36 / 44
“Destiny is not a matter of chance,
but of choice. Not something to
wish for, but to attain.”
- William Jennings Bryan, Former
U. S. Secretary of State
The “business plan” is a common
tool used by many companies.
But why? Too often, preparing
a business plan is done because
“that’s what businesses do”
and it becomes a rote exercise
that inevitably yields little or no
productive results.
You’re about to discover a
completely new version of the
business plan – a business
plan that actually serves you. It
serves you because it starts with
your passion and translates
into specific actions. It begins
with the entrepreneur and ends
with your inner manager. It
also recognizes change as your
constant companion.
This business plan begins with
a different set of operating
assumptions than does the
“traditional” business plan. Your
attitude and how you translate
your goals into projects and
tasks are the key factors that
make it a success.
Business Planning “Productive
Points of View”
These are some “productive
points of view” about planning
that make it a truly worthwhile
endeavor:
Start with what‘s important
to you
– are you passionate
about your plan?
Approach planning as more of
an art than a science
– make
your best guessesanddocument
your planning assumptions
Create a planning framework
that accommodates change
-
think of your plan as more of
a series of guideposts of key
topics to focus attention on and
targets to aim for.
Recognize those things that
are hard for you and how
you avoid them -
Which skills
do you need to develop? What
parts of planning make you
crazy? There’s probably a lot
of room for growth here if you
embrace it.
Connect goals to projects, and
projects to tasks -
plans don’t
work unless they drill all the way
down to day-to-day tasks.
If you have a vision for what you
want your business to become,
and if you really want to make
that vision a reality, here’s
where you get to draw the map
that will get you there. Just jump
right in. You’ll probably see
that you’ve already done a lot
of the necessary thinking and
documentation.
Here’s an easy way to begin
:
Be specific and realistic about
what you want to achieve
Get organized
Involve others
Make it easy
Make it flexible
Use milestones
The Business
Plan That Always
Works
By Michael Kaplan
SOAR TO SUCCESS
/
D
ecember
2016
/
Business Acceleration Strategies