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Guest post by: Leanne Hoagland-Smith Become an Author

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Where does time go? What seems like just yesterday you were planning this year's goals and now it is 6 months or heaven's forbid 2 years later!

Looking to the future is many times difficult because we are so focused on the past and the present. Recently when speaking to both local leaders here in Northwest Indiana as well as nationally, I surveyed them as to the challenges that they see down the road the next one to 10 years. As someone whose business consulting and sales coaching practice is very much about determining future trends as part of the strategic planning process to help my clients secure their competitive advantage, I see these 3 critical issues facing all organizations from the smallest to the largest.

#1 Critical Business Trend is Succession Leadership. With the forthcoming retirement of the 65 million baby boomers, finding leaders and then developing those individuals in any organization will be as Ford Motor has stated: “Job #1.” No longer will businesses steal human capital talent from their competitors because there will be none to steal. Everyone will be in the same boat. The recent announcement by Steve Jobs of Apple to step away for 6 months is a perfect illustration of the importance of succession leadership with the strategic plan. (The stock declined 10% within hours of his announcement.)

#2 Critical Business Trend is Strategic Planning. No longer will organizations adopt the role of Captain Wing It who is flying Sky High Airlines 135 heading for sunny Bermuda or is it flight number 351 en route to the Bahamas? The key resources of time, people, money and energy will continue to become even more valuable. Miss-directed actions that cost resources will land companies in the hole of No-Return. The 21st century is knowledge driven and how to leverage that knowledge through critical thinking skills.

#3 Critical Business Trend is Human Capital Talent Development. The greatest resource of any organization is its people and it is the most under-utilized. Each employee has incredible potential that is dormant just waiting for the right person to let the “genie out of the bottle.” Current productivity research suggests between 20-25% of all employees are actively engaged on the job, meaning that they are giving at least $1 worth of work for every dollar received in compensation. This data suggests there is a lot of untapped performance (75-80%) just sitting along the sidelines not delivering a positive return on the investment. Strategic planning must address this wasted resource.

Take Action Coaching Tip: Review these 3 issues and determine if they are important today or will be important tomorrow. Establish goals with your strategic plan to ensure that your actions will secure you a competitive advantage.

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