Does Your Budget Link with Your Culture?

In most organizations the two concepts budget…which is about money and culture…which is about people are rarely linked or connected by intent.  They must be if you want to maximize your company’s success!

The dollars that are spent should support the brand and culture that the leadership of the organization wants to create and maintain.  The people in the organization should want to spend money in the budget to maximize the customer’s satisfaction with the company’s goods or services.

If budget and culture are not linked in your organization, sadly you will perform like most of the competitors, but if you want to stand out from the crowd and gain market share, be recognized as the organization that does it better than the rest, make the conscious connection between budget, culture and your brand.

Brand

What is your brand?  In the end it is the reputation that you have built up over time in the market place (or the eye of the customers, potential customers, employees, potential employees and your competitors).

How did you build that brand?  Either intentionally or not, through the performance of your people, products and service over time versus the price paid by customers when compared to the competition and the expectations of the customers.  It is also the performance of your company as an employer over time compared to the competition and the expectations of the employee pool.

Is your brand fixed?  No it can change and evolve, either positively or negatively.

Culture

What is your culture?   It is the way your people and organization behaves.  It is what you stand for and what you will not stand for, even when nobody is watching.  It is not aspirational, it is factual, it is real, it is what you are today and have been over time.

How did you build that culture?  Slowly over time by either encouraging or allowing certain behaviors (whether positive or negative in nature).

Is your culture fixed?  No it can change and evolve, either positively or negatively.

Budget

What is your budget?  It is the money you commit to spend for the coming year to produce and deliver the goods and services of your company to your customers and to support your employees in that process.

How did you build that budget?  Most likely a few people met, forecasted revenue for the next year and then from there they determined how much would be spent on each P&L line item, usually based on historical percentages or forecasted cost increases.

Is your budget fixed?  No it can be changed, money can be shifted around and invested to support different activities.

Brand – Culture – Budget

What would you like to accomplish next year?

• Changes in reputation (Brand), culture, market share, etc.

What is going on in the industry?

• Expansion / Contraction
• Consolidation

What can you do to reduce the cost of doing business?

• Cost of goods
• Labor efficiency
• Overhead

What areas of your Brand would you like to improve?

• What specific action will you take to make that happen?
• What will it cost?

What areas of your Culture would you like to improve?

• What specific action will you take to make that happen?
• What will it cost?

How fast would you like to grow next year?

• What specific action will you take to make that happen?
• What will it cost?

If the things that were outlined above were to happen what would the P&L look like?

• Is that an investment you are willing to make?

If you make you plan holistically you have the greatest chance of making a real impact.  Budget, Brand and Culture intersect whether you plan for it or not, so why not plan for it.

Taking care of your people and making your company an employer of choice is the best way to make Culture stronger and build your Brand reputation.  Building a stronger Brand and Culture can often be your best sales building activity and best investment.

Link your Budget and Culture for 2022.

 

Dave Baney is the founder and CEO of 55 Questions, LLC and author of “The 3×5 Coach: A Practical Guide to Coaching Your Team for Greater Results and Happier People”, which is now available in Paperback or a Kindle version at https://tinyurl.com/y8ecykfy

At 55 Questions, we work with successful top executives with a driving ambition to crush their competition.  We help CEOs and Entrepreneurs improve alignment, communication and accountability throughout their organization. www.55Questions.com

Follow Dave on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/davebaney55questions/