Working on your business is perhaps the most neglected area for business owners. However, working in your business (the day-to-day), that one keeps you busy. Am I right?

To a man (and woman), every single business owner that we come in touch with tells us how it is. They say, ‘It’s all well and good you preaching business planning and strategy, but when am I going to find the time to implement any of this stuff?’

Apparently busy means: ‘Talking to customers, taking orders, hounding suppliers, coaching employees, managing the invoices, pushing out the marketing, dealing with mistakes, keeping up with competitor changes, etc, etc, etc.’

What the majority of owners fail to see is that with some simple top-level thinking on the future of their business, the above jobs will become manageable and the business itself will move forward.

Obviously, this kind of thinking is called strategy. It is very important. Without strategy footballers would mill around without a plan, each doing their own thing. Your team (you, the business and it’s employees) all needs to know the plan to avoid you all hanging around by the corner flag with no goal in sight.

Strategy helps to pull the business forward. Planning to win is easy when you know how.

Attend our ‘Antidote to the Dragon’s Den’ event as part of Leeds Business Week 2015 to hear Simon Monaghan speak on how developing a clear strategy for the businesses he has worked with has helped them move in a positive direction.

Antidote to the Dragon’s Den – Thursday 15th October –

The Institute of Directors Leeds, Old Broadcasting House, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS2 9EN.