource’s used in responding to 911 calls

50% of crimes attributed to narcotics and illegal drugs

Only 5% of police budget used to fight drugs

Most drug unit officers worked Monday-Friday, weekends were busiest drug days

Focused more resource’s on drug problem includingweekends lead to significant reduction of 911 calls and the cost to support those responses

Subway CrimePolice had lobbied for more uniformed officers to fight subway crimeOfficers requested at 700 exits and entrances and to ride every lineStudy demonstrated most crimes occurred at a few stations and linesTargeted efforts at those high crime stations

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Shifted officers into plain clothes- criminal’s soon learned that an absence of uniformed officers did not mean an absence of policeZero tolerance of fare jumpers

Transition- how do we apply the principles of panning to our Business today?

Is there a simple, yet effective planning system we can use?

III. The D.O.C.T.O.R ProcessA. DirectionB. OrganizationC. CashD. TrackingE. Overall EvaluationF. Refinement

IV. Direction- What course are we on?

Nehemiah went out, “to inspect the broken walls and burned gates. Then I went to the Fountain Gate…inspecting the wall” (Nehemiah 2:13-15 NLT)

Before Nehemiah lifted one finger to rebuild Jerusalem he assessed the current situation. He understood the course Jerusalem was on before taking action. He evaluated everything first.

A. What unique needs are we qualified to meet in the marketplace?

1. Necessity is the mother of invention

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2. Needs are the father of original creativity to meet those needs

3. Every business or organization has a key strength that must be focused in the marketplace

B. Why does our organization exist?

1. What is your Vision, Mission, and Statement of Purpose?

2. What would you want your organization epitaph read?

Examples:

We provide comprehensive international trade services

We provide complete custom interior decorating services for the entire home utilizing classic design.

A leader needs to be able to articulate in one or two sentences why an organization exists

Why? To explain to customers, staff and others

C. Who are our customers?

1. Defining your target customers allows you to pursue best prospects

2. Allows you to develop products and services designed to hit that market

D. What key milestones have we reached?

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E. Are those the milestones we intended to reach?

Now that we have determined why our organization exists, we need to look to the future

V. What Direction should we be on for the Future?

“…She did not consider her future; therefore she has fallen astonishingly” (Lamentations 2:9 NASB)

You can live without priorities, goals or problems, If you have no dreams. But if you have dreams and no priorities, you have only despair” Bill Owen

A. In what 3-7 areas will be we active in the future?

B. Establishing key goals

1. Why?a. Obtain focusb. See the future you want to moldc. Keep your team on the same paged. Accountabilitye. Benchmarks- basis for success

C. S.M.A.R.T. Goals

1. Specific

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a. Quantifiableb. Measurable c. Precise

2. Measurable

a. In an amountb. Against a scalec. Any goal not measurable is only a good intention

3. Accomplishment focused

a. Requires positive action b. Does not ride on positive circumstances

4. Realistic

a. Target should be a stretch, but reachableb. Balance between enthusiasm and realityc. Need to have a strategy in place to support the goald. Why we may not be realistic

(1.) We set goals when on the mountain(2.) Lack of a track record

Milking a cow

(3.) Impress our boss, others, or ourselves(4.) To motivate ourselves

5. Timed-tied to the organization

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a. Tied clearly to your statement of why you exist b. Tied to the needs you can uniquely meet in the

marketplace c. Tied to who your customers ared. Key is to relate each goal with your statement of

purpose

D. Benefits of establishing effective goals

1. Improved confidence in moving from the past into the future

2. Improve clarity when making decisions 3. Improve your motivation as clarity improves and confusion

decreases

E. Set goals with a pencil

1. Be willing to change and adopt as needed2. Always understand why you are changing your goals

Now we have looked at why planning is important, we have reviewed our direction and determined what our main course of action should be.

We have taken the key step of establishing SMART Goals.

Now we need to look at, and plan how insure our business is able to achieve the lofty goals we have established

VI. Organization

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“lest if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we…should be put to shame..” (2 Corinthians 9:4 NASB)

A. Who within our business is responsible for achieving each goal?

1. Who will do what activities?2. When will the actives be accomplished?

B. Does each person have the capacity to achieve what is required?

1. Do they have the skills and competencies needed?2. Do they have enough time available to achieve those

goals?

C. How can we insure we have the staff needed to reach the goals?

1. Is training needed?2. Do we need more people?3. Do we need to drop some activity to focus on the new and

more important goal?

D. Scale back goals if

1. We can not afford needed staff2. Staff can not be trained3. Staff not available

Jesus was aware of his resource’s- feeding the 5000, he asked what was available, the used His miraculous power to multiply the food. Likewise, we need to understand our resource’s well, including our organizational and financial resource’s.

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VII. Cash

“What woman , if she has ten silver coins and looses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it” (Luke 15:8)

We may need to likewise search our business to find the cash we need

A. What is our projected income, expense and net?

1. Need to be realistic2. Need to consider past financial history

B. Can we afford what is needed to achieve goals?

C. How can we afford what is needed?

D. How do we generate cash?

1. Sell our product or services 2. Sell assets

Sell the truck to buy needed equipment, rent a truck once a week for deliveries

3. Determine what actives can be and should be discontinued to deploy the cash elsewhere

4. Improvement management 5. Borrowing

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Now we have established goals, determined who will do what by when, and found the cash necessary to accomplish our goals and dreams, are we done?

No, we have 30 minuets left to use the room

VIII. Tracking

“Slowly, steadily, surly, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled” (Habakkuk 2:3 NLT)

A. A system of understanding if, and how your goals are being achieved, or not

B. Benefits of tracking

1. Improves clear communication and reduces frustration

2. Improves timely decisions

a. Many decisions are postponed because we lack clear information or data

b. Doing nothing is a decisionc. Peter Drucker, “When the facts are clear, the

decisions jump out at you”

C. Effective tracking assumes priorities are in place

IX. Overall Evaluation

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Brian Brander: Evaluation is where your focus moves from “Do we look successful? To “Are we making a real difference?”

“let each one examine his own work…” (Galatians 6:4 NASB)

A. Benefits of evaluating

Improves qualityProvides an appropriate opportunity to discusses issues and avoids blowupsWe are able to identify what is working well, and not working wellWe can than make needed adjustments

X. Refinement

“Never recreate the wheel, but never stop refining the tire” Brian Brander

“…every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful” (John 15:2 NIV)

A. How can we be more effective in moving toward the ideal, perfect?

B. Based on your evaluation, you will need, and want to refine your process

C. Benefits of refinement

1. Developing the attitude of continuing improvement 2. Keeps our minds open3. Able to adjust to changes in the marketplace

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4. Understanding that none of us has arrived

D. Challenges to effectively utilizing a refinement process

1. We are doing Ok, business is good

King Solomon: “I again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, and the battle is not to the warriors, and neither is bread to the wise, nor favor to the men of ability; for time and chance overtake them all.” (Ecclesiastes 9:10 NASB)

2. I don’t have time

Know well the condition of your flocks, and pay attention to your herds, for riches are not for ever” (Proverbs 27:23-4 NASB)

3. I want to move on with new things

“It is good that you grasp one thing, and not let go of the other” (Ecclesiastes 7:18 NASB)

XI. Application Steps

Write a mission statement, a statement of why you organization existsWrite out 3-5 priorities for your businessWrite out an organization chart for your organization as it stands todayPrepare an organization chart for what you see as the future organizationPrepare an estimated income, expense and cash flow projections for the future

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Determine what key factors need to be measured, and then establish a method of tacking those factors Determine what improvements can and should be made with each key process of your organization

“The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory rests with the Lord” (Proverbs 21:31 NIV)

“If the ax is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength” (Ecclesiastes 10:10 NASB)

Dig deeper and learn more (Optional)

This section includes various support material for further inspiration and

encouragement and relates to the material covered in this section

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Nr Name Date of completion402 A Demonstrating your faith in the workplace

402 B The consequences of taking God’s timing into your own hands

402 C Past, present and future

402 D Signing the Title Deed

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402 E Time to think

402 F Divine connections

402 G :Long range planning

402 H Wisdom

402 I: Just for a moment

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Progress Report

James 1:22-25 “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it-- he will be blessed in what he does.” (NIV)

Name and Number of Module ________________________________________

Participant’s Name: ________________________________________

The Biblical Truths (Principles) I learned from this module:

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I intend to apply this Truth (Principle) in my business by:

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Participant Date

Acknowledgement

Steve Marr consults with business and organizations bringing a national and

international perspective to achieve improved vision, focus, quality, and

management effectiveness in today’s competitive environment. Effective practical

assistance is provided to the business person or ministry leader. Steve’s radio

feature “Business Proverbs is heard on worldwide, including armed Forces

Service radio

For more information visit www.stevemarr.org

Material adapted by Dr. Mario DentonMario is the International Field Continental Programme Director – Market-place

for Crown Africa, the Africa Director for FCCI (The Fellowship for Companies for

Christ International) and the CEO of Strong Message Business Consultancy. He

is an international teacher and industrial psychologist and uses his strong

academic and corporate background and his uniquely effective coaching to help

people tap into their inner being; to utilise their strengths and expand their skills

to make a difference in the workplace. He and his wife, Mariene, are based in

Cape Town, South Africa, and are blessed with three grown sons.

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ServantCopyright. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system without permission. Regarding permission to reprint material from this material, please write to Dr Mario Denton:

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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