September 16-October 6, 2015 —
COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL
— Page 29
ASAC COMMITTEES
& COUNCILS
ASAC delivers advocacy, education and
networking through the Dream Team
Committee that coordinates 4 committees
that plan and execute their initiatives and
objectives through Councils. To become a
part of and participate contact the ASAC
office at 303.759.8260.
Dream Team Committee
Debra Scifo, Chair
Carl Cox III, Vice Chair/Excel
Environmental, Inc.
Communication & Marketing Council
Shara Hubert, Chair/Plumb Marketing, Inc.
Business Trades Advocacy Committee
Chris Barnes, Chair/Travelers, Inc.
Community Partnership Council
Marlene Gresh, Chair/RMI, Inc.
Adam Alexander, Vice Chair/
MW GOLDEN CONSTRUCTORS
Industry Partnership Council
Danielle Nicol, Chair/Diamond
Excavating, Inc.
Bill Jessen, Vice Chair/Trout Mobile, Inc.
Legislative Advocacy Council
Scott Deering, Chair/Absolute Caulking
& Waterproofing, Inc.
Kory George, Vice Chair/Woods & Aitken
Education Committee
Annual Construction Industry & Excellence In
Safety Awards Gala
Pete Scifo, Chair/OBS Consultants LLC
Ray Nibbe, Vice Chair/Wagner Rents,
Inc.
Attorney’s Council
Carrie Rodgers, Chair/Moye White LLC
Business Development Council
Mike Tafoya, Chair/Portocol Business
Strategies
Nathan Fonseca, Vice Chair/CRS
Insurance Brokerage, Inc.
Health & Safety Committee
Annual Health & Safety Summit
Nick Williams, Chair/Absolute Caulking
& Waterproofing, Inc.
Justin Crane, Vice Chair/Preferred Safety
Products, Inc.
Safety Council
Justin Crane, Chair/Preferred Safety
Products, Inc.
Health Council
Krista Price, Chair/Aflac
Event Council
Mark Hoover, Chair/Wagner Rents, Inc.
Member Development Committee
Annual Golf Classic
John Cofrin, Chair/
Asbestos Abatement, Inc.
Kevin Scott, Vice Chair/
Stec’s International
Membership Council
Carl Cox III, Chair/Excel
Environmental, Inc.
W
here is your
business plan?
Business plan-
ning is one of
the most important tasks for
the CEO. Business planning
or strategic planning often
takes the back seat to seem-
ingly more time sensitive
issues. The website needs to
be updated with new videos
and the new hire needs some
attention. In the meantime,
50 more items just hit your
inbox. No time now, got to
get to the next meeting. The
business plan will have to
wait. It’s no surprise most
businesses exist without a
written business plan. A
good idea? I think not. I
like to think of building a
business like constructing a
building. Can you imagine
what a building might look
like if you built it without a
set of plans? As a business
strategist, I am privileged to
see the insides of hundreds
of businesses that have been
built without a defined and
documented plan. The lean-
ing Tower of Pisa comes to
mind.
The business plan illus-
trates what the business
will look like at some time
in the future. High level
business planning falls into
two distinct categories:
The Business Plan and The
Strategic Plan. For the new
start-up, the business plan
outlines every aspect of a
company’s structure, leader-
ship team, marketing strat-
egies, plans, and financial
forecasts. In contrast, the
strategic plan works best for
an established business. The
strategic plan breaks down
the planning process into
four major elements: busi-
ness culture, the business
evaluation (S.W.O.T), strate-
gic initiatives, and the relat-
ed tactics. The business plan
is the right tool to insure
the business will stand the
test of time. The strategic
plan is the tool needed to
insure the plan is relevant
and up to date with current
environmental changes. With
the business plan in hand,
owners and employees are
equipped to insure that the
business is being built to a
common vision.
Any good strategic plan
process will evaluate and
refine your
business
culture to
insure the
alignment of
your vision, values, and mis-
sion. Actions speak louder
than words. So it goes with
business culture. People
are keenly aware of your
culture even when you are
not. Employees and outsid-
ers can tell you more about
your business culture then
the average business owner.
Culture is the most impor-
tant part of the planning
process, but often dismissed
as trivial. Is the way people
behave in your business
trivial? I think not. So, why
do so many leaders dismiss
the whole culture issue?
Company moral depends on
a healthy and thriving com-
pany culture. People need to
understand in a deeper sense
why you do what you do.
They need to know their pur-
pose and role in the scheme
of things. Rules need to be
defined, communicated, and
upheld. People need to know
the what-and-how of the
business.
Employees and other stake-
holders have a deep desire to
know what you are building
and what it will look like
when you finish. Business
culture should outline the
way you treat each other
on the journey to reaching
the desired results. Do your
actions match your words?
Every business needs a
defined business culture. The
culture is what links busi-
ness activities to its targeted
objective.
Business Culture Defined
• Vision – The ultimate,
almost unachievabl e dream
of how your company will
impact the market place and
its clients (one short memo-
rable sentence).
• Core Values—The rules
of conduct in the business
with its clients, employees,
the business and the com-
munities it serves (7-10 value
statements, one sentence
each).
• Mission—The internally
focused description of the
company core competencies,
strategies and differentiators
(one paragraph with 40-50
words).
With the culture defined
and in place, people are
inspired and fulfilled as they
carry out the mission and
vision.
Every business has its
faults. Identifying strengths
is easy. Identifying your
weaknesses takes honesty
and transparency. You have
to get real, so you can get to
the core of the gaps in the
business. I have found that
some of the most impact-
ful changes in business are
revealed by taking down the
curtains. Some of the biggest
opportunities lie just beneath
the veil that covers these
weaknesses. A complete busi-
ness evaluation will uncover
the strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, and threats
(SWOT) in the business.
Equipped with this informa-
tion, a plan can start to take
shape.
The SWOT Analysis tool
has stood the test of time in
the business world because
it has helped companies
identify new product lines,
customer channels, process
systems, and other strate-
gies that uniquely position
the company for success. The
key is to use this tool to ana-
lyze your company and the
internal and external factors
that will impact the busi-
ness. This leads to startling
moments of clarity about
where and how the company
needs to transform in order
to maximize the opportunity
for success.
People think in the tan-
gible not the intangible.
Likewise, many business
owners think in tactics, not
in outcomes. Outcomes are
viewed as uncontrollable
where the tactic is something
one can affect immediately.
The dilemma is when the
tactic is complete the desired
outcome is often misplaced,
on to the next tactic. Activity
fills our days like busy little
aunts, always working at the
same thing with the same
results. Successful CEOs
learn how to turn the intan-
gibles into the tangibles.
The strategic plan is where
the outcomes are achieved
through the persistent pur-
suit of the desired result.
Mike Tafoya
President and CEO
of Portocol Business
Strategies
ASAC MEMBER PROFILE
