We explain what an action plan is in the business world, its function and characteristics. Also, how to make an action plan.
What is an action plan?
In the business world, an administrative or management tool is known as an action plan or strategic plan, through which an organization (or, sometimes, an individual) charts the best path to achieving your goals. These are complete and detailed plans, at different levels, in which specific objectives, resources necessary for their fulfillment and finally activities necessary to make it a reality are determined.
The best way to understand an action plan is as a roadmap, that is, a diagram of how to achieve the proposed goals: just as there are multiple paths to reach a destination, it is also possible to choose different paths to meet the objectives. the organization.
The importance of this type of tools lies in the fact that organize efforts and allow adequate planning which reduces the margins of error and potential waste of energy and resources. Furthermore, these plans fulfill the premise of segmenting a larger problem into small and achievable goals, advancing without realizing it towards the global goal, and avoiding paralysis.
See also: Planning in administration
Characteristics of an action plan
There is no single way of action plans, since they usually adapt to the situation and needs of each organization. However, in very general terms, every action plan is characterized by:
- Based on the defined objectives, propose a possible path (or several) towards success (long term), breaking it down into smaller and achievable units in the short and medium term.
- Must have a high level of detail regarding the description of the actions necessary to achieve the objective: necessary resources, estimated time, priority tasks, etc.
- It is specific, to the extent that responds to a specific situation ; In case the real panorama changes to some extent, the action plan must also be changed. Otherwise, you will be in the realm of improvisation and unforeseen events.
- It is usually accompanied by graphic representations or visuals, such as flowcharts, diagrams, organization charts, etc.
How to make an action plan?
Although there is no single way to create an action plan, it can be broken down into six main steps that must be completed for the action plan to be adequate. And these are:
- Correctly define the objectives. The proverb says that the wind never blows in favor of those who do not know their destiny. This means that if we do not know what we want to achieve, it will be impossible to truly achieve success. So the starting point of any action plan will always be to set achievable, concrete and specific goals in the long, medium and short term.
- Pose and choose strategies. There are many possible paths towards the same goal, and in order to choose the one that best suits our needs, our rhythms and our resources, we must first consider all the possible paths. Once the count is done, we can discard those that are not useful or that are not feasible, until we find our most appropriate strategy.
- Define tasks and prioritize them. A strategy is nothing more than a possible route, that is, a path proposed in the abstract, and which when put into practice will translate into a specific set of tasks. These tasks range from obtaining the missing resources, organizing and using them, to the review or control necessary for decision making. It will be important to define what tasks are necessary to comply with the strategy and then prioritize them into urgent, important and common ones.
- Create a Gantt chart. Also known as a “Gantt chart”, this tool will help you define the start and end times of each task, as well as the periods necessary for its review. After all, no task can be postponed indefinitely.
- Appoint leaders and managers. Every organization implies a hierarchy, that is, a chain of managers who must coordinate and push each task forward. It is not about appointing bosses, as much as delegating authority so that there are no “bottlenecks” that slow down decision-making.
- Execute the plan. The final chapter of any plan is, naturally, getting to work. This implies not only complying with what is established in the plan, but also checking through control and supervision dynamics that the designed plan has been correct, and if it is not, being able to correct it in time.
Continue with: Strategic planning
References
- “What is an action plan?” in Rotary International.
- “What is an action plan?” at Head Start ECLKC.
- “Action plan: 6 effective steps to do it without making mistakes” in Entrepreneur.
- “What is a personal action plan? Learn to do it step by step” in Universia (Spain).
