Crossing the 2015 Finish Line and Planning for 2016

With the 4th Quarter in full swing for most organizations there is the usual pressure to complete fiscal year 2015 projects that many of us have on our plans and goals for the year.  These goals are important to both our organizations and to us personally for various reasons as we often have financial incentives to meet or exceed expectations. 

This also the time of year that our clients and partners start reaching out to begin planning for 2016.  I really enjoy these exercises because we have the opportunity to sit down and work on the strategic roadmap for the upcoming year and get to discuss business challenges we need to solve to reach an organization’s goal for the next 12 months and beyond.  We get to hear about the initiatives and talk about options for how we can solve problems with technology projects but it stays high enough that we don’t get caught designing solutions.  I love helping to put the pieces together until it becomes a picture and a plan.  This collaboration really helps us be a better partner and vendor to our clients.

I wanted to write this post as a reminder to those out there that it’s worth it to take some time to sit down with your strategic (and tactical) partners to work with them on what you want to get done in 2016.  If you rely on those partners and vendors to accomplish your goals, it makes good sense to include them in the budgeting process.  This serves a few key points:

1. When you ask your partners to take on projects, allowing them to help estimate those efforts in advance will get you more accurate budget numbers.
2. Your partners now have some accountability in the process which helps to align your interest with theirs when it comes to finalization of cost and delivery.
3. Since you want your partners to be successful along with your own organization, a roadmap of activities helps them plan for resources, skillsets, and their own internal growth for the next year.  This only benefits you in allowing them to be more responsive to your needs as their client.
4. Assuming your partners are specialists, they work on projects and planning within their niche all the time.  They will have some advice and options to bring to the table that you may not have thought of without their expertise.

The small amount of effort required to include the right people in these planning meetings can pay big dividends and increases your chances of hitting your goals for next year on time and on budget. 

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you’d like any help planning for next year or finishing the required projects in 2015.  As experts in Office 365, SharePoint, and Microsoft Cloud technologies, we specialize in working with our clients to achieve their business goals with these platforms.

Thank you,

-Ryan