Heffernana Crawford Partners, Practising Accountants Richmond Melbourne

Getting On With Business!

There are certainly a lot of uncertainties at present including:

• The upcoming Federal Election.
• Interest rates - even though the Australian Reserve Bank held interest rates steady in August, for the second month, there is still an expectation that interest rates will rise later in the year.
• Europe - what effect could the ongoing uncertainties of some banks and governments have on economic activities in Australia?
• USA - unemployment remains high and there is a question mark over business activities.
• China - is the rate of growth sustainable?

Some commentators have predicted further international problems.  How do you factor all of this into getting on with business in Australia?  Leadership is very important.  Business leaders should be articulating plans and strategies that clearly communicate the aims and aspirations of the business to all team members.

Planning is equally important.  Emphasis should also be given to planning an "implementation strategy" of the plan itself.  This means it is a good idea to include the whole team in the planning process, because these are the people who are more likely to accurately answer key questions that need to be asked as part of a planning process: 

• Do we have enough equipment to fulfil the plan?

• Do we have the right people?

• Have the people been appropriately trained?

• Is the plan realistic?  Can it be funded or do we need to raise capital or make an application to the bank for additional funding?

Communication is very important as part of the planning process.  Management should ensure that all team members understand, not only what is being planned, but more importantly, why.  This highlights the necessity for great communication. 

• What is the goal?  How are we going to progress towards the goal?
• Why are we doing this? 

This type of information will help maintain an organisation's alignment, in that all of team members will know what the vision is and, more importantly, have had input to determining what their role is in implementing the vision.

It is no use sitting back waiting to see how events, over which you have very little control, are going to unfold. e.g. Federal Election, Europe, USA, China etc.  What most businesses need to be doing now is involving all of their team in the planning process.  Having the entire team getting on with business.

Article provided by Acclipse Business Advisor and ESS BIZTOOLS Pty Ltd.