Causes of Failure Checklist

The most common business mistakes are made in the plan itself. Even the best

laid plans have to be changed when the situation changes. They often take more time, work and money than expected. Almost every day or every week new situations arise.

Some of the ways of getting over the common business problems have been listed below:

1. Communicate. Make sure that all managers understand the plan, the situation, their roles, and the roles of others, the investment and expected results. Good communication avoids a multitude of difficulties.
2. Get involvement. Be sure that everyone is ready to give 100% to achieve the objectives of the plan. Get the people to consider it not as the plan but as our plan. This will result in greater participation and more staff will be in psychologically better position to offer help.
3. Keep involvement high.  Continuous feedback from workers is essential to ensure that high motivation levels are maintained. Get ideas from staff and implement them wherever possible and keep the team pulling.
4. Focus on leaders. With their support problems will be avoided or quickly solved.
5. Proportion your investment of time and effort for both the plan and its execution. Avoid over or under investment.
6. Get playback. Watch the situation and take action as necessary. Remember that any thing that can go wrong will go wrong.
7. Stay flexible. Be ready to slow down, move fast or change direction. Take advantage of all opportunities.
8. Respond to tests. When tests indicate that there are problems always get the team to recognize these failings and take necessary action.
9. Focus on good results from every group. Get a regular measure of actual progress vs. planned goals. Be more concerned with what happens rather than how it happens (as long as it is with in the budget, in good taste and legal.) Some managers do not check the results but are more concerned in checking whether the work was done in the way they wanted.
10. Stay lean, mean, simple and practical (not cushy, casual, complex, or dreamy)
11. Trust common sense. Make reasonable affordable investments of time, money and effort in planning and executing the program; and expect reasonable results.

Causes of Failure Checklist

Format - Preventing Problems

Items that do not apply to your business can be left blank or marked n/a. Any other items that are not mentioned but are relevant to your business should be included.