How to Make Your Business Stronger

Perspectives on Building Your Bridge to Success

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Introduction
Have you ever wondered how your organization compares to others?
We have compiled this e-book to help you
Examine other organizations with challenges similar to your own
Evaluate your current operations compared to other organizations
Encourage you to improve your business and make it stronger
OTUS Group has worked with hundreds of organizations and individuals to help them make their business
stronger. Our intention with this e-book is to provide you with insightful viewpoints on both the challenges
encountered and successes achieved by some of the many organizations we have had the pleasure of working
with. It is our hope that this perspective combined with the self-check questions and other resources
referenced in this e-book will help you on your journey of making your business stronger.

How to Make Your Business Stronger by OTUS Group is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

A publication of OTUS Group.

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Contents
Introduction - Building Your Bridge to Success.............................................................................................. 4
1. Strategy & Governance - Moving Your Vision from Plan to Reality............................................................. 5
2. Financial Management - Numbers Should Tell a Story............................................................................... 8
3. Growing Your Business - Finding Your Ideal Client..................................................................................... 11
4. Developing Your Team - People with the Right Skills, Commitment and Passion....................................... 14
5. Information Technology - Protecting Your Assets and Leveraging IT Investments..................................... 17
Next Steps - What Are Your Next Steps?........................................................................................................ 20
Contact OTUS Group...................................................................................................................................... 21

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Introduction
Building Your Bridge to Success
HOW IT WORKS:
In each section, we have included examples of challenges encountered by various organizations in their
day to day operations and numerous good management practices which were all identified through our
interviews with over 100 small and mid-sized organizations. We have also included a set of self-check
questions for you to evaluate how you are doing, as well as some additional resources for you to investigate
including articles and audio files, all freely available on the OTUS Group website (and check out even more
at www.otusgroup.com/resources).
We hope this e-book helps you to build your bridge to success. We would love to hear your stories of
success and challenges.
Congratulations! You are investing time to make your business stronger.

www.otusgroup.com

1. Strategy & Governance

Moving Your Vision from Plan to Reality

Challenges:
We recognize the need for a strategic plan but we have not developed one.
We have a (strategic) plan, however our annual objectives do not directly
link to this plan or its objectives.
Our Board of Directors is too involved in day-to-day operations. No one
is looking at strategic issues.
Our Board members are sent to us by the member provincial organizations.
The national issues and responsibilities are very different than what
happens in the regions.
Our (Board) members have differing views about their responsibilities.

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Good Management Practices:

Every new board member receives a detailed board orientation package.
The Strategic Plan is reviewed quarterly with the board, and each objective has measured targets.
We recently conducted our first risk assessment exercise. We listed all risks and selected a manageable
subset to focus on immediately. Additional risks will be addressed over time.
Our Strategic Plan is revised every year and drives the annual operating plan and budget.
We rely on our strategic plan and objectives to ensure that day-to-day emergencies do not completely
distract us from our goals.

MORE RESOURCES

Top Five Strategic

Planning Mistakes

Risk Assessment

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60 SECOND SELF-CHECK

Do you establish strategic goals?

Are your strategic goals measurable?

Do you maintain a functional business plan that outlines the direction of your
organization and includes the steps you need to take to meet your goals?

Are there barriers keeping your organization from where you need to be?

Is there a succession plan for key executives, senior management and

board members?

Do you have advisors who understand your business and can provide expert
advice when needed?

Does the Board understand its responsibilities?

Have you planned your long-term goals and exit strategy from your business,
including how to maximize the value of your business?

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2. Financial Management

Numbers Should Tell a Story

Challenges:
The organization has been unable to generate timely, meaningful financial reports and analysis.
Financial reports are only produced quarterly.
There is one person who holds a significant amount of (undocumented) critical
knowledge in this area. There are no desk guides documenting key processes.
There were some questions about linking the budget to the strategic plans,
specifically ensuring stable funding to programs like R&D and Education & Promotion which may be sacrificed if the budget is too tight.
Bookkeeping has been a bit of a challenge, but the [bookkeeping]
system is ok.

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Good Management Practices:

The annual business plan includes a detailed budget and financial projections. Cash flow and other financial
reports are reported on a timely basis and managed closely.
Timely financial reporting and a good banking relationship are in place.
The organization maintains deskguides (step-by-step procedures) for critical positions such as the bookkeeper.
There is a financial plan in place that supports the current business plan. Bookkeeping services are
outsourced to a professional.
The organization does have accurate cash flow projections and cash flow to run the business. We use EFT
wherever possible. Receivables are flagged and dealt with immediately.

MORE RESOURCES

Putting Your Budget

to Work

Top Five Budgeting

Mistakes

Managing Your
Receivables

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60 SECOND SELF-CHECK

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Do you have an up-to-date financial plan?

Is your budget linked to your business plan?

Are you able to produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis?

Do you have accurate cash flow projections to manage your business?

Do you flag and deal with late paying customers?

Can you obtain financing when you need it and are you satisfied with your
banking relationship?

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3. Growing Your Business

Finding Your Ideal Client

Challenges:
Our re-branding exercise was an expensive failure.
We have significant turn-over in our membership every year.
We do not have a clear message for our community.
We need to improve how we sell ourselves to our potential clients.
Our website gets a lot of traffic but we still dont convert traffic
into new sales.
Our sales/distribution channels have not yet been optimized to
reach target clients.
The majority of the organizations budget is tied to specific programs and initiatives which do not have long term funding commitments. This makes it difficult to plan and manage beyond the current
year, with any level of confidence.

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Good Management Practices:

We have a detailed revenue plan that includes our sources of revenue including one-time grants.
Our unique selling proposition is clear and everyone in the organization understands it. Customers know the
value we provide.
We understand our clients decision making process in detail. We know why, when and how they decide to
buy our services.
We communicate regularly with our members. They understand that we are listening to them. We are always
looking to improve how we serve them.
While there is a large potential client base of organizations and individuals who benefit from our services,
only 10% are members and only 5% of the budget is supported by the membership.

MORE RESOURCES

Your Ideal Client

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60 SECOND SELF-CHECK

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Have you identified the ideal client for your product or service?

Can you describe your customers buying process in detail?

Can you explain the number one reason why a customer would buy your
products or services (a.k.a. your USP Unique Selling Proposition)?

Are your sales (distribution) channels and partners optimized to reach your
target clients/markets?

Is the value of your business secure through a loyal stable customer base and
long-term contracts?

Can your staff describe the Vision/Mission statement that articulates your
business purpose and reason for existence?

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4. Developing Your Team

People with the Right Skills, Commitment and Passion

Challenges:
The lack of HR capacity is preventing us from doing more.
The current team is not necessarily the right one to implement our future plans.
This will be evaluated as part of the overall business process improvement exercise,
just underway.
Despite the importance of the projects completed by the organization,
the staff members do not appear to share a strong perception
of themselves or their impact. Internally, our culture might
best be described as an inferiority complex.
We have a number of very long-term employees.
Our organization is highly dependent on a small number
of key employees, particularly in the finance and
administration areas.
The organization is also supported by many committees
In some instances, the committees have focused more on
networking between members than accomplishing the assigned
tasks at hand.

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Good Management Practices:

We are confident that our staff has the skills to implement future plans. We recently developed a new
staffing model, realigning responsibilities with the new strategic plan, and providing some training
where required.
There has been very limited turnover and good retention of our small staff team.
There is good backup in place to facilitate holiday/vacation time, travel and sick leaves.
There is good cross training in place so that there is no overdependence on any number of key staff.
The organization has experienced low turnover and feels there is good commitment to the organization
by staff. Recently refreshed job descriptions, roles and responsibilities have supported this result.

MORE RESOURCES

Employee
Benefits

15

Changing
HR Rules

New Hire
Orientation

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60 SECOND SELF-CHECK

16

Are you confident that your staff has the skills to implement future plans?

Have you been able to retain employees and are they committed to making your
business a success?

Are you overly dependent on a small number of key staff?

Have you documented key roles within the organization?

Are you confident that your current team leaves you in a position to leave the
business from time to time?

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5. Information Technology

Protecting Your Assets and Leveraging IT Investments

Challenges:
Our core systems have been slowly built up over time. Some band-aids have been put in
place, without full consideration for longer-term impacts. A significant amount of staff time
is being consumed by issues surrounding the core database which powers many of our
key programs.
Our core systems are problematic. The organization continues to struggle with the
lack of integration between the membership and financial systems, both provided
by the same supplier.
The current challenges include a crude spreadsheet-based
integration as well as limited off-site system access and poor
remote access to financial reporting.
Budget constraints mean limited capacity to address our
system problems in a satisfactory manner.
We have no documented Business Continuity Plan
(BCP) or Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP).

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Good Management Practices:

There is a central membership database in place, built on commercial software.
The office IT environment runs satisfactorily and is managed by an external service provider.
We identified our key information holdings (i.e. data base, member lists, supplier info) and have adequately
protected them from loss with regular backups.
Our office systems are backed-up and maintained off-site, with an uninterruptible power supply (UPS)
available in the office.
There is a regular off-site storage of the back-up to mitigate most catastrophic risk.
Our corporate emergency plan was reviewed recently and all staff must adhere to
a corporate Acceptable Use policy.
Most of our services are delivered from the main premises, but there is a contingency
plan in place in case of disaster or major emergency.

MORE RESOURCES

Protect Business Information

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60 SECOND SELF-CHECK

19

Do you have the right IT equipment and resources to achieve your business
goals over the next year?

Does your IT environment run to your satisfaction?

Do you appropriately use technology to improve operations and efficiency?

Do you know what your key information holdings are (i.e. customer lists, key
suppliers, intellectual property) and are they adequately protected from loss?

If you were faced with an unexpected disaster, like a fire or a flood, do you have
a plan to react proactively?

Does your team know what is acceptable and what is not with regard to IT
equipment, internet connections and portable devices?

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Next Steps
What Are Your Next Steps?

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DO-IT-YOURSELF
SELF-CHECK

Complete the short self-check

questionnaires included in
this report.

FREE
ASSESSMENT

Request a complimentary
OTUS Group Business
Strength Assessment.

MORE
INFORMATION

Contact OTUS Group to get

things done that will make
your business stronger.

www.otusgroup.com

Contact OTUS Group

203-30 Concourse Gate
Ottawa, ON K2E 7V7

Tel: 613-727-1230 ext. 224
1-855-300-OTUS
info@otusgroup.com

www.otusgroup.com

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