A game plan only looks out a year at most, but within context of a much longer period of time. The company might decide where they want to be in five years – game plan is just next series of steps toward that longer-term goal. There is no point in setting objectives for which there aren’t adequate resources, so objectives and budget are discussed in tandem. Another challenge of game planning process is to define success for each objective and decide how it will be measured.

This is a time for healthy argument as sales wants more resources to increase revenue, product development wants more of objectives to be toward R&D for company’s future, and operations manager wants more staff to improve quality. This is also time for managers to consider implications for all decisions. And it is time for CEO to create a connection between objectives and each of managers so that there is personal commitment to success of company. If managers are not committed, they will never be able to expect commitment from other employees.

Turning Objectives Into Actions

When company objectives and budget are ironed out, about half work is done. A second series of steps takes objectives set at a corporate level, and creates specific action items for each employee that support department and then company objectives. Just as CEO and managers hashed out process of give and take between what is today and where they would like to be tomorrow, each manager must go through same process with departments’ employees. Each employee must have a series of actions, but most importantly, each employee should know where they stand at any time they wish to check.

For instance, if objectives for a customer service employee are to keep call length to an average of 2 minutes, have sales of an average of $50 per customer who calls, and to return all calls within 24 hours, then you want that employee to be able to find measurements for those objectives as often as he or she wishes. The goal is for employee to have access to just as much information about his or her performance as manager. An employee who can assess his or her own progress real-time will correct performance deficiencies without a manager’s insistence.

The Plan Isn’t a Secret

The final piece is constant communication about plan and company’s progress to employees. The game plan is not only communicated initially, it must be kept alive throughout year with meetings focused on measuring progress toward goals. Successes should be celebrated frequently.

In my own company, we used something we called a Game Plan Circle to illustrate our plan each year. It was a six-foot circle with our vision in middle that radiated out to cover company objectives, department and individual objectives. It served as a visual we could refer to in meetings to keep us on track.

The Bottom Line

Don’t let your business become another failure statistic. A business plan is a great first step in starting or fundamentally changing a business. The next step is a game plan – a translation of that business plan to each employee’s actions every day.

3. Dishonesty and theft. The term theft can include theft of time, office supplies, and use of office equipment for personal projects. Set standards for what is acceptable use of company assets. Security experts say as many as 30 percent of workers steal, resulting in an estimated loss of $50 billion a year from U.S. companies and contributing to as many as one-third of business bankruptcies.

As for dishonesty, I have a zero-tolerance approach. I dismissed members of my accounting staff for what may seem to be petty reasons: one for using $5 of petty cash as personal lunch money, another for telling me he was home sick when he was out of state on a long weekend vacation. If key staff members are not honest with you about small things, how can you be sure they will tell truth “when it counts?”

4. Substance abuse. Substance abuse is more rampant than most employers know. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that from 6% to 11% of adults are substance abusers. Substance abuse costs U.S. employers an estimated $100 billion a year. Call your attorney to make certain you follow Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements. Illegal drugs are expensive and have led financially desperate employees to commit fraud. They have also been implicated in violent behavior in workplace.

Commit to setting standards in your workplace and you will find a calmer atmosphere, less turnover, and more attention to productivity, growth, and profitability.