I have found this Business Plan discussion an interesting and
informative thread.
Here is my Kiwi two cents worth (that's about 0.018 US at the current
exchange rate)
I believe it is useful to be careful on terminology.
When I am working with students and clients I use the term 'Business
Proposal' to describe a document and/or presentation that is created to
persuade someone to support or participate in a business venture. In
other words, it is a type of sales tool.
Naturally if a person fully understands the 'what' and the 'why' and the
'how', they will likely prepare a better proposal. This is where a
business plan can be a useful proceeding tool. The purpose of a business
plan is to produce 'clear organized thinking'.
In my opinion, a Business Plan is a means of developing an understanding
of:
* what (in total) is needed (or desired) to be achieved
* why (in people terms) is is needed or desired
* how (in people, organization and resource terms) it will be achieved
In relation to the creation of a business plan, It seems there seems to
be two schools of thought:
* the traditional/analytical SWOT/MBO approach
* the visionary/entrepreneurs approach
In my opinion, the SWOT/MBO approach introduces severe limitation for
most (but not all) business planning applications.
I strongly favour a structured visionary/entrepreneur approach. It is
more likely to invent new value. It is also more likely to avoid the
commodity product/service price/profit trap.
Off the top of my head, these are what I believe the important factors
for successful business planning (for the market and times we now live
in):
1. The plan and the planning process has to be simple so that everyone
can understand what its all about. (No understand = no buy in.)
2. The plan and the planning process has to be capable of seeing and
taking into account the relevant 'big-picture' (poor fit = poor results)
3. The planning process has to be capable of being done quickly --
otherwise it won't be done. (one day is my favorite time. Give people
more than a day and they will likely complicate it)
4. The planning process has to be capable of stimulating peoples
imagination. (All new value is first created in the mind)
5. The plan has to be capable to translating imaginative ideas into
deliverable reality. (Otherwise it's just a wish list)
6. The plan has to be able to describe what has to be achieved in
manageable bites (if they can't get their heads around it, they won't
get their hands on it)
7. The plan has to be able to quickly respond to changing circumstances.
(no comment needed)
8. It should be fun! (we do have choices)
I have developed a three step 'KISSS' procedure (keep it short, simple
and strategic) for this structured visionary/entrepreneur approach that
may be of interest to some. It can be summarized as DREAM IT, DESIGN IT,
DELIVER IT.
Step one, DREAM IT: build a clear picture of what the end-result would
look like if there were no limitations. This could be described as
building an innovative vision. It's about creating stakeholder value in
the mind and getting it on paper. (I use a visual process that is a bit
like mind mapping, but more structured.)
Step two, DESIGN IT: identify the 'mechanisms' that would be needed to
address all the elements that make up the vision. (The term address
means consider, evaluate and if appropriate, take action on.) I call
this a Strategy Blueprint. It handles the big issues, but does not get
bogged down in 'how-to' details. (I also do this visually with a diagram
that's a bit like an architect's blueprint).
Step three, DELIVER IT: establish reality based priorities and create
controllable action plans for the high priority items. This step is
designed to maximize deliverability and minimize the risk of failure.(I
typically document this in 1 to 7 pages of text and numbers)
The essence of these three steps can be done in a day.
The purpose is to deliver the best reality imaginable.
The three steps mentioned above are illustrated in cartoon form at:
http://www.aptplan.com/1/visual.html
a more serious visual (but a little outdates - it's six months old) is:
http://www.aptplan.com/6/3process.html
This message was done very quickly -- so appologies for any typos etc.
Keep up the great discussion.
Best regards to all
Andrew Smith
Auckland, New Zealand
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Simpler! Faster! Better! Visit my web site at
http://www.apt.net.nz
and learn about the Accelerated Planning Technique (tm). This process
translates ideas into practical action plans in hours.
Strategic,Business,Marketing & Project Plans can be produced in a day.