Living in southern Michigan comes with an inherent amount of uncertainty when it comes to weather patterns. Being bordered on three sides by large bodies of water tends to make weather difficult to forecast and makes our forecasts and ever-changing event. The adage of “If you don’t like the weather, wait 10 minutes” can be a reality in this region of the world.
or the winter of 2019, this is coming true in spades. Our fall has been unusually warm causing the trees to still be heavy with leaves well into November. However, Mother Nature had another thing in mind as we are greeted in this second week of November with record snowfall of 9+ inches (22.9 cm) and leaves still on the trees.
Much like we see in nature, the landscape can change when we are least prepared. Many times, product lines may have plenty of green growth planned during the product development phase but a shift in market demands can easily find us with that green growth unable to be captured.
The ultimate value of strategy and planning sessions is not only in the development of a budget for the upcoming year but, more importantly, to take time to look around at the landscape and make sure the current plans are still valid for the growth expected.
As 2019 draws to a close, make sure to survey the landscape, look at the forecast, take time to critically question the planning and make sure your plans/strategy not only are still valid but that the communication of these plans are clear across the entire company – top to bottom.