Do you have your growth plan modeled for the next three to five years? Defining goals are the first step in every successful growth strategy. The implementation of a well-developed growth plan integrates marketing and operations into a cohesive organization focused on corporate objectives. It helps identify opportunities, define needs and avoid pitfalls.

If you don’t have your growth plan modeled, you are in good company. Many catalog and ecommerce companies develop annual plans. Some simply plan from one campaign to the next. Most plans encompass marketing and sales to the exclusion of operations. There are many reasons for not planning beyond the next campaign or year. The primary reason is that the economic climate and other factors that impact business dynamics are very hard to predict. It seems counterproductive to spend time planning when the dynamics are constantly changing.

Planning is hard. First, it requires that you develop a model guaranteed to be wrong since there is no way to accurately predict the future. Since everyone wants to be right and most corporate cultures punish those who are wrong, planning is avoided. Second, planning is perceived to limit flexibility. Some companies require strict allegiance to the plan, believing that any variance is a recipe for failure. Finally, planning takes time, effort, and distracts from the daily crisis management prevalent in many organizations. It is extremely hard to stop fighting the fire to build the buffer.

The key to effective planning is to understand that it is a process, not a destination. It isn’t the specific details that generate success. It is the review of current business dynamics, research into economic trends, and corporate integration required to develop the plan that enhances the organization. Basically, the planning process is business intelligence in action converting information into application.