The objections to this month's idea are already understood; you are busy and your day is full. You do not need something else to do. However, this idea can save you money and time in the long run.

Let's take a quick look at it in an easy to work with format. Write how you want customers to see your business. Write where you want the business to be in five years. Write about the people you want working in your business.

You have just completed three key components; the vision, the mission and the personnel. With these alone, you can eliminate hiring the wrong person; eliminate  selecting the wrong merchandise or offering the wrong services; and you will know where you want to go.

There are more components on our website and we will talk more about this in coming months. Today's information is a good starting point.

And the bit about why you should start now is because December is, "Write your business plan month."

This past month I was asked to review the staff incentive plan for a business. The exciting part was the business actually having an ongoing program.

The bottom line of any incentive plan should be that it is to reward your staff for thinking like an owner. That covers several components; raising sales, eliminating expenses, increasing margins and taking good care of the customers. The incentives should be both individual and team oriented.

Of course, there are those who have frequently said, "I refuse to give an incentive to an employee for a job they should already be doing."

While we definitely understand that sentiment, we are still waiting for the first person to let us know that concept is working well for them.

We want to recognize A Carrot A Day by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, whose book provides the basis for each month's incentive idea.