Practical Business Planning

Business planning is an essential management tool enabling an enterprise both to succeed in a global marketplace and to be accountable to its shareholders, but the process must be supported by effective project management to ensure that plans do not become merely decorative “shelfware”.

Too often, business planning is an onerous annual chore driven by financial numbers alone, instead of a powerful method of defining and delivering profitable change for the organization.

This Anderson training course demonstrates a practical and robust method to produce a business vision, based on analysis and debate, which is then delivered through a coherent programme of projects delivered by engaged and accountable managers.

By attending this Anderson training course, delegates will be able to:

• Design and manage a business planning process which suits their business
• Mobilize the resources and information required to produce a robust business plan
• Analyze their business environment to develop a plan which will deliver the “business vision”
• Finalize and communicate a business plan to the stakeholders affected by the plan
• Direct and manage the delivery of the plan through a coherent PRINCE2 programme

This Anderson training course is suitable for a wide range of professionals but will greatly benefit:

• Senior leaders in Marketing, Finance, Operations and HR functions
• Headquarters staff in complex organizations across all business sectors and public administration
• Departmental heads responsible for components of the business plan
• Senior Programme and Project Management staff
• Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) leaders aiming to grow their businesses

• Introduction – planning as leadership
• Business Planning as a cross-business process – “Train hard, fight easy!”
• Bottom-up and Top-down planning approaches
• Resources and facilities required for successful planning
• Financial Planning and Business Planning
• The importance of practical delivery – “where the rubber meets the road!”

• Using the Fishbone^© approach to shape the problem for an imaginary client described in student case study material
• Appraisal of the plan start point
• Formulation of the desired end-state
• Analysis of the “terrain of travel”
• Planning for Effectiveness
• Planning for Efficiency

• Porter’s Five Forces analysis
• SWOT and Force-field analysis
• The Boston Matrix
• The Ansoff Matrix
• The Communications Matrix^©
• The Balanced Scorecard

• PRINCE2 programme/project management
• Plan delivery and governance
• Engaging and motivating the organization’s resources
• Business Planning as part of Total Quality Management and “Lean”
• Measurement and Display
• Building a planning culture

• Communicating the plan to stakeholders
• Stepping stones, trip-ups and milestones
• Resourcing the projects
• Monitoring and celebrating success
• Continuous improvement of the process
• The “proof of the pudding”

Anderson Certificate of Completion will be provided to delegates who attend and complete the course