5The Business Planning ProcessDon't Let the Process Overrun You
Nowadays at some banks, the compliance team is larger than the relationship management team, and the paperwork often overwhelms the people. The same is often true with business planning and its process. It becomes an endless task, with infinite meetings and a parade of external facilitators. Rather than listening to their gut and employees, many management teams spend an excessive amount of time listening to consultants.
The process becomes so cumbersome that the budgets and the strategic planning process often don't match, and the process extends into the year that it is supposed to start delivering value.
When done correctly, the whole business planning process should not last more than a quarter. Figure 5.1 outlines the five simple steps of the business planning process.
I have a few simple recommendations on how to approach the business planning process, based on the Business Scorecard (BSC) framework. If you can make this work, you should be in good shape.
Formulate your strategy, and set your top 20–25 financial and non-financial targets.
Clearly define your list of the top 20 of projects/initiatives to help deliver your strategy. Compute the fiscal, people, and technology investments required to deliver them on time.
Translate the above into a detailed budget document ...
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