The business plan execution specifics are my favorite part of business planning, and especially lean business planning. This is the real plan, what’s actually going to happen. It includes at least these four elements:

Review Schedule. Make sure you schedule monthly plan review sessions in advance. Think of something like the third Thursday of every month. Even if it’s just you. Click here for more on this.

Identifying and Listing Assumptions. When assumptions change, the plan should change. If you don’t list your assumptions then you don’t know. Identity and list your business plan assumptions so you can refer back to them. It’s the key to knowing when to change the plan and when to stay the course. Click here for more on this.

Milestones. List specific activities, responsibilities, tasks, dates, deadlines, and budgets. We humans work better towards specific concrete goals, like reaching some number, or some event, that we can keep track of. Click here for more on this.

Metrics. Devise specific performance metrics that can be measured, tracked, and managed. These are numbers that people can see and compare. Click here for more on this.

These business plan execution specifics are the key to making a business plan useful. Remember, it’s steering your business that matters.

“Good business plans are nine parts execution for every one part strategy.” — Tim Berry

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“Measure the value of a plan by the execution it causes.” — Tim Berry

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“What doesn’t get measured, doesn’t get done.”

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