Develop a Solid Execution Strategy

You’ve staked out a vision, studied the competition, and run the numbers – now, how to get from point A to point B? Use an execution strategy as your go-to-launch playbook. Your execution strategy contains all the nuts-and-bolts plans you need to start the business, from identifying key milestones to establishing performance metrics that will help you benchmark your progress.

Staffing goals, risk mitigation, startup tactics, and any other specifics your business requires, from technology specs to strategic sourcing relationships, should all be concretely described to give potential investors confidence that you know what it takes to get to launch. 

Full of useful charts and tools for creating your own action plans, this learning stream also looks at real-life examples to show how elements of the execution strategy come into play. 

Armed with the downloads plus the accompanying workshop session, you’ll have everything you need to develop an execution strategy that sets out the steps along your path to success.

Introduction

Your execution strategy covers the nuts and bolts of the launch of your business — a high-level plan that documents how you'll execute your launch and keep your business up and running. This overview covers the five areas of a solid execution plan: Milestones, staffing plan, risk and risk mitigation plans, key performance indicators (KPIs), and start-up plan.

Why Your Execution Strategy Matters

Let's get things started by looking at a case study from Anytime Fitness, a popular chain of fitness centers, and see how they put together their execution strategy.

Zynga is one of the leading creators of online games. Let's study their execution strategy through this great example.  

Most businesses fail because of poor execution, so having a clear execution strategy is critical to your success. 

Learn the details of exactly what investors are looking for in a well-flushed out execution plan. 

Create Milestones

What actions and events must occur for your business to get off the ground? Execution strategy milestones are those dates and activities that define your business's trajectory. Milestones include target expansion dates, geographical growth timelines, major marketing initiatives, and create growth goals on your calendar. This video walks through over a dozen examples of milestones to help you identify the most powerful ones for your business.

We will walk through a bunch of examples of different milestones you can set for your business. You will get many great ideas from this video.

Let's also explore how Yelp (the leading review site) creates milestones for its extremely successful business.  

Build a Staffing Plan

The staff you need for launch differs wildly from the staff you'll need six and nine months post-launch. The staffing plan section of your execution strategy communicates how you will support the growth of your business in its first one or two years. This video includes an examination of sample organizational charts that cover an 18-month period of staffing for a digital services business. 

Build Your Startup Plan

Your startup plan illustrates for investors and your team how you will reach your minimum viable product (MVP), connecting the dots between your product or service strategy, your milestones, and your financial plan. This walk-through explains the two key components of a solid startup plan: Startup budget, which are your primary expenses, and the action plan, which are the key tasks that take you to launch. 

Let us help you avoid some of the common mistakes entrepreneurs make when putting together your startup plan.

Determine Your Risk and Risk Mitigation Strategy 

Anticipating and quantifying the potential threats to your company's launch and growth will help you create a stronger operating plan, as well as credibility with investors. This video explores key categories of threats that could impact your business, including physical, environmental, economic and civil, market, as well as pricing and competition.  

We will walk you through identifying risks in your business and help mitigate them. It is much better for you to know your risks right up front so you can manage through them. Investors will love you for it.

Workshop

Time to put pen to paper — or fingers to keyboard. Take a look inside the worksheet that prepares you to create an execution strategy for your business plan. The key to success is taking the time necessary to deeply understand your business and be prepared to run it — use this workshop and worksheet to do just that.

Course Guide

I recommend that you download this handy course guide to aid your journey through the course as well as great reference materials for the future.

1. I'm not graduate from economic bachelor and English is not my mother tongue. But this course and how Mr. Ken explained the content is really easy to understand for beginner like me. Thanks to Mr. Ken for answered all of my question with a fast and easy understandable answer! ~ Diantini S
2. Perfect timing and the insights till now are those that I was exactly looking for.... Excited to learn more ~ Yogen P
3. Such an amazing course. You'll be able to understand and create your own business plan and you'll get a lot of valuable advices ~ A Cerimagic
4. Lot’s of info in this course. Ken really takes you from A to Z . Just what I needed for my business to take off. Thanks ~ Hugo M
5. I'm new to the business world and have been looking for courses with practical guidance. This course definitely provides that and so much more ~ S Slawinski
6. So far so good! A lot of challenges I'm facing in my work place Ken has highlighted the root course, which I was not expecting. He is clear, very engaging and breaks down the jargon. He is straight talking, right down to business attitude. I've just completed the first chapter and he's restoring a little faith in me so quite excited to keep learning (I know, I sound like a nerd) ~ Harrie T
7. This course is the right match for me as I know some about business but believe in always improving. I also want to make sure I have a solid foundation for my business so I'm positioned right for the new year, and growth ~ E Jollymore

1. What can an execution strategy do that the rest of the business plan can’t?
2. Why do investors care about execution strategy?
3. How far past launch should the execution strategy go?
4. What criteria can I use to make sure I’m choosing the right milestones?
5. How is a staffing plan different than a financial staffing model?
6. What kinds of risks should I address?
7. Why are KPIs important to establish before launch?
8. Should I include industry-specific elements in my execution strategy?
9. What’s wrong with being aggressive and optimistic with my projections?