Over the holidays I spent my head buried in business planning sessions.
One of the problems that most newbies online do is to spend their days chasing opportunity after opportunity. Pay Per Click, SEO, "Stealth Websites", Aggregated Traffic, Buyer and Seller Leads. Social Media, Tagging, Blogging, Link Exchanging.
The challenge with chasing these activities is that unless they fit into an overall strategy, they won't work. There are many reasons, one of which is that it is impossible to do any of these activities with any sort of scale unless you have an overall system.
When I first heard this stuff it was hard for me to wrap my arms around it. As I had always been a salesman at heart as well as a 1 man army (in other words my business was run by me, myself and I for the first few years).
What really is a great example of Business Strategy comes not from business but again, Pete Carroll from USC.
Vision
Pete Carroll is all about vision.
I saw him interviewed one year ago prior to the Trojans National Championship loss to Texas. The interviewer asked the Coach how important an unprecedented National Championship win is to him and his program.
Now what he answered with may sound like well rehearsed spin that would make the Bush White house envious. And it is. But it is genuine. It is real. And it is why the USC Program is one of if not the best in the country.And it is evident not in how many National Championships the man has under his belt, it is mostly evident that the top athletes in the Country want to play for him and his staff.
"We do not measure our success by one win, or one national championship, but my how many wins we sustain over a long period of time."
With that kind of vision, strategy and activity/tactics kind of fall into place. It literally dictates what they do during the season and off season.
Goal Setting
This time of year has Realtors and businesspeople writing down their goals.
Forget it, that does not work. Write down your vision for your "program". You just read the vision of one of the greatest Coaches the College game has witnessed. Your vision will dictate your plan.
From Pete's vision comes the strategies and tactics.
Think of how their recruiting changes with that Statement. How does their Coaching change? Their daily drills and daily activities. A great vision permeates every facet of a business and thus dictates behavior.
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