Business Planning for the Future

Business Planning for the Future

Kolette Taber

Canadian Life & Health Insurance Association

Rebecca Jones

Dysart & Jones Associates

SLA June 2000

Approach

• Integrate models, techniques & application• Describe the theory as a case study

• Provide business planning outline• Describe basic templates for you to consider

Business Planning is BIG

• Myriad of courses, contests, outlines, models

• Critical for funding & support

• Basic premise, without being trite:– B - Business– I - investors’ interest– G - growth

Best article you can read

• “How to Write a Great Business Plan,” Harvard Business Review, July-August, 1997, pp. 98+

• Entrepreneurial mindset

– Context*

– Opportunity*– People– Risk & Reward

Purpose of a Business Plan

• The acid test– Should this business or venture exist?– Is there a future for it? A market? Is this

market growing? – Does it have viable strategies?– Do the people involved know

what they are doing?Set the Context

Clarify the Opportunity

Context

• Essentially, this is your homework, your background research

Context: Scans & Swots

• Scan the horizon– environment in which you operate– trends

• regulatory, industrial, suppliers, competitors• list competitors & suppliers by name

– size, market share, growth, track records, potential

– what are THEIR directions? THEIR learnings?

Context: Scans & Swots

• SWOT - no matter how it hurts– how do you compare with suppliers & competitors?– How are you perceived as a information solution by

your market, both current & potential client groups?– What’s your market size? Market share?– What are your internal capabilities?– What’s your track record with your stakeholders?

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats

Internal & External

Opportunity• Purpose:

– Why should your business exist?

• Direction:– Where is it headed?

• Market:– Who is its market?

• Portfolio of Services & Products:– What does it offer this market?

• Capabilities:– How will it deliver these?

Opportunity: Purpose

• Mission, mandate, role, schmole– what business are you in?– what will be missing if this business does

not exist?– what gap are you filling?

Use the approach that fits

your culture

Opportunity: Direction

• Vision

• “By 2002 we will be ….”

The Preferred Future

Opportunity: Direction

– Long-term strategies, Imperatives, Priorities• short-term, near-term, annual strategies,

objectives, goals, targets– “To get there, we’ll be concentrating on:”

• 1• 2• 3

– “This year, we will:”• x,y,z

Opportunity: Market

• Begin to address their “oh yeah’s?”

• Describe distinct primary & secondary target markets– client groups

Opportunity: Offerings

• Products & Services– list clearly & succinctly– show where these fit on the target

segments’ radar screen– why are these offerings compelling for

these client groups? Why will they purchase these, over others?

Capabilities

• Resources required to produce & deliver products & services to those client groups & meet specific strategies– Finances - revenue, expenses, cash flow– Personpower – Capital– Marketing– Customer support & retention

What’s lurking in their minds?“I just don’t think the dogs will eat the dog

food.”• The back up comes up front

– context setting– primary market research– where DO you fit

in your clients’ range of information solutions?

– what ARE your entry barriers?

Size your universeSegment

Target

The Plan: Sample #1

• Summary

• Purpose & Strategies

• Client Groups

• Portfolio of Services

• Budget: Capital & Operating

• Personpower

• Appendices

The Plan: Sample #2

• Summary

• The Business: Background

• Management

• Products & Services

• Market

• Production & Supply

• Financial Performance

The Case Study

CLHIA

Opportunity

• Mission– focal point for information management in

CLHIA

• Vision– by 2002 to be heralded as an example of

excellence in information management within insurance industry

The planning tools

– CLHIA’s annual strategic review• identified key issues

– convergence, federal and provincial legislative reviews, M & A, demutualization and Y2K

• organizational structure• strategic priorities• financial plan

– Consultants’ report• highlighted strengths/weaknesses• recommendations

– mission– direction– strategic priorities (5)

Where do I start?

• Previous priorities – classification, file maintenance, purchasing, daily 9AM news

Gathering facts

• Industry Environment

– internal sources• strategic plan, briefing books,

correspondence,newsletters, circulars etc

– external sources• reports, government submissions, industry

intelligence

Gathering information

• RIL products/services– RIL procedures manual, staff interviews,

classification schedule, Inmagic textbases, accounts payable, vendors

• Identifying clients– gathered intermittent statistics– reviewed acquisitions– library & file collections– Dysart & Jones report

Gathering information • Competition/duplication

– Lawyer’s providing reference assistance, media relations distributing news releases, multiple copies in multiple locations

– personal observation, files, meetings, vendors

• Clients’ perception– initial information from focus groups– informal feedback from clients, insurance

librarians

Keeping up with the Jones

• Discussion lists • Literature• Conference attendance• Networking with peers• Meeting with vendors

– Particularly providers of electronic media monitoring and legal sources

At the end of the day…

• Still didn’t know how much money was being spent on information/information management

• How much duplication of effort

• Lacked meaningful statistics

Expanding the scope

• Developed capture mechanisms– purchased integrated library system– Excel worksheets – zero-based budgeting– reference activity database– GL reports

• Client perceptions – analysis of reference requests– staff performance review by management

committee– information audit

Success dependent upon

• Working within existing culture • Establishing immediate credibility

– “Since you arrived there hasn’t been one reference request unanswered”

• Employing technology to greatest effect– information management, performance

measurement, research– develop rapport with IT– eliminating / outsourcing low value tasks

Tackling the priorities

• Knowledgeable staff– Information Analyst– Part time clerical support

• Industry intelligence– build upon popular 9AM news – seek

one/two provider solutions

• Relocation = opportunity– profile/weeding/integration/migration

What does the Plan look like

• Annual planning cycle– budget guidelines (December)– CLHIA strategic review (January)– RIL strategic plan /budget (February)

• brag sheet

• review/revise strategic initiatives

• introduce new initiatives

– staff performance reviews (March)• tie individual accomplishments to corporate goals

• feedback from senior management

– mid-year financial forecast (September)

What does the Plan look like?

• Ongoing– leveraging access to internal knowledge to continually

enhance, adjust media monitoring activities; proactive approach

– collect information on pricing, relevant products & services – quarterly analysis of circulation & reference activities– quarterly dialogue with clients re serial renewals –

opportunity to discuss alternate delivery mechanisms – get feedback on service delivery/collection development

– revisit progress on 5 priorities quarterly

What’s changed

• Priorities– Perception of RIL changed from file room to information

provider – more research & analysis– Internet education– Focus on member services

• 25% of research requests • Committee participation

• Internet – members only site

– research tool /access point for information– greater acceptance of electronic information delivery

Contact us

• Rebecca Jones– www.dysartjones.com– [email protected]– 905/731-5836

• Kolette Taber– [email protected]– 416/359-2007