December is often the month that companies finalize their business plans and budgets for the coming year.

I often suggest to management teams to make sure that their plans are fully aligned with their long-term strategies and corporate visions. Business plans and budgets should support the strategy, align with the strategy, and advance the execution of the strategy.

In preparation for an onsite management team presentation, I like to ask top executives three questions:

• What is the 3 to 5 year vision for the company?
• What is the stated strategy to reach that objective (vision)?
• How do you and each of your team members specifically contribute to that specific strategy?

Top performing executives can easily answer the three questions. More importantly, the first two questions are answered uniformly by each member of the management team. It is not unusual for management teams to express that their strategies include advancing the quality and expertise of their employees to better serve the needs of their clients. Wheeler Business Consulting can help advance this strategy by providing comprehensive training programs for both seasoned and newer employees in sales and operational positions. Therefore, savvy participants in the commercial equipment leasing and finance industry are including Wheeler Business Consulting services in their 2018 budget.