This chapter describes how you implement and sustain your business plan. It suggests how you can assemble the plan from different levels, initiate the plan, and provide sustaining activities. | CHAPTER 12 Implementing and Sustaining Your Business Plan This chapter describes how you implement and sustain your business plan. It suggests how you can assemble the plan from different levels initiate the plan and provide sustaining activities. These are the third and fourth steps in the four-step plan see Figure 12-1 that began with preplanning and planning activities. Included in the implementation phase are suggestions for measuring the performance of your plan. 323 324 Seven Steps to a Successful Business Plan Figure 12-1. The implementing and sustaining phases must work together in a seamless flow to ensure execution of the plan. One of the key steps for implementing the plan is the removal of heat loss or organizational inefficiencies inherent to any system. This chapter provides the steps for you to successfully map and correct any deficiencies. The chapter concludes with information on conducting organizational change activities along with suggestions on leadership and managership skills development. For the plan to succeed it must be implemented by people with the basic skills of leading and managing the workforce. Implementing and Sustaining Your Business Plan 325 How to Implement Your Plan The implementing period begins with a consolidation of the various levels of plans. Once your subordinate planning teams have taken the planning details of Level 1 down to Levels 2 3 or 4 they must be reassembled to ensure plan continuity. To do this schedule a one-day conference with representatives from each team where they present their own supporting plan and display their interpretation of the concepts. The idea is to cross-check the viability of plans across a single level then roll the information upward to the next level. If the teams have properly followed the provided planning templates the plans should fit together with minimum adjustment. If one subplan is out of alignment that particular planning team must go back to adjust its targets objectives or .
