According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 20% of small businesses go bankrupt within one year, and more than 50% fail within five. The reasons may vary between businesses (bad cash-flow management, poor product quality, lackluster customer service), but they can generally be traced to a single reason: poor decision-making and planning. Big businesses aren’t exempt from poor decision-making and planning either. A 2002 study by Paul Nutt concluded that two-thirds of business decisions made by top managers in large companies in products and services, marketing, personnel, and technology use flawed processes to arrive at the decision.

One system that might help businesses make better decisions and plans is the Military Decision Making Process. The Military Decision Making Process (MDMP) is the military’s proven process for a commander and staff to make decisions and develop, integrate, and synchronize their plan. The MDMP consists of seven steps: receipt of mission, mission analysis, course of action (COA) development, COA analysis, COA comparison, COA approval, and orders production. I used the MDMP throughout my 24 years in the military to help make decisions and plans large and small in both the United States and overseas.

I’ve been thinking a lot about planning lately. Over on LinkedIn I am running a poll asking, if you are working a small, medium, or large business, what type of planning system do you use:

1. A modified version of the MDMP

2. We don’t use a planning process

3. Some other planning process (put the planning process in the comments on my blog so I can learn more about it)

Thanks for the help!