By Keith Hicks, Rudder Business Coaching, Fayetteville

To maximize productivity and profit, every business needs to have a clear reason for existing. These four recommendations help business owners define that “reason.”

1. Vision, Mission, and Values Statement –  In order to achieve success, a business must have a strategic framework to guide every employee.

•    Vision defines where your company will be in the future.

•    Mission defines what your company does and why it exists.

•    Values shape the actions of your company by setting rules for how employees should behave.

2. Organizational Chart – Even if a company has only one employee, an org chart is a useful tool that shows how company responsibilities are organized. If there is only one of you, then your name goes in every position on the chart.

3. Job Descriptions – Once the org chart is complete, specific responsibilities need to be defined. Even if you are the only employee, specific job descriptions are the cornerstone for a successful hiring and retention program. They define what skill sets are needed, and become a “performance contract” with newly hired employees.

4. Business Plan – A yearly business plan allows your company to focus on key objectives, allocate resources, prepare for problems and opportunities, and measure progress. It also guides your daily, weekly, and monthly actions. While there are numerous formats and potential components, a yearly business plan should at least include:

•    Strategies. These are the broadly defined 4 to 5 key approaches your company will use to accomplish its mission and drive toward the vision.

•    Goals. These are specific, numerical targets (e.g., sales dollars or volume) that your company is trying to achieve.

•     Action Plans. What is your company doing every day to achieve the goals that support your strategies?

While there are countless other documents that provide tremendous value to the business (e.g., Financial Reports, Market Analyses, Marketing Plans, Sales Process Flow Charts, etc.) the ones listed above are critical because they help every employee make choices every day about the work they are doing. Only with this level of focus can a business truly maximize productivity and profit.

Keith Hicks is a Licensed Professional Business Coach with the PBCA, is CEO of Rudder Business Coaching, and has 20+ years of relevant business experience that includes positions in large CPG companies, and as an officer in the US Navy and Air Force Reserve.

Emails comments to keith.hicks@rudderbusinesscoaching.com or via the web site www.rudderbusinesscoaching.com.