Core Management Principle 5 – RealTime Planning

Date: 15 September 2014
Category: Core Management Principles
Tags: Core Management Principles

“He who fails to plan, is planning to fail.” – Winston Churchill.

Winston Churchill was referring to armies, battles and empires when he said this but it’s equally relevant for businesses.

Businesses need to forecast in order to plan but the forecast process for many businesses is weak and unreliable. They use historical data to analyse the past then work out the future later. But it’s not just about forecasting, we want to create a management culture that improves a number of different areas in your business by providing:

1. Strategic conversations – we need a forum for strategic conversations across the management team
2. Instant & valuable management reporting – the traditional accounting process is too slow at getting the next lot of figures out and is difficult for executives to understand. 
3. Better sales management mechanism – managing a significant sales team is complicated and anything that helps improve that process is worthwhile.
4. Better forecasting – Better forecasting is essential for predicting and influencing the future. In fact, if you improve in the first three areas, it will help to improve your forecasting anyway.

For many businesses the traditional budgeting process is a long and frustrating one. It is driven by the CFO and is only completed once each year, which doesn’t allow for changes in the landscape. The process is based on the income statement, which is not always understood by those who receive the budgets.

In RealTime Planning we ask the following questions:

Q. Who in your business is best qualified to predict and influence the future?

A. The CEO, followed by sales people and operational teams.

Q. How often is the landscape ahead of your business changing?

A. Often enough that you need to measure each month, rather than annually.

Q. Is there a better way to measure the past?

A. Trailing 12-Month or RealTime 24-Month Rolling

Q. Is there a better way to plan & forecast the future?

A. RealTime 24-Month Rolling

For more information take a look at our blog, 24-Month Rolling Forecasts  or contact us for more information and assistance.

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