Michael Shea

Central Florida's #1 Business Broker

Military Planning In Business Brokerage

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Military Planning in Business Brokerage
This last week at the Transworld Annual Conference I got to do a presentation on “Moneyball” in Business Brokerage and one of the elements of driving consistency in outcomes is the application of the military planning process. In an hour you really do not have time to go into the nuance of the complexity of the process but in short. You plan with the end in mind, work backward considering a myriad of variables in a fluid and dynamic environment prioritizing what “kills ya first” to achieve the outcome desired. Here it is in a far more formal and detailed manner.

The military planning process involves a systematic and comprehensive approach to developing strategies, tactics, and operational plans to achieve military objectives. While the specifics of the planning process may vary depending on the military organization and the nature of the mission, here is a general overview of the key steps involved:

  1. Assessment of the Situation: The planning process begins with a thorough assessment of the strategic environment, including the political, social, economic, and military factors at play. This involves analyzing the threat, identifying the mission objectives, and understanding the capabilities and limitations of friendly forces. (in civilian: consider the goal, the marketplace, your competition, their strengths and weaknesses and your limits)
  2. Mission Analysis: The military planners conduct a detailed analysis of the mission, defining the desired end-state and specifying the tasks and purposes of the operation. This step involves considering the mission’s scope, duration, and specific objectives. (in civilian: the who, what, where, when and why….set objectives and sub-objectives that support the final objective)
  3. Course of Action (COA) Development: Planners generate a range of potential COAs to accomplish the mission. These COAs may involve different approaches, force compositions, operational methods, and timelines. Each COA is evaluated based on its feasibility, effectiveness, and risks. (in civilian: given your objective, you should have multiple plans figured out on how to achieve them…and hope and luck are not plans)
  4. COA Analysis and Wargaming: The potential COAs are carefully analyzed and subjected to wargaming exercises. Planners simulate and evaluate the likely outcomes and implications of each COA, considering factors such as terrain, enemy capabilities, logistical constraints, and potential decision points. This step helps refine and select the most promising COA. (as i mentioned in the meeting “touch the file”. Rehearse each course of action and what can happen and what can go wrong and right. Murphy is a real person and he has a condo in your marketplace)
  5. COA Selection: Based on the analysis and wargaming, one or a combination of the COAs is selected as the preferred course of action. The selected COA is further developed and detailed to address specific contingencies and operational requirements. (Pick the best COA)
  6. Plan Development: The chosen COA is transformed into a detailed operational plan. This plan outlines the specific tasks, responsibilities, and timelines for each unit involved. It includes considerations for intelligence gathering, logistics, communications, command and control, and coordination with other military units or partner organizations. (detailed goals…if you are wanting to do 10 million in sales how many networking meetings do you have to do and how listings should those meetings produce, when do you cut that source off when and if it starts to produce. How many drop letters must you do a week, what neighborhoods, industrial parks, and what do the letters say specifically (number, QR code, right down to the color of the font people)
  7. Plan Review and Approval: The operational plan is reviewed by senior military leaders and subject matter experts to ensure its feasibility, effectiveness, and alignment with strategic objectives. Adjustments and refinements may be made based on their input and guidance. (discuss with your team, other offices, home office, other brokers….collective wisdom is our force multiplier)
  8. Plan Execution: The approved plan is implemented by assigning tasks and allocating resources to various units. Commanders at all levels communicate the plan to their subordinates, who then execute their assigned missions. (Execute…make a plan fly a plan…continue to the rinse and repeat)
  9. Monitoring and Evaluation: Throughout the execution phase, the military continuously monitors the progress and effectiveness of the plan. Adjustments may be made based on emerging developments, changing circumstances, or new information. (monitor the plan…for example, if doing drop letters in retail is getting smaller listing, does the overall plan objective warrant lifting and shifting to industrial parks with service sector businesses like HVAC etc.
  10. After-Action Review: Once the operation is complete, a thorough after-action review is conducted to evaluate the success of the plan, identify lessons learned, and provide feedback for future planning cycles. (Conduct AAR – review your results objectively relative to the mission. In the AAR with your team review what the mission was, what went right, what went wrong, how were the adjustments proper relative to achieving the goals.)

It’s important to note that this overview simplifies the military planning process, which can be highly complex and iterative. Military planning often involves collaboration among various staff officers, intelligence analysts, logisticians, and other specialists to ensure a comprehensive and effective approach to achieving mission objectives.

For more on this and other information relative to Business Brokerage call or email Tampa Business Broker Michael Shea at 321-287-0349 and mike@tworld.com