A bit of a fun post this week on the lead up to Christmas and a big nostalgia trip for me too. The hit 80’s TV show the A-Team and business development planning, how does that fit? Let me explain.
As a child of the 80’s I was a mad fan of the A-Team. The action, chases, and do-good adventures were a real thrill. I couldn’t wait to see the next crazy instalment of Hannibal, BA, Face and Murdoch’s escapades. Recently I went on a massive nostalgia trip and treated myself to a couple of boxed sets. Sitting down with my kids I was a little worried that the series may not have aged well. I needn’t have worried, this team of well intentioned mercenaries still delivered the goods. My kids and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
For those of you who don’t know the shows premise let me explain. The A-team were a crack commando squad framed for a crime they didn’t commit. They now work as guns-for-hire in the Los Angeles underground, protecting the downtrodden. The writers knmew what they were doing and the episodes generally followed a similar formula:
- Bad guys bullying someone
- A-Team hired in an unconventional way
- Hannibal (the leader) makes a plan
- The plan is ruined and the team suffer a setback
- The bad guys get their butts kicked
- Hannibal claims that it was his plan all along.
How does this tie in with business development? Planning! Funnily enough the A-Team planning cycle mirrors that of my business development triple A framework: assess, aim & action.
“I Have a Plan”
Once the A-Team are hired they go about assessing their situation. Exploring the neighborhood and the stakeholders that live in it is a crucial part of the process. Additionally their customers problem is investigated in more detail. Finally on of the team will scope out the competition and report back.
This neatly mirrors business development. You must assess the market, stakeholders, customers and competitors before you can proceed with planning your future effort.
Once Hannibal has a handle on all these things he lights his cigar and states, “I can feel a plan coming on”.
One thing the A-Team did well was complete the assess phase quickly. Of course this is television and laboring over this could get boring fast. But there is a grain of truth here. Getting bogged down in over-planning can lead to inaction and a lot of work with limited return.
Instead you need to test your plan quickly by going out into the market, talking to stakeholders and customers and learning from them. You will get much more value out these conversations than sitting in front of the computer planning.
This is what the A-Team do next.
Importance of Feedback
Hannibal inevitably leads the team into their first foray against the enemy. Resulting in everything going wrong. The bad guys seemingly get the upper hand. With a dispirited team on hand Hannibal smiles secretively and acts as if everything is going just the way he wanted.
What has Hannibal actually done. He’s used the triple A framework by assessing his situation, aiming his effort (making a plan) and taking action (testing his plan). The feedback gleaned from taking action allows for adjustment and follow up.
This approach works well in the business development setting too. Taking action by talking to existing and prospective customers and testing your assumptions on how they operate. Asking questions and listening to the answers prepares you to pivot. Remember:
“No plan survives first contact with the enemy”.
You must listen, adapt and act on the feedback you receive.
“I Love it When a Plan Comes Together”
Back to the A-Team. Based on the knowledge gained from their earlier encounters the team enact their final plan, usually with some crazy innovation built from left over scrap. The bad guys are soundly beaten and good prevails. Hannibal then proclaims “I Love it When a Plan Comes Together!”
Listening to the feedback gleaned from client meetings and market intelligence is good. Making meaningful change based on the information is better. Most importantly taking what you’ve learned and making small adjustments to your plan will keep you relevant and current with your customers.
Next Action
When you are thinking about your business development planning remember the A-Team. Assess your situation, aim your effort through a preliminary plan and take action. Feeding back information learned while taking action is critical. Consequently looping this back into the assess and aim phases allows you to adjust as needed. This will keep you relevant with your customer base and makes sure that you don’t get disrupted by changes in the market. Remember if you’re stuck, ask yourself:
What would the A-Team do?
Business development planning
Are looking to begin your Business Development journey but are not quite sure where to start? Download my business development guide below. This gives a list of actions and activities to set you on the right path.
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