While Your Competititors

are enjoying one summer barbecue too many, you're hunkered down in the war room with your elite team completing planning for FY15. Decent coffee, no muffins. Nor cookies. Pencil and paper, no technology. No, no phones. Working in 90 minute sprints and 5 minute breaks (at which still no phones). Tough questions are asked: how are we different? What segments do we address? What price elasticity do we have available to us? Are we using our channels to the best advantage? When was the last time those of us in the room did a 'secret shopper'? How good are our sales force? How will we be making money in 12 months, 18 months and 24 months time? How come IT solutions take so long when we desperately need more data? And how good-come on, honestly-is the leadership coming out of this room?

Distill it all down to one sheet of flip chart paper. Write it in action format. Assign actions to those in the room. Meet in 3 working days to follow up. Get it sorted.

If you want to enjoy those future summer barbecues.