To those who've taken the time to answer my posts, your points are all valid and
well taken. However, for every person who espouses the need for a business plan I
can bring out ten who say that yes, they've developed business plans but have
never looked at them since and are still doing quite nicely thank you very much.
We teach people to develop and constantly update their business plan, but most are
so busy taking advantage of the good times, and working like crazy in the bad
times, to come back to them. So, where are their plans now? Usually in some bottom
draw somewhere.
I can't argue with the fact that others looking at the business owner's or
manager's organisation will easily see that he/she has an idea of where he/she is
going and how he/she plans to get there if he/she has a good, solid business plan.
But, I reiterate, these people are from outside of the organisation, not within it
therefore their motivation for having a business plan is far different from that
of the business owner or manager.
I also can't argue with the fact that developing a business plan does impose
self-discipline on the planner and ensure that he/she has a good picture of how
he/she is going to get from where he/she is know to where he/she wants to be in
the future. But, what if he/she is working in an environment where the future is
still shrouded in mystery and the unknown? What if he/she is actually breaking
traditions and boundaries and plunging into areas about which no-one has the
faintest clue as to its form or structure? What if all he/she knows is that there
is a path and his/her objective is to take it, exploiting any opportunities he/she
may come across along the way? What is he/she cannot answer the question of
opportunities or threats because no-one knows what these are yet? Entrepreneurs
are faced with this problem every day - they don't really know where they are
going (they just know that they are) therefore they don't know what to expect when
they get there. But, by heck, they are prepared for whatever may eventuate.
We used to have a saying in the Army that even the best plans go right out the
window once the first shot is fired, and in my experience that is exactly what
happens in business. One may have the most brilliant of business plans but as soon
as it is activated anything can happen. Unless fate, and their opposition, are
reading off the same plan then there is no way anyone will ever know how reliable
their plan is or will remain. Sometimes we just have to throw the dice and go with
whatever comes up. The trick, in my opinion, is to be trained and confident to
take the opportunities, not live a plan that might see exceptional opportunities
overlooked or missed. And history backs me on this contention every time.
As for myself, while I said earlier that I don't believe business planning is the
most appropriate use of my time, I do use a form of planning based on the
achievement of an overall objective (or vision) through the achievement of a
series of intermediate or sub-objectives. I don't have overall business objectives
such as 'be a good corporate citizen' or 'be the best consultant in the world'
because everybody who has been to business school has these and there obviously
isn't enough room for us all at the top. My vision is to create a business where I
and my family can retire safely in the knowledge that we will never have to worry
about money again. (That's not the exact way it is worded but I'm not going to
share that with the world.) I know exactly what this means and can clearly see the
overall objective (as can my business manager and accountant). But there are too
many other unknowns for me to plot an exact line between here and there, therefore
my strategy for success is a series of hops from one sub-objective to another -
just as Bill Gates does and it seems to work quite well for him don't you agree?
And like one of the world's richest men I haven't got a clue where I will be in
five or even ten years time - my profession is moving so fast that no-one knows
what the future looks like, much less be capable of articulating it. But that
doesn't mean that I have no intention of going there anyway. I just know that
whatever comes my way I will be in the best possible position to reach out and
grab it with both hands. By way of example, my lastest 'plan', developed about
ten months ago, didn't even consider the business opportunity that fell into my
lap, and which I've now subscribed to, in the past 24 hours - an opportunity that
has seen me undertake a major rethink of what I thought I wanted to do. And the
reason why I can now move down this path is because I know that my opposition is
incapable of taking such a drastic and sudden dive off the path that we'd
previously been travelling down together simply because they are locked into their
business and strategic planning processes. I don't need to beat them at planning
and plotting (something which they'd kill me in hands down) because my
manoueverability and capability to embrace change keeps me well ahead of them
anyway. By the time they get to where I am now, I will be somewhere else and that
is my competitive advantage.
I know I won't convince those who believe that the only way to achieve busines
success is to have a business plan. But I don't need to - that's not part of my
plan.
Have a good Xmas anyway.
Phil Rutherford