MOVE FROM ABSTRACT PLANS TO “NAIRA AND KOBO”.

Caveat: “Naira and Kobo” in this post is not literal. It means THINK NUMBERS.

I had 2 strategy sessions today and in both, I was pressed to demand numbers. I have observed that many teams make presentations in rhetorics and English Language. It is very easy to be articulate and smooth with words. But as a business owner, over the years, I have trained my brain to look for numbers. Let me give you 2 examples:

1. I trained an organization on STRESS MANAGEMENT. And in the training, I showed FIGURES that explain HOW MUCH (in US DOLLARS) an organization is losing from ABSENTEEISM, PRESENTEEISM (being at work physically but being absentminded), LOSS OF PRODUCTIVITY and COST OF STRESS INDUCED SICKNESSES, etc. Now, most stress management trainings are theories around the psychological, emotional, mental and physical. How about the FINANCIAL?
2. I tendered a proposal to a HMO some time ago and in the marketing section of the proposal, I was all about the channels, the strategies and the possibilities. It was when I was upgrading the proposal for another client that I figured I should have added: SPECIFIC NUMBER of possible leads (‘Who’), which if converted, will buy WHAT THEY SELL, for HOW MUCH, in WHAT MANNER (‘How’ they will be convinced), and HOW LONG a strategy can be deployed or redeployed. It was a lightbulb 💡 moment.

As 2022 is still fresh, let me quickly suggest the following:

1. Determine your main thrust for 2022. Is it strategic focus, operational depth, revenue growth, personnel capacity building, branch spread, brand awareness, etc. PICK YOUR MAIN FOCUS FOR 2022.
2. Define the MEASURABLE NUMBERS of your pick. What exactly are you looking for? How do you know when you have hit it? How do you pragmatically intend to get it done?
3. How do your numbers translate to MORE INCOME or MORE EXPENSE? Someone will ask me why it has to boil down to money! Well, if we are talking about business, THE ULTIMATE RESULT IS : INCREASED REVENUE (minus) [LESS] COST (equals) HEALTHY [FAT] MARGINS. Even a non-profitable business must pay attention to how much money is going out vis-à-vis how much money is coming in. Simple!!!

If you have not undertaken a proper assessment of your business numbers, use this week to take a look at them and create new decisions that can take off from February. I wish you well.

m a k t u b!!!

The Octopus.