I keep coming back to the theme of strategy and planning because, as a consultant, I truly believe it is where everything should start. That is the case no matter your situation, whether you are a Local Authority, a huge business or a charity.  Even if you are a football club. Here is a quote from Nigel Pearson, the manager of Leicester City Football Club.

“It is better to have a short, medium and long-term plan if you are to be a success in any business …. Football is slightly different in that, for managers, results in the short-term are exceptionally important.”

No matter what type of organisation, your chances of success are increased many times by having a clear plan.  That plan should have long-term goals, medium-term goals and short-term goals, but those medium and short term goals are tightly linked to achieving the long term goals.

For a club such as Leicester City, achieving Premier League status is probably a short or medium term goal. The owners use the club as a vehicle for promoting their overall brand, so, the long-term goals are about developing Leicester City as a high-value brand in their target markets. This will be reflected in not only the success they achieve but the manner in which they achieve success. As it is part of a business empire, the success will have to be financially sustainable and it will have to reflect the values of the overall business.

This means promotion to the Premier League is important, but it must be done within certain financial constraints. It has to be done in a way that means staying up the following year and creating a level of stability is also very important. So the short term goals will be around recruiting a team within a given cost structure. The team will have to be of an age and ability that they can grow into being a Premiership team in the future.

Planning is an essential function of managing a business and planning a strategy that you can execute is fundamental to success. This actually applies no matter what form your organisation takes. Football is very much a business these days, one where that sort of clear thinking is often overtaken by passion. It is not a case of planning or passion. It should be a case of planning AND passion!