-Always include more than exclude
-Engage! ...even when you don't need to
-Reach out, include, and you'll empower
-Above all else, always support & train the Team
And right now-today, this week-there is absolutely no better means or time to do this than by including every VP, Director, Manager and Supervisor in your business and sales planning processes for 2015. Even, if you don't need to. Because, you really do need to.
Sales planning, like business planning, is not done in a back room with the green eye-shaded accounting types rattling through 16 cross-synched spreadsheets. The expense detailing and budget creation are the easy tasks. They really are!
The hard, very difficult, teeth-gnashing decision making stuff is for the leadership-at all management and supervisory levels-of the business to become thorough drenched in the process of planning. The tough decisions of absolute long term strategy-setting might need to be left to a smaller group of executives, but the actual process of engagement needs to involve every manager in the business. Without this involvement...
As you're working 15 hour days over the next few weeks chasing down orders, spending weekends working on your 2015 departmental plans and squeezing in all of the meetings and relatated travel that you committed to in the quieter time of October, your guiding principles of management for your 2015 plans need to be the 3 E's...
...even when you don't technically need to!
Great article in this week's HBR for a few team tune-up tips:
(or just paste: https://hbr.org/2014/08/whos-being-left-out-on-your-team/)
As always, if you have questions, comments or just want to talk through your ideas, ping me, and we can either do an "Ask & Answer" by email or set up a phone call to take place during my long commute home every night.
Good Planning for 2015!
Head Coach
Derby Management...for 25 years
-Sales & Marketing Productivity Experts
-Business & Strategy Planning Specialists
Box 171322, Boston, MA 02117
617-292-7101
Jack's Cell: 617-504-4222