Setting The Ground For Business Success

Setting the Ground for Business Success
How to define your goals, strategy and metrics
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1|Se tting the Ground f or Business Suc cess mrdashboard.com

Contents
1. Are you picky?
2. The Big Picture
3. Setting Business Goals
4. Business Strategy
5. Business Processes
6. Business Tools
7. Blueprint for Business Success
8. Case Study: The Blueprint in Action
9. Bob’s Business Scorecard
10. Start Today!
2|Setting the Ground for Business Success mrdashboard.com

1. Are you picky?
Complex issues are solved by using simple solutions. Complex markets require
simple sales and marketing strategies. The most successful products have been
developed based on simple and obvious ideas.
Successful business people know they need simple solutions to their complex
business environment and they simplify their strategies and business models by being picky – they focus
on what makes sense and they ignore the rest. They know what they want, what they need and they are
picky enough to figure out a way how to achieve their goals. The same is true for successful businesses
and organizations.
As important it is to define what you are going to do (your key business activities), it is also as much
important to define what you are not going to do. Successful businesses focus on marketing to the right
customer and they are very specific about who is their customer as well as who is not. At the business
management and operational level the same is true – successful businesses focus on the right
management practices and are picky about how they achieve their goals and
objectives.
We are all exposed to information overload. Unfortunately of all the information

we can access 99% is useless for our business and our careers. Yes the
information is interesting but it is not going to help me in any way what so ever.
Again it is all about being picky what you listen, read, watch... Pick the right
source of information for you and your business and try to ignore the rest. For successful business
people it all begins with knowing exactly what they want and need.
Now let’s go step by step through the blueprint. Before we start keep in mind that this blueprint has
been used and applied in many businesses of different size so if you are a small business owner this
blueprint will work for you as well as if you are a corporate executive or mid-level business professional.

2. The Big Picture
Think about all the meetings you have attended in your career. How many times
have you felt boring? Now think about how many times you have been excited and
satisfied from your meeting? The main reason for your answers is the lack of focus –
people work together without having a clear goals and strategy. Without clear
strategy they try to execute different tactics based on their experience and skills and
they can develop decent projects but they all do not fit together because there is no clear strategy, goals
and objectives.
What is common for all successful businesses? They all have clear goal, clear strategy, effective business
processes and the right business tools to execute their processes and achieve their goals.
3. Setting Business Goals

Being able to reach a certain outcome doesn’t just rely on luck. Instead, it
involves SMART goal settings that will allow you to understand what you want
and how you plan to get there. Develop and test your goals with SMART. There
are certain very important characteristics involved in success, and goal setting
ensure that you are not only taking the right steps, but you are after the right target. How do you know
if you have your eyes on the right prize? By knowing that your goals have the following characteristics:
Specificity
Measurability
Attainability
Realism
Timeliness
Specificity
The first part of SMART goal settings is specificity. Your desired outcome needs
to be defined and straightforward so that you know precisely what it is that
you’re after. If your goal is too vague, then it will become too easy to deviate

from the direct path to achieving it.
To create specificity, ask yourself the following questions:
What is it that you want to achieve?

Why is this achievement important? What will you gain?
How do you intend to reach this outcome?
By making your goals clear and direct, you will give yourself a set target for a workable achievement
plan. An example of the difference between goals with and without specificity are as follows:
Goal without specificity: I will exercise more.

Goal with specificity: I will stop using the elevator at work and walk for 30 minutes every
evening after dinner.
Measurability
This is a key area where many individuals struggle to properly employ goal setting.
It is vital to understand that if you cannot measure your progress, you have no
way of knowing if you are moving toward your intended outcome. Furthermore,
you won’t be able to gauge how much you’ve achieved and how close you are to
reaching your target.
Make sure that you use the specificity of your goal in order to make it something that you can measure
along the way. For example, if you have decided that you need to lose 10 pounds, then the
measurability will be scheduled weekly trips to the scale.
An example of goal setting and those without measurability are as follows:
Goal without measurability: I am going to read more books.

Goal with measurability: I am going to read one book every month, and twelve books per year.
While you can’t measure the desire to read more, you can measure the number of pages or of books
that you read within a certain time frame.

Attainability
Though it’s all well and good to have a certain dream in mind, SMART goal settings require you to know
that you will actually be able to reach that target. This means that at the same time that you decide on
your goals, you also need to find out if you currently have (or can obtain) the required skills, abilities,
attitudes, and money you need to get there.
If what you want is too far beyond your capabilities, then the odds are that
you won’t be able to bring your plan to completion. You will likely start off
with good intentions and high motivations, but knowing that you have taken
on too much will begin weighing you down and will eventually stop you from
progressing.
While there is nothing wrong with a challenging goal, goal setting lets you know that though you may be
struggling, you can indeed get to where you want to be. It is the difference between feeling that
something is difficult or that something is simply impossible.
Realism
In terms of SMART goal settings, realism refers to whether or not it can

actually be achieved. This is not the same as something that is simply easy to
accomplish. You need to ask yourself if it can be done. Is it possible? It is at
this point that you must differentiate between the dream and the reality of the
situation.
Have a look at the impact that the attempt to achieve the goal will have on your life. You may need to
truly push yourself, but goal setting never involves bringing yourself to the breaking point – nor should
they require you to pass it.
The following are some examples of the difference between a goal without realism, and SMART goal
settings:
Goal without realism: I’m going to stop snacking no matter how hungry I feel.
Goal with realism: I will eat one healthy snack per day and a sweet treat on the weekend.

Timeliness
For goal setting to work, you need to have a specific timeframe in mind for
their achievement. If you give yourself a set deadline, you’ll push yourself to
reach it. Without an end point, you won’t have a sense of urgency, and your
motivation will begin to slip. Though you can alter your timeframe along the
way in order to suit the realism of your goal, it is important to have a specific
achievement date for each step along the way.
Goal settings give you a way to make sure that the outcomes you want are within your realm of
achievability and that you will be able to motivate yourself to continue forward in order to reach those
objectives.
4. Business Strategy
After you define your goals and objectives, next you need to figure out your
strategy that you will use to achieve your goals and objectives. While your
goals and objectives tell you what you want to achieve, your strategy tells
you how you are going to achieve them.
Without clear and effective strategy your goals and objectives will be just a dream. You need a clear
strategy – your road map and action plan for success. Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton published an
article in Harvard Business Review with the title “Having Trouble with Your Strategy? Then Map It.” So if
you have not developed your strategy map and action plan this is the time to step back and do it – this is
the best time investment you are going to make. By defining your strategy you are creating a specific
and clear road map with all the required components and steps necessary to achieve your business
success.

10 things you need to consider before you develop your winning strategy:
Review your goals and objectives

Define your customer
Who is not your customer?
Describe your ideal customer
Pick your battlefield
Top 5 Action Steps
Top 5 CSFs
Top 10-25 KPIs
Business processes
Business tools
Review your goals and objectives
Start by reviewing your goals and objectives. Everything in business starts with
facts, tangible numbers, priorities and measurable outcomes. Your business
success will also be measured by these criteria. Your business plans, management,
control, reporting, analysis, projects, performance, improvement initiatives… will
all be based on your goals and objectives. If you have not done this part of your job go to the SMART
goal settings part and do it right now!
Define your customer
This sounds like the easiest part of the strategy development process but
unfortunately this is where most businesses fail. Why? Because it seems so
obvious to most people that they know and everybody else knows who their
customers are so they skip this section and their strategies will most likely fail.
Focusing on every potential customer and competing with every business in your industry and
marketplace will lead to poor performance and low profits - this would be your best scenario given this
choice.

Who is not your customer?
Now, make a list of all “potential customers” that you are not going after and
you are not going to do business with. This is very important so invest a few
minutes of your time and make a list of “potential customers” that are not a
good fit to your business. These are the customers that don’t help you
achieve your goals and objectives – they are not profitable because it takes
long time to market and sell to them or they require more or different resources to be satisfied.
Describe your ideal customer
Now, that you defined your market segment and excluded segments of your
market or industry it is time to define your ideal customer. Who are they? What do
they like? Where do they live? What makes them happy? Why are they a good fit
for your business?
Pick your battlefield
Great! At this point you have a clear and specific profile of your ideal
customer. Now, that you have defined your ideal customer chances are there
are other businesses that compete for your ideal customer. What you do at
this point is picking your battlefield. There are different ways to reach and
deliver value to your ideal customer so pick the places where it is easier for you to compete. Why would
you go after your ideal customer through the hardest way when you can find an easier one? Be picky
again! Pick the places where you are going to compete and places you are going to avoid.
Top 5 Action Steps
Now that you have clearly defined your goals and objectives, your ideal
customer and your battlefield start with defining your action steps. Make a
list of the top 5 action steps you need to accomplish to achieve your goals
and objectives. What are the most important action steps you need to

accomplish to become a favorite provider of value to your ideal customer? You have to make your ideal
customer ignore your competitors and decide to do business with you. Answer the question: What are
the most important things I need to do so that my ideal customer will want to do business with me?
Your goal here is to define action steps that will make you a favorite provider versus all other available
options and alternatives.
Top 5 CSFs
What are your top 5 CSFs (critical success factors) that are absolutely critical for
implementing your strategy? These critical success factors are the ones that will
drive the success of your action steps. Whether you are going to accomplish your
action steps as you planned will depend on how you manage your CSFs. It is critical
to define the right CSFs. By defining your CSFs, you develop a “success map” and
practices to help you manage and measure the accomplishment of your strategy. They are the key areas
where you want to make sure everything works according to your plan.
Depending on your business these CSFs will vary by importance and priority but a few general examples
of CSFs are:
Improve relationships with your ideal customer

Control operational costs
Improve product and service quality
Develop new product features
Improve inventory cycles
Reduce delivery time
Top 10-25 KPIs
What are your top 10 to 25 KPIs (key performance indicators) or business

metrics? Your KPIs are your business measurements. It is difficult to manage
without measuring your progress. It is also difficult to manage with the wrong
measurements. What works for one business may not work for another.
10 | S e t t i n g t h e G r o u n d f o r B u s i n e s s S u c c e s s mrdashboard.com
Defining your KPIs means defining measurements that will effectively track your CSFs.
Business metrics provide you with the ability to better understand the successes (or lack thereof) of
your business management efforts. By properly utilizing business performance metrics, you will be able
to measure the value and contribution of various activities in order to create budgets, allocate
resources, and make decisions regarding your business future. These measurements are exceptionally
important as they help a business to continually improve upon the performance and outcomes of their
business efforts while creating a better return on investment. Instead of simply continuing forward with
what your business has always done, performance metrics allow you to identify specifically what is
working and what is not.
How do you define effective KPIs that will work for your business? In order to do a good job at defining
your KPIs you need to understand the different types of business performance metrics:
Activity Based Metrics
Among the most popularly used business performance metrics are those that
are activity based. They involve the counting, calculation, and reporting of
numbers based on actions taken by your employees, customers, vendors...
These KPIs are easy to track, monitor, report and control. For example,
counting the number of new customers, number of late deliveries, number of returned products,
number of leads per month… is measurable and in most cases these numbers are already available – if
not you can easily organize and start this initiative to measure these activity based KPIs.
While you definitely need to include activity based metrics in your business performance scorecard, a
more effective reporting can be achieved by measuring business outcomes such as customer value,
market share, profit, cash flows and product adoption versus reporting only activities. After all, you
manage your activities to achieve your desired outcomes – your goals and objectives.
Measuring Effectiveness
A more significant amount of manager concentration should be placed on

organization’s efficiency and efficacy as a whole. Among the specific
performance metrics categories are those which involve the contribution of
the business activities on the outcomes such as customer acquisition rate, new products and services,
the average value of each order, the improvement in the frequency of customer purchasing, customer
loyalty, the rate of growth in comparison with your competition...
Activities as a Business Process
Each of your business activities is part of a business process such as sales

process, quality control process, marketing process, delivery process, product
development process… It is very important that you create a good mix of the
top KPIs for each of your business processes and continually measure and
report them on your business performance scorecard. Make a list of your business processes and define
the top 3-5 KPIs for each process. When you use outcomes as measurements it is good to add the most
important activity metrics as well so you can be able to see the correlation on your scorecard report.
When a certain outcome metric goes wrong you can easily see the cause of the change by taking a look
at the activities. The same is true when a business outcome outperforms and exceeds the target – you
can see the causes of this change and use this knowledge to further improve your business.
5. Business Processes
We already talked about activities and businesses processes but let’s spend
a few more minutes to review the importance of developing and managing
an effective business process. Why is it important? Companies with
effective and efficient processes outperform their competitors because they
create better products and services and they are more productive and cost-effective than their
competitors. These companies can charge more for their quality or they can share the savings with their
ideal customer and as a result grow their market share aggressively – in both cases the outcome is
business success!
Think about McDonalds. They have invested in developing productive processes and now they are able
to generate millions at each location with high school kids working in the process. Their business
processes, activities and measurements are clearly defined and focused on results! Can you achieve this
success in your industry / market? Not every company can achieve such a success but your goal should
be to continually improve your activities and organize them into manageable and well defined
processes.
6. Business Tools
Finally, you need the right business management tools to get the job done
efficiently and effectively. Think about the following tools: project
management tools, accounting tools, communication tools, business
reporting tools, training tools, pricing tools, time management tools, business
analysis tools, marketing tools, document management tools, performance appraisal tools, sales tools…
They all help you save time and get the job done in a productive way. Your business tools help you
manage your business better by improving your business processes and make the right decisions for
your business.
Based on your business goals, strategy and processes make a list of the tools you need to get the job
done. When you make a decision about what tools you need don’t focus only on technology but focus
on practical tools that will help your business. Business tools include software, applications,
presentations, templates, models, tactics… Invest some time and make your list of tools you need to
better grow and manage your business.
7. Setting the Ground for Business Success Blueprint
1. My Top 5 SMART Goals and Objectives:
1.1 ___________________________________________________________________________
1.2 ___________________________________________________________________________
1.3 ___________________________________________________________________________
1.4 ___________________________________________________________________________
1.5 ___________________________________________________________________________
2. My Potential Customer (my target market segments):
2.1 ___________________________________________________________________________
2.2 ___________________________________________________________________________
2.3 ___________________________________________________________________________
2.4 ___________________________________________________________________________
2.5 ___________________________________________________________________________
3. These are not my customers (I am not going after these segments):
3.1 ___________________________________________________________________________
3.2 ___________________________________________________________________________
3.3 ___________________________________________________________________________
3.4 ___________________________________________________________________________
3.5 ___________________________________________________________________________
4. This is my ideal customer (demographics, business type for B2B, location, desires, pain, needs, wants,
motivation, social status, spending ability…):
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
5. I can reach my ideal customer in many different ways and I can offer different products and services,
but in order to avoid tough competition and maximize profitability I’ll focus only on the following
approaches:
5.1 Products ___________________________________________________________________
5.2 Services ___________________________________________________________________
5.3 Tactics ____________________________________________________________________
6. Top 5 Actions Steps
6.1 ___________________________________________________________________
6.2 ___________________________________________________________________
6.3 ___________________________________________________________________
6.4 ___________________________________________________________________
6.5 ___________________________________________________________________
7. Top 5 CSFs:
7.1 ___________________________________________________________________
7.2 ___________________________________________________________________
7.3 ___________________________________________________________________
7.4 ___________________________________________________________________
7.5 ___________________________________________________________________
8. Top 10-25 KPIs:
8.1 ___________________________________________________________________
8.2 ___________________________________________________________________
8.3 ___________________________________________________________________
8.4 ___________________________________________________________________
8.5 ___________________________________________________________________
8.6 ___________________________________________________________________
8.7 ___________________________________________________________________
8.8 ___________________________________________________________________
8.9 ___________________________________________________________________
8.10 ___________________________________________________________________
8.11 ___________________________________________________________________
8.12 ___________________________________________________________________
8.13 ___________________________________________________________________
8.14 ___________________________________________________________________
8.15 ___________________________________________________________________
8.16 ___________________________________________________________________
8.17 ___________________________________________________________________
8.18 ___________________________________________________________________
8.19 ___________________________________________________________________
8.20 ___________________________________________________________________
8.21 ___________________________________________________________________
8.22 ___________________________________________________________________
8.23 ___________________________________________________________________
8.24 ___________________________________________________________________
8.25 ___________________________________________________________________
9. My Business Processes:
9.1 ___________________________________________________________________
9.2 ___________________________________________________________________
9.3 ___________________________________________________________________
9.4 ___________________________________________________________________
9.5 ___________________________________________________________________
10. My Business Tools:
10.1 ___________________________________________________________________
10.2 ___________________________________________________________________
10.3 ___________________________________________________________________
10.4 ___________________________________________________________________
10.5 ___________________________________________________________________
10.6 ___________________________________________________________________
10.7 ___________________________________________________________________
10.8 ___________________________________________________________________
10.9 ___________________________________________________________________
10.10 ___________________________________________________________________
8. Case Study: The Blueprint in Action
We use this simple case study to illustrate the blueprint in action. This is how a
small packaging and distribution company in New York used the blueprint to
improve their goals, strategy and metrics and develop their business scorecard.
The information has been modified in order to protect the client but the steps,
the logic of the blueprint and the results are real. The client managed to
improve his business and exceed his targets in less than one year.
Why we are using this company as an example of the blueprint? Because this is a small business, not
sophisticated by any means or standards and they don’t use any advanced technology. If this company
can take advantage of this approach any company can do it.
The case study shows how the client:
- Used the blueprint step by step

- Developed his business scorecard
- Organized the information flow
- Continuously used his business scorecard
- Exceeded his targets
Let’s take a look how the client used the blueprint:
1. My Top 5 SMART Goals and Objectives:
Grow Total Revenue by 15% next 12 months

1.1 ___________________________________________________________________________
Reduce Operating Costs per Product by 10% next 12 months

1.2 ___________________________________________________________________________
Reduce Number of Defective Products by 25% next 12 months

1.3 ___________________________________________________________________________
Zero Lost Customers

1.4 ___________________________________________________________________________
Grow Revenue with Current Customers by 5% next 12 months

1.5 ___________________________________________________________________________
2. My Potential Customer (my target market segments):
Moving and Storage Businesses - Local

2.1 ___________________________________________________________________________
Moving and Storage Businesses - Regional

2.2 ___________________________________________________________________________
Online Sales - Nationwide

2.3 ___________________________________________________________________________
Manufacturing Plants - Regional

2.4 ___________________________________________________________________________
2.5 ___________________________________________________________________________
3. These are not my customers (I am not going after these segments):

I am not going after Regional Moving and Storage Businesses
3.1 ___________________________________________________________________________
I am not going to sell online transactions < $500
3.2 ___________________________________________________________________________
I am not going to sell without 1-year contract unless margin > 30%
3.3 ___________________________________________________________________________
3.4 ___________________________________________________________________________
3.5 ___________________________________________________________________________
4. This is my ideal customer (demographics, business type for B2B, location, desires, pain, needs, wants,
motivation, social status, spending ability…):
Regional Manufacturing Plants Generating Revenue > $0.5M per Year
______________________________________________________________________________
Local Moving and Storage Customers with margin > 30% and no delivery
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
5. I can reach my ideal customer in many different ways and I can offer different products and services,
but in order to avoid tough competition and maximize profitability I’ll focus only on the following
approaches:
Product variety and customized product offering based on contract

5.1 Products ___________________________________________________________________
Total logistics solution with JIT Delivery and Inventory Management

5.2 Services ___________________________________________________________________
Team of Sales and Logistics people work with the ideal customer
5.3 Tactics ____________________________________________________________________
6. Top 5 Actions Steps

Form teams of sales and logistics experts and provide training
6.1 ___________________________________________________________________
Use the Activity Based Tool to estimate total cost per contract
6.2 ___________________________________________________________________
Organize in-house Quality Control training and procedures

6.3 ___________________________________________________________________
Use RFM Tool to identify customers with change in purchasing pattern

6.4 ___________________________________________________________________
Form team specialized in direct sales to manufacturing plants
6.5 ___________________________________________________________________
7. Top 5 CSFs:
Team building and teamwork in sales and quality control
7.1 ___________________________________________________________________
Activity based costing implementation and training
7.2 ___________________________________________________________________
Develop quality control procedures and training

7.3 ___________________________________________________________________
Implement RFM and train marketing and direct sales teams
7.4 ___________________________________________________________________
7.5 ___________________________________________________________________
8. Top 10-25 KPIs:

Total Revenue
8.1 ___________________________________________________________________
Revenue - Manufacturing
8.2 ___________________________________________________________________
Revenue : Moving & Storage Local
8.3 ___________________________________________________________________
Revenue : Moving & Storage Regional
8.4 ___________________________________________________________________
Revenue : Online
8.5 ___________________________________________________________________
Revenue : New Customers
8.6 ___________________________________________________________________
Total Operating Costs

8.7 ___________________________________________________________________
Total Warehouse Costs
8.8 ___________________________________________________________________
Total Delivery Costs

8.9 ___________________________________________________________________
Cash Flow
8.10 ___________________________________________________________________
EBITDA
8.11 ___________________________________________________________________
Net Profit
8.12 ___________________________________________________________________
COGS
8.13 ___________________________________________________________________
New Customers (last 3 months)

8.14 ___________________________________________________________________
Sales Commissions
8.15 ___________________________________________________________________
Payroll
8.16 ___________________________________________________________________
Headcount
8.17 ___________________________________________________________________
Number of Returns
8.18 ___________________________________________________________________
Number of Complaints
8.19 ___________________________________________________________________
Number of Accidents
8.20 ___________________________________________________________________
Number of Late Deliveries

8.21 ___________________________________________________________________
AR > 90 Days
8.22 ___________________________________________________________________
Gross Margin
8.23 ___________________________________________________________________
Training Hours
8.24 ___________________________________________________________________
Number of Online Transactions

8.25 ___________________________________________________________________
9. My Business Processes:
Direct Sales to Manufacturing Plants
9.1 ___________________________________________________________________
Cost Estimate and Pricing based on Team Audit at Customer Site

9.2 ___________________________________________________________________
Quality Control
9.3 ___________________________________________________________________
Customer Service
9.4 ___________________________________________________________________
Marketing (PR, Advertising and Promotion)

9.5 ___________________________________________________________________
10. My Business Tools:

Executive Business Scorecard
10.1 ___________________________________________________________________
Customer Audit Questionnaire Tool
10.2 ___________________________________________________________________
Direct Sales Presentation Tool for Manufacturing Plants
10.3 ___________________________________________________________________
Activity Based Costing and Pricing Tool

10.4 ___________________________________________________________________
Customer Service Script and Tools

10.5 ___________________________________________________________________
RFM Analysis Tool

10.6 ___________________________________________________________________
Sales Funnel Tool
10.7 ___________________________________________________________________
Quality Control Forms and Templates

10.8 ___________________________________________________________________
Sales Funnel Tool

10.9 ___________________________________________________________________
Data Collection Forms and Templates

10.10 __________________________________________________________________
9. Bob’s Business Scorecard
Here is an example screenshot of the Bob’s Business Scorecard. This
scorecard has been developed based on the blueprint answers by Bob and
by using an Excel Template which is part of the Business Reporting Bundle
– this is used only for illustration purposes and uses random numbers. In
addition we worked with Bob and developed customized scorecards:
Executive Scorecard plus Department Scorecards for Operations, Sales and Marketing, Quality Control
and Finance.
Bob's Business Scorecard 12/5/2007 12/16/2007
Total Revenue Rev. Manufacturing Rev. M&S Local Rev. M&S Regional Rev. Online
100 60 50 100 100
90 45 90 90
80 50 40 80 80
70 40 35 70 70
60 30 60 60
50 30 25 50 50
40 20 40 40
30 20 15 30 30
20 10 10 20 20
10 5 10 10
0 0 0 0 0
12/5/2007
12/7/2007
12/9/2007
12/11/2007
12/13/2007
12/15/2007
12/5/2007
12/7/2007
12/9/2007
12/11/2007
12/13/2007
12/15/2007
12/5/2007
12/7/2007
12/9/2007
12/11/2007
12/13/2007
12/15/2007
12/5/2007
12/7/2007
12/9/2007
12/11/2007
12/13/2007
12/15/2007
12/5/2007
12/7/2007
12/9/2007
12/11/2007
12/13/2007
12/15/2007
Rev. New Customers Total Operating Costs Warehouse Costs Delivery Costs Cash Flow
60 50 100 100 70
45 90 90
50 60
40 80 80
35 70 70 50
40
30 60 60 40
30 25 50 50
20 40 40 30
20 15 30 30 20
10 10 20 20
5 10 10 10
0 0 0 0 0
12/5/2007
12/7/2007
12/9/2007
12/11/2007
12/13/2007
12/15/2007
12/5/2007
12/7/2007
12/9/2007
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12/15/2007
12/5/2007
12/7/2007
12/9/2007
12/11/2007
12/13/2007
12/15/2007
EBITDA Net Profit COGS New Customers Sales Commissions

100 60 50 100 100
90 45 90 90
80 50 40 80 80
70 40 35 70 70
60 30 60 60
50 30 25 50 50
40 20 40 40
30 20 15 30 30
20 10 10 20 20
10 5 10 10
0 0 0 0 0
12/5/2007
12/7/2007
12/9/2007
12/11/2007
12/13/2007
12/15/2007
12/5/2007
12/7/2007
12/9/2007
12/11/2007
12/13/2007
12/15/2007
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12/15/2007
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12/11/2007
12/13/2007
12/15/2007
12/5/2007
12/7/2007
12/9/2007
12/11/2007
12/13/2007
12/15/2007
Payroll Headcount Number of Returns Number of Complaints Number of Accidents

60 50 100 100 70
45 90 90 60
50 40 80 80
35 70 70 50
40
30 60 60 40
30 25 50 50
20 40 40 30
20 15 30 30 20
10 10 20 20
10
5 10 10
0 0 0 0 0
12/5/2007
12/7/2007
12/9/2007
12/11/2007
12/13/2007
12/15/2007
12/5/2007
12/7/2007
12/9/2007
12/11/2007
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12/13/2007
12/15/2007
Late Deliveries AR > 90 Days Gross Margin Training Hours Online Transactions
60 50 100 100 70
45 90 90
50 60
40 80 80
35 70 70 50
40
30 60 60 40
30 25 50 50
20 40 40 30
20 15 30 30 20
10 10 20 20
10
5 10 10
0 0 0 0 0
12/5/2007
12/7/2007
12/9/2007
12/11/2007
12/13/2007
12/15/2007
12/5/2007
12/7/2007
12/9/2007
12/11/2007
12/13/2007
12/15/2007
12/5/2007
12/7/2007
12/9/2007
12/11/2007
12/13/2007
12/15/2007
12/5/2007
12/7/2007
12/9/2007
12/11/2007
12/13/2007
12/15/2007
12/5/2007
12/7/2007
12/9/2007
12/11/2007
12/13/2007
12/15/2007
10. Start Today!
If Bob can do it you can do it too. This blueprint approach is proven and
works for any business in any country, industry, market and any business
size. Not only in the US but also this approach has worked in many countries
like Italy, Japan, Bulgaria, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the list goes on and on…
For more than a decade we have helped thousands of customers grow their business successfully. You
can do it too because it all depends on you – no technology required, no investments, no complex
requirements, no learning curve – you are ready to start right now! The only investment is your time to
go through this process.
How much time does it take to update the scorecard? Well for 25 metrics used in the Bob’s Scorecard to
be updated it takes 25 numbers to be entered in Excel – that’s it – you don’t need more than 1 minute
to do it. Bob has emailed the data requirements once to his departments, for example, Nancy from
Customer Service emails him the number of complaints and Bob enters the number in his Excel Tool.
This example illustrates that no matter how unsophisticated the company is this blueprint will work.
This approach helped Bob exceed all of his targets and he uses this approach for more than 4 years now.
Today, all he needs to control, manage and grow his business is his executive scorecard which is a one-
page report!
Use this simple and powerful blueprint, invest a few days of your time and you will start seeing the
benefits as soon as the next month after you start using your business scorecard and the benefits are
long-term.
Feel free to let us know how you used the blueprint – we like to hear more and more success stories!
www.mrdashboard.com
info@mrdashboard.com
©2011 MR Dashboard LLC. All Rights Reserved.


Setting The Ground For Business Success

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Setting the Ground for Business Success

How to define your goals, strategy and metrics

©2011 MR Dashboard LLC. All Rights Reserved.

1|Se tting the Ground f or Business Suc cess mrdashboard.com

2. The Big Picture

3. Setting Business Goals

7. Blueprint for Business Success

8. Case Study: The Blueprint in Action

9. Bob’s Business Scorecard

10. Start Today!

2|Setting the Ground for Business Success mrdashboard.com

We are all exposed to information overload. Unfortunately of all the information

3|Se tting the Ground f or Business Suc cess mrdashboard.com

3. Setting Business Goals

4|Se tting the Ground f or Business Suc cess mrdashboard.com

To create specificity, ask yourself the following questions:

What is it that you want to achieve?

Goal without specificity: I will exercise more.

An example of goal setting and those without measurability are as follows:

Goal without measurability: I am going to read more books.

5|Se tting the Ground f or Business Suc cess mrdashboard.com

In terms of SMART goal settings, realism refers to whether or not it can

6|Se tting the Ground f or Business Suc cess mrdashboard.com

7|Se tting the Ground f or Business Suc cess mrdashboard.com

Review your goals and objectives

Review your goals and objectives

Define your customer

8|Se tting the Ground f or Business Suc cess mrdashboard.com

Describe your ideal customer

Pick your battlefield

Top 5 Action Steps

9|Se tting the Ground f or Business Suc cess mrdashboard.com

Improve relationships with your ideal customer

Top 10-25 KPIs

What are your top 10 to 25 KPIs (key performance indicators) or business

Activity Based Metrics

A more significant amount of manager concentration should be placed on

Activities as a Business Process

Each of your business activities is part of a business process such as sales

1. My Top 5 SMART Goals and Objectives:

2. My Potential Customer (my target market segments):

3. These are not my customers (I am not going after these segments):

5.1 Products ___________________________________________________________________

5.2 Services ___________________________________________________________________

5.3 Tactics ____________________________________________________________________

6. Top 5 Actions Steps

8. Top 10-25 KPIs:

10. My Business Tools:

The case study shows how the client:

- Used the blueprint step by step

Grow Total Revenue by 15% next 12 months

Reduce Operating Costs per Product by 10% next 12 months

Reduce Number of Defective Products by 25% next 12 months

Zero Lost Customers

Grow Revenue with Current Customers by 5% next 12 months

2. My Potential Customer (my target market segments):

Moving and Storage Businesses - Local

Moving and Storage Businesses - Regional

Online Sales - Nationwide

Manufacturing Plants - Regional

3. These are not my customers (I am not going after these segments):

Product variety and customized product offering based on contract

Total logistics solution with JIT Delivery and Inventory Management