Here are a number of techniques that you should follow:

1. Set the end game and define success. Visualize successful consequences. Write them down and solidify this objective monthly. But only re-visit it and re-think it through annually. Definitely not more frequently.

2. Set out two key milestones for each year of your five-year plan. One milestone will be tangible – say a financial target, the number of hours per week on a particular business, networking, sporting, social or family activity. The other milestone will be intangible – say a particular level of media standing, or a level of access that you need to achieve with certain of your selected priority customers.

3. Now define the actions that you need to take to get to those milestones. Plus the resources that you intend to deploy. Time, cash, hired support, mentors, business angels, etc. For each quarter over the next two years. This is your own strategic plan.

4. Call them what you want, your milestones do not need to vary that much. Otherwise known as strategic goals, these will determine your strategic plans, which should be reviewed and tested quarterly. Look objectively at those strategic action plans every three months. Be honest with yourself and consider whether they are really working, to keep you on track with your milestones. Be prepared to adjust your strategy to get them back on track.

5. For each week of the forthcoming quarter, set out more specific milestone steps – plus your tactical plan to get there. These tactics will involve very specific activities, say to derive value for your customers, to market your brand or to organize and outsource your low added-value support activities.

6. Be prepared to challenge yourself over your tactical progress every week and reprioritise your action plan every day. Remember that you can never be good enough at time management. This most precious resource should be managed in a disclplined manner. Make it fun but keep it rigourous .

7. Put your next day’s priorities in four lists:

a. Cash Is King – Grows Cash Flow This Quarter

b. Build Our Brand – High Impact On Competitiveness, Niche and New Innovation

c. Love Our Customers – Creates New Customer Value And Deal With Any Issues – Immediately

d. Other Non-Critical

8. Delegate or outsource most of list (d)

9. Get trusted support on the other lists. You cannot do it all in a growing business. But run activities in (a) to (c) yourself, unless you can entrust them to staff you have with integrity, intelligence and energy.

10. Hire this support diligently and thoroughly. Follow your first instincts to get to short-list fast, for any level of job role. But then take your time to test and reference check anyone that you believe could be worthy of being on your payroll. Check them and test them again for integrity, intelligence and energy. Because if the don’t have integrity first, the other two can soon destroy what your brand and business stand for.

For the Master Entrepreneur

1. I will prevail. My instinct is right. I will get to my end vision. Sometimes I will vary my strategic plan. I will make sure I have such control that I will be able to take action fast

2. I will make sure that I never get into a position where I cannot react swiftly to change my tactics in an instant

3. I will stay close to the detail where it involves cash flow and customer satisfaction. Hirings in this area will be very carefully and diligently made.

4. I will outsource when I have a recommendation, from someone that I really respect and trust

For the Cautious Optimist

1. I will agree a plan with my accountants and stick to it. I will work only with trusted advisors and give most of my focus to our customers on sales and credit control

2. I will set a programme to test my strategic priorities every month. I will take advice from trusted mentors or non-executive directors

3. If I have brought in ‘Business Angel’ Investors to help me, so I can seek their opinion on big strategic changes, I must make sure that I have delegated authority for week-by-week tactics

4. We will only grow our enterprise as fast as we are allowed by the availability and hiring of really top people. If we can’t be sure of our staffing, then we will play safe, delay hiring and put he brakes on revenue growth for its own sake.

We all know examples of success in either type of leader. And you will recognize which is you. Ultimately your own success will depend on your strategic judgement and your tactical allocation of your most important asset – your time.

Benefit from 30 years of experience in entrepreneurial ventures and corporate growth, including the last 15 years in e-commerce. For the most seasoned and experienced advice and deals go to Web Profits Masters Internet Marketing Strategies

Related posts:

1. Important Considerations To Achieve Success As A Net Marketing Pro As a consequence of dramatic changes in the new info...
2. Critical Development With The SOSTAC Strategic Marketing Planning Template New information is being released about the SOSTAC Strategic Marketing...
3. Online Marketing and What You Should Focus On The core question is web marketing? Why hire an online...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.