June 2020

Part one BY Andy Savva R ecent turbulent and unprecedented events across the world have put all of us, especially those running garage businesses, under extreme stress and pain from losing family, friends and associates to this evil disease. My heart goes out to all of you who are suffering in your own situations. What’s for sure is no one is immune to this crisis; we are all in the chain somewhere. What this has highlighted for many of us is the critical importance of good detailed business planning. However, even if you had the best detailed business plan you would still have found it a struggle during COVID-19. Planning is at the heart of good management. We all know that change initiatives in our non-business lives, such as re-decorating our homes or planning a holiday seem very natural and most people are very good at it. That said, in our garage businesses it may not be so straightforward and is challenging for most to be able properly plan. Process As planning is such an important part of management, a thorough understanding of planning approaches and documentation is vital. In the latter part of my own career I have used three simple questions to guide me through the business planning process: Where am I now? Where do I want to be? How am I going to get there? What I have learnt over time can be summarised in the second question above – Where do I want to be? – which is why business planning is at the heart of leadership. Most people in any business are mainly involved with completing their daily and weekly tasks and usually prefer to follow someone who has a clear vision which has been effectively communicated. They want to believe that ‘someone up there’ knows what he or she is trying to achieve for the organisation and that he or she is being broadly successful in getting there. In the modern world, the plan is the description of and rationale for the vision, and the basis for the communication. Leaders who pursue a clear vision believe in themselves and usually achieve a huge amount. They are able to create a team with a common purpose. This provides a rising above current difficulties and should at least go some way in dealing with the most extreme circumstances. 16 AFTERMARKET JUNE 2020 BUSINESS www.aftermarketonline.net BUSINESS PLANNING In a two-part article, Andy considers how business planning is the source of success for any garage. First, he considers the role of a solid process