Establishing the Rhythm of Your Business
By: Kim Fisher
Some companies today seem to move so naturally along with the currents of their industries, while others are on the defensive, forced to be reactive rather than planning ahead. What's the secret that sets that first group apart? These businesses have learned to use data to tap into the rhythm of their operations and markets, and they're fueling their strategies with those signals.
Data flowing in from all of a company's departments and beyond can make up a complex rhythm. Getting in step with that beat is one way to plan intelligently and effectively.
Your organization may not have embraced this forward-looking strategy — especially in fields like higher education where implementing such an involved planning style might seem unusual. However, the benefits transcend industry and organization size. Every business - even a small, private college - can find its rhythm, as long as stakeholders learn to listen to it.
What Does it Mean to Understand the "Rhythm" of an Organization?
Grasping the rhythm of business means taking input from numerous sources and making it all go together. Too many organizations today are heavily siloed, with departments working in isolation. This means the data generated and collected by those departments is sounding out in isolation, rather than serving as one element in a complex rhythm.
If you've been hesitant to implement a business-forward, highly optimized approach within your organization, this siloing of data and departments may be especially prevalent. If that's the case, you could be missing out on opportunities to plan more effectively and get in step with the rhythm of the data.
What are the benefits of this kind of advanced planning? The advantages can take many forms, with some of the most prominent including:
The ability to make informed plans with more certainty and less guesswork.
Improved reaction time, which allows the organization to act on data while it's at peak freshness and relevance.
Scenario modeling, wherein the business can compare alternative future possibilities and make contingency plans.
Fortunately, it's not difficult to get up to speed with the rhythms of your organization. An infusion of the right technology can turn the isolated sounds emanating from your different departments into a harmonious and easy-to-follow pulse.
How Does Connected Planning Technology Help?
The right planning software platform, implemented and configured to meet the organization's needs, is the instrument that translates diverse data into a cohesive rhythm for decision-makers to follow. Equipped with this technology, it's possible to create valuable analytical and planning models that help businesses pursue their most important objectives.
These platforms let organizations create a view that makes use of data from the past, as well as up-to-date real-time information and likely projections of near-future performance. Combining these views and reaching outside of departmental silos can bring powerful insights for organizations across industries.
Some of the concrete possibilities enabled by connected planning technology include:
Contingency and pivot planning: The rhythm of a business can take unexpected twists and turns — it's more jazz than classical. Having a connected view of past and present data, as well as the ability to predict the near future, allows for branching, alternative models.
These projections can show off a few different options, for instance, giving leaders discrete views of the next quarter based on whether a new offering has high, low or medium user uptake. By preparing for likely alternative scenarios, businesses can prevent themselves from being blindsided.
Example: In the higher education field, online and hybrid learning styles are becoming far more popular. Institutions that were able to predict the possibility that these methods would become central have had a head start in preparing for them and creating mature offerings for learners.
Unified and coordinated direction: In addition to becoming a predictive powerhouse, a company with a solid connected planning model can create strategies and plans that reach every team and department. Every section of the business is moving to the same rhythm, rather than pulling in their own directions.
This sense of unification in planning is extremely important for running an efficient and well-coordinated organization. From finances to logistics to customer care and beyond, departments are better able to help one another make progress toward overall organizational goals when they're going at the same tempo.
Example: Returning to the idea of online and hybrid learning becoming increasingly popular — educational institutions will be better able to serve this market if all their departments are on the same page. From IT teams and student support departments to academic deans, everyone should be making plans based on the same projections.
Connected planning allows organizations to pull together as never before. All it takes is one well-planned reaction to an accurate projection to validate the investment in this new system.
How Do You Get Started With Connected Planning?
Technology is one element in the equation of adopting connected planning. Another critical element is the act of implementation. The system has to be well-integrated into systems and workflows, with users understanding how to make it work for them.
Planning software such as Anaplan can be somewhat of a blank slate out of the box. This is why organizations find it valuable to work with implementation experts who can guide them to a more customized and suitable deployment.
Anaplan is like a radio that can tune into the rhythm of the business — after all, without adjusting the dials a bit, all that comes through is static. Once you find that frequency, however, your organization's innermost pulse is clearly audible.
The Rhythm Goes On
Conditions for organizations today are challenging and unpredictable. It feels like anything can happen, and the businesses that are most flexible and tuned in are the ones that can rise to the top of their sectors.
This kind of wild variability seems set to continue for the foreseeable future, so connected planning is an essential part of preparing for whatever comes next. Businesses that understand the rhythms of their operations and industries are set to stand out, even in fields such as higher education that have traditionally not run in such a heavily optimized way.
You can join this class of well-prepared organizations, and hear the rhythm clearly. And it’s not difficult. Simply reach out to Allitix's team of experts to find the right Anaplan implementation strategy for your needs.