Feedback Form
Home Features Mastermind Forums About Advertise Blog Network Contact Be An Author

What is the Cost of Not Having a Strategic Plan

What is the Cost of Not Having a Strategic Plan

What is the cost to not having a strategic plan? To honestly answer this question requires proactive behavior, but most business owners and executives are in reactive behavior. And reactive behavior is a symptom of stress.

According to a report by the Center for Disease Control suggests workplace stress is costing the U.S. economy $300 billion each year or $7,500 per employee. The question is how much of this stress can be directly tied to not having a strategic business plan or seeking affordable business coaching?

When business owners are so busy working in the business and not on the business, they are in 100% reactive behavior. This behavior drives the behavior of all the other employees. People are working harder because they are in reactive mode instead of smarter which is a proactive mode.

For example, the president or CEO states that the goal is to increase bottom line revenue by 10%. The VP of sales quickly convenes a meeting of all sales people and tells them to sell more of existing products. The VP of Marketing decides to launch that new product. The VP of Finances cuts the budget for Marketing and Sales. From the top down everyone is working to increase sales and reduce costs and their actions are counter productive. Stress quickly surfaces.

However, if an executable strategic plan had been created including clearly articulated and measurable goals, then everyone would be more in a proactive behavior instead of reactive behavior. Additionally, if all employees knew how to consistently set and achieve their own personal goals. Unfortunately, many strategic plans are not executable and contribute to employees’ stress.

Using the annual figure of $7,500 and estimating that 25% of the stress in your organization is because of a lack of a strategic action plan and goal achievement, then what would happen if you reinvested $1,875 per employee into affordable business coaching and employee development? Of course, you may believe that you don’t have the dollars to invest, but how much is stress costing your bottom line specific to:

Poor attendance?
Sick days?
Wasted time or mistakes in overall performance from selling to shipping?
Increase in health insurance premiums?
Employee turnover?
Non-returning clients?

And, remember, that your stress can be directly tied to being in a reactive mode instead of a proactive one.





What is the Cost of Not Having a Strategic Plan - To learn more about this author, visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website.

Like this article? Share it with your friends

Article Feedback
 Article Feedback No article feedback found.
  Leave Your Feedback
article feedback

Article Feedback
David Acheson
David Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns.  David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website

Joe Dager
Joe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website

Leanne Hoagland-Smith
Are your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website

Kim Castle
With nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website


To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us.

About The Author


Leanne Hoagland-Smith
(Visit Leanne's Website) Are your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/re d-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601.

Leanne Hoagland-Smith is a Platinum author on EvanCarmichael.com
About The Author

View Author Blog
View Author Blog

View Author Video
View Author Video

Free Downloads


Leanne Hoagland-Smith's

Complete
List Of
Business-Coach
Articles

Name
Email
Author's Free Downloads
Leadership Assessment Icon Leadership Assessment
Leadership Audit For Business Icon Leadership Audit For Business
Business Building Check List Icon Business Building Check List

More Leanne Hoagland-Smith
What Is the Most Effective Quality Within Your Sales Team
Increase Sales By Just Eating More Frogs
Are You Selling Pennies Dollars or Value
5 Must Haves to Increase Sales for Business Executive or Sales Coaches
Top 7 Tips to Create a Customer Service Culture of Professionalism and Excellence
Coaching Your Business To The Next Level Series Part 6 Invest in Your People
Taxes The Good News and the Bad News For Increasing Business Productivity
Increase Sales to Your Business By Consistent Excellent Customer Service
Extra Extra Dinosaur Sales Professionals Saved From the Edge Extinction
Small Business Success The 21 Essential Pieces for Your Business Success Puzzle
Free Downloads


 
 
 


Evan Elite Authors
David Barr  
Dianne Crampton  
Staging Diva  
Evan Elite Authors

Become An Author
Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details.
Become An Author

Evan's Latest Video
Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media
Evan's Latest Video

Business Opportunities
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"

How to Start An Online Business

Click Here To Learn More
Business Opportunities



Evan's Newsletter
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
Name:
Email:
Evan`s Newsletter

Free Downloads
Marketing ScoreCard Icon Marketing ScoreCard
Networking Road Warrior Icon Networking Road Warrior
Balance chart Icon Balance chart
Make Money Online Icon Make Money Online
Network More Effectively Icon Network More Effectively
Free Downloads - Complete List

Entrepreneur Tools and Guides
Top 50 Geek Business Blogs
Top 50 Geek Business Blogs
Top 50 Geek Business Blogs
 
Top 50 Diversion Blogs
Top 50 Diversion Blogs
Top Diversion Blogs of 2009
 
Entrepreneur Tools and Guides

SEO For Africa
SEO For Africa
Fatmata Sesay Makeni, Sierra Leone,
Fatmata Sesay
Makeni, Sierra Leone
SEO For Africa

If I Were A Startup...
Jeff Roick, $1.4 to $6.5 Mil in 2 years
Jeff Roick
$1.4 to $6.5 Mil in 2 years
Chris Nguyen, 30+ national clients on $0
Chris Nguyen
30+ national clients on $0
If I Were A Startup... - Complete List

Famous Entrepreneurs
Estee Lauder, Estee Lauder
Estee Lauder
Estee Lauder
Tony Robbins, AR Companies
Tony Robbins
AR Companies
Famous Entrepreneurs - Complete List

Entrepreneur Advice
Michael Gerber, The E Myth
Michael Gerber
The E Myth
Jeffrey Gitomer, The Sales Bible
Jeffrey Gitomer
The Sales Bible
Entrepreneur Advice - Complete List

Popular Articles
(Premium Authors)

     The Power of Excellence
By Terry Yoffe
     The Power of Effective Communication
By Terry Yoffe
     The Power of Language
By Terry Yoffe

Have A Suggestion?
Toronto Salsa Classes / Toronto Salsa Lessons Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
Have A Suggestion?

More Evan Carmichael
More Information