I usually like to schedule my annual physical around my birthday. It’s a natural reminder to visit my physician to identify any potential issues or suggestions of how I can improve my health.

Like an annual physical, benchmarking your portfolio on a regular basis is a great way to identify both risks and opportunities for your business. So what is benchmarking? Webster’s online defines it as “The process of identifying, understanding, and adapting best-in-class practices and processes from other organizations, as well as within your own organization, to help your organization improve its performance.”

There are many metrics you can benchmark, but here are some ideas that can help make your benchmarking program successful.

• Define your purpose – What are your goals (identify market opportunities, improve internal processes, etc?)
• Define your metrics – Consult with stakeholders to define the metrics that will best help you achieve your goals.
• Define your scope – Start with a manageable number of metrics and evolve over time. 

Benchmarking provides powerful information you can use to plan business strategies, identify market opportunities and more effectively communicate your portfolio performance to senior management. To learn more about how portfolio benchmarking can help you click here

Macro-economic information can often be one of the most important sources of data when setting a company’s strategies. Yet, this data is not always timely or that accessible. Whether you are reviewing the optimal staffing level for your firm in the coming year, or determining how much inventory to purchase, it is essential to understand what is happening at the core of the economic environment. Below are a few sources of valuable information that can help provide a glimpse into the current state of the businesses in the U.S.

1)      The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics provides interesting information on inflation, unemployment, pay & benefits and productivity among other key data.

2)      The U.S. Small Business Administration is a valuable resource to small business owners.  The site provides access to tools, resources and training aimed to help small business owners.  The site also provides research and reports that can have valuable pieces of economic information.

3)      The Federal Reserve Board has numerous areas of financial information.  The Fed publishes many statistical reports on the banking industry, but they also cover inflation, consumer finance information, home mortgage trends and the impact on home prices.  These reports often provide visibility into the macro-economic forces that are driving the economy. 

4)      Experian’s quarterly Business Benchmark Report provides a quarterly view into the financial position, risk, and payment behaviors of the 25 million+ businesses in the U.S.

Utilizing these tools can help you evaluate your strategic direction in the coming months. If there are any other interesting sites you’d like to share, please feel free to comment with additional resources you find helpful.