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Seven Steps to a Successful Business Plan This Page Intentionally Left Blank Seven Steps to a Successful Business Plan Al Coke American Management Association New York • Atlanta • Brussels • Buenos Aires • Chicago • London • Mexico City San Francisco • Shanghai • Tokyo • Toronto • Washington, D.C. Special discounts on bulk quantities of AMACOM books are available to corporations, professional associations, and other organizations. For details, contact Special Sales Department, AMACOM, a division of American Management Association, 1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019. Tel.: 212-903-8316. Fax: 212-903-8083. Web site: www. amacombooks.org This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional service. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Coke, Al. Seven steps to a successful business plan / Al Coke. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8144-0648-3 1. Business planning. 2. Strategic planning. 3. Success in business. I. Title. HD30.28 .C6422 2001 658.4'012—dc21 2001033579 ©2002 Alfred M. Coke All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This publication may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of AMACOM, a division of American Management Association, 1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019. Printing number 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents List of Figures Introduction: How This Book Can Help You Develop a Powerful Business Plan That Works The Five Critical Ingredients of a Successful Business Plan Why the Traditional Planning Models for Building a Business Plan Don’t Work The Traditional Approach: Good Intentions, Dismal Results The Piecemeal Approach: No Way to Fit the Pieces Together v xxi xxvii xxviii xxviii xxix xxix vi The Deflected Focus Approach: Falling Short of Your Company’s Real Needs The Three Unique Features of This Book That Will Help You Achieve Your Business Plan Goals Your Management Story The Concept of backPlanning The 5-Page Business Plan Contents xxx xxxi xxxi xxxii xxxii How to Convert Your Goals Into Practical Business Behavior xxxii The Key Questions: The Business Plan Self-Test xxxv 1 How to Create a Compelling Company Story That Inspires Employees to Excel The Company Story: The “Single Most Powerful Weapon” in Preparing a Business Plan The Three Reasons Company Stories Fall Short of Expectations When a Story Is Badly Told When the Story Pieces Don’t Add Up When the Story Isn’t Believable The Antidote to a Badly Managed Story How Slogans Work as Windows Into Your Company Organizational Energy Fields: The Invisible Forces That Hold Your Company Together Fields of Belonging Fields of Challenge Fields of Purpose Fields of Contribution 1 2 3 4 5 5 5 6 10 11 11 12 12 Contents The Nine Tools for Generating Effective Business Energy Fields Growing Up to Be What You Don’t Want to Be: The Three Stages of a Company’s Life Cycle Stage 1: Matching the Stage and the Story Stage 2: Growing Your Story Stage 3: Accepting Stagnation of Your Story Summary The Key Questions: Creating Your Company Story The Practical Applications: Bringing Your Company Story to Life vii 12 16 17 17 20 21 22 23 2 The Practical Guidelines for Building a Business Plan in Five Pages Defining Your Business Plan How the 5-Page Business Plan Works The Strategic Plan—Forming the Heart of Your Story The Operational Plan—Bringing Your Plan to Life The Organizational Plan—Defining Your Corporate Structure The Resources Plan—Analyzing the Support You Need to Put Your Plan Into Action The Contingency Plan—Taking Evasive Action in a Crisis Situation Tips on Capturing Information and Minimizing Paperwork The Four Unique Phases in a Business Planning Cycle Phase 1: Preparing Phase 2: Planning 25 26 27 28 29 31 32 34 36 37 39 40 viii The Bubble-Up Theory: Why Planning From the Bottom Up Doesn’t Work Phase 3: Implementing Phase 4: Sustaining Skills Development Coaching and Communications Training Explaining How Money Works Process Mapping Leadership and Managership Training Summary The Key Questions: Building Your 5-Page Business Plan The Practical Applications: Beginning a Successful Planning Cycle Contents 43 44 47 48 48 49 50 52 53 54 55 3 Strategic Planning: The Five Critical Considerations That Can Help Your Plan Succeed How to Embrace the Fast-Changing Laws of the Business Universe Into Your Company Story Bad Attitudes: How Organizations Get Into Trouble With Poor Planning Timid Companies: Thinking Small and Failing to Take Risks Arrogant Companies: Three Deadly Excuses for Not Writing a Business Plan How to Choose the Best Time Frame for Developing and Executing Your Story Proactive Long-Term backPlanning 57 59 63 63 66 69 69 Contents Predicting the Future Versus Designing the Future Setting Time Frames How to Tell Your Story Effectively With (or Without) Guidance From Top Management Making Assumptions: Benchmarks for Cross-Checking Your Success in the Future Case Study: Comparing Human Resources Functions Summary The Key Questions: Understanding How Critical Issues Influence Your Company’s Story The Practical Applications: Framing the Context of Your Plan ix 74 75 75 78 80 82 83 84 4 Vision and Mission: The Two Key Anchors That Add Passion and Purpose to Your Story The Two Crucial Parts of the Visioning Process Techniques That Can Help You Create a Powerful Company Vision Scenario Writing: Where Are You Heading? Keep Your Focus Future-Oriented Add Keywords to Fire the Imagination of Your Employees The Vision Statement: How to Describe Your Company of the Future Don’t Confuse the Message With the Messenger Sharing the Vision: How to Encourage Employee Involvement When to Use Multiple Visions in Your Plan 85 87 88 88 89 90 91 95 96 97 x Rallying the Employees: How to Create Purpose With Your Mission Statement The Three Critical Functions of a Mission Statement: Communicate, Appeal, and Define Why Profit Has Its Place—But Not in Your Mission Statement Mission Analysis: How to Keep It Simple by Defining Your Core Tasks The Specified Task: The Heart of Your Mission The Implied Tasks: Unstated but Essential for Achieving Goals Applying the Mission Analysis How to Convert Your Mission Statement Into Daily Activities Summary The Key Questions: Preparing Vision and Mission Statements The Practical Applications: Writing Your Present and Future Statements Contents 98 99 105 106 107 108 109 109 111 112 112 5 Strategic Goals, Objectives, and Tasks: How to Set Them and Then Make Them Happen How to Create Strategic Goals That Deliver What You Promise Diagramming Your Vision: Tips on Structuring Your Goals Ford’s Vision Statement (Actual) Ford’s Mission Statement (Hypothetical) Ford’s Strategic Goals (Hypothetical) 113 114 116 116 116 117 Contents How to Translate Your Vision Into Reality Painting Your Story with Bold Strokes Three Steps for Setting Big, Bold Goals Step 1: Fire Up the Management Team Step 2: Get Leadership to Step Up to the Plate Step 3: Validate Your Strategic Goals Seven Critical Questions to Ask When Setting Goals How to Construct Realistic Goals Four Downsides to Using Mergers and Acquisitions as a Growth Tool Problem 1: Culture Clash Problem 2: The Clash of Management Egos Problem 3: The Human Factor Problem 4: The Process Itself The Bottom, Bottom Line to Mergers and Acquisitions as Growth Vehicles It May Not Work Tomorrow: Why You Need to Rethink Your Business Approach The Strategic Goals Checklist How to Set Critical Objectives Time Factors in Setting Objectives Tasks: How to Focus on What Really Needs to Be Done How to Put Your Goals and Objectives Into Motion Strategies: Big Picture Tools for Accomplishing Your Plan Using Tactics to Reinforce Your Strategies Get Started Writing Strategies and Tactics Summary xi 118 118 119 120 120 121 122 123 126 127 127 128 129 130 130 131 133 136 137 139 139 143 144 145 xii The Key Questions: Breaking Out of Complacency The Practical Applications: Working on Your Strategic Plan Contents 146 147 6 The Six Driving Forces That Affect Your Business Plan—And How to Focus on the Best One for Your Company’s Needs The Player-Driven Organization: Putting Employee or Customer First The Plans-Driven Organization: Achieving Goals Is the Name of the Game The Process-Driven Organization: Continually Seeking Improvement The Products-Driven Organization: Producing the Best and Staying on Top The Properties-Driven Organization: Making the Most With What You Have The Payoff-Driven Organization: Catering to Status How to Find a Single Focus to Drive Your Company to Success Why the Customer Is Not Always Right How to Use Focus to Clarify Your Mission Shifting Focus: Is It Worth the Effort? The Payoff for Finding a Central Theme in Your Story Summary The Key Questions: Developing Focus The Practical Applications: Finding a Single Focus 149 152 155 159 161 163 167 169 169 171 173 174 174 175 175 Contents xiii 7 Corporate Culture: The Four Ingredients That Are Crucial to Your Company’s Success The Three Steps for Developing a List of Core Values Step 1: Determine What’s Really Important Step 2: Explain How to Put Each Value Into Action Step 3: Account for Any Gaps How to Prepare a Clear, Well-Crafted Philosophy Statement Tips for Developing Your Philosophy Make Sure What You Say Is What You Do The Seven Key Operating Principles That Guide Successful Businesses The Principle of Products: Know What You Are Selling The Principle of Profit: Money Matters The Principle of Customer: Continually Replenish Your Base The Principle of Direction: Know Where Your Organization Is Headed The Principle of Structure: Provide Comfort and Stability The Principle of People: Don’t Ignore the Human Factor The Principle of Ethics: You Will Get Caught Thinking Long Term: How to Communicate Your Strategic Intent The Nine Key Actions to Include in Your Strategic Intent Statement Summary The Key Questions: Defining Your Corporate Culture 177 179 182 183 184 186 189 191 192 194 195 196 197 199 199 200 203 206 207 208 xiv The Practical Applications: Developing Core Values Statements Contents 209 8 How to Build a One-Year Operational Plan That Improves Performance Situational Analysis: The Bridge Between the Strategic Plan and the Operational Plan Analysis of Company Performance Analysis of Competition Analysis of Market and Market Share Analysis of Mission Analysis of Resources Analysis of Drivers Analysis of Structure Analysis of Reference Information The Key Components of an Effective Operational Plan Choose Annual Targets Set Quarterly Performance Measurements Concentrate on Key Tasks Define Tactics Coordinate the Operational Plan Summarize the Short-Term Plan With a Concept of Operation How to Improve Your Operational Plan Efficiency Heat Loss: The Hidden Force That Chips Away at Your Profits Islands of Power: When Control Is Lopsided White Space: When No One Is Held Accountable 211 213 214 215 216 217 218 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 227 228 228 228 229 232 235 Contents Business Process Mapping: A Practical Tool for Eliminating Corporate Excess The Payoffs From Eliminating Organizational Inefficiencies Summary The Key Questions: Writing Your Operational Plan The Practical Applications: Improving Operational Activities xv 236 238 239 240 241 9 Structuring Your Story: How to Develop an Organizational Plan The Five Key Functions of an Organizational Structure Organize Work Provide a Means to Implement Strategies Match Headcount to Responsibility Create a Place Where Employees Feel They Belong Control Costs A Caution When Developing Structure The Six Critical Parts of a Successful Organizational Structure The Six Factors That Shape How Your Organizational Structure Operates Relationship and Approximation Organizations of the Future Structure Without Visible Structure—A Paradox Choosing Your Structure: The Beautiful Solution Summary The Key Questions: Creating Your Organizational Structure 243 244 245 245 246 246 248 249 251 252 255 258 260 263 264 xvi The Practical Applications: Developing Your Organizational Plan Contents 265 10 Pulling It All Together: The Resources Plan The Two Major Resources Problems Facing Planners Today Building Your Resources Plan: The Ten Key Elements Staffing Levels: How to Work at Peak Efficiency Information Requirements: How to Gather, Decipher, and Apply Information Effectively Facilities: Too Much Versus Too Little Technology: How to Keep Your Competitive Edge Dollars: Three Significant Behaviors That Affect Your Business Plan Finances Watch Out for the Hockey Stick Approach The Tail Wags the Dog Preventing Post-Planning Veto Untapped Potential: Making the Most of Employees Corporate Culture Adds or Subtracts Resources The Company IQ Energy Sources Story Alignment People Work for Themselves First Creating Employee Excitement Through Learning The Shifting Role of the Employee in Your Story Time: Choose to Squander or Choose to Save Relationships: How Strategic Alliances Spread the Workload 267 269 271 272 273 275 276 277 278 279 280 280 280 281 281 282 283 283 283 286 289 Contents Explaining the Inconsistency to Your Employees Image: How to Capitalize on It for Your Company’s Advantage Leadership: Your Number-One Priority The Four Questions for Coordinating Your Resources Plan Who Is in Charge? What Resources Are Needed to Make Your Plan Work? When Will the Resources Be Available? How Will the Plan Be Communicated to the Company? Summary The Key Questions: Supporting Your Business Plan The Practical Applications: Developing a Resources Plan xvii 290 290 291 292 293 293 293 294 294 295 296 11 Contingency Planning: How to Prepare for the Unexpected Contingency Planning: Preparing for an Unpredictable Future The Five Key Terms Used in Contingency Planning The Two Common Ways That Plans Run Amiss Trend Deviation: When You Miss the Mark Crises: Circumstances Beyond Your Control The Nine Critical Components of a Successful Contingency Plan The Two Tough Questions for Targeting Potential Problems The Five Areas That Are Vital to Your Company’s Well-Being 297 299 300 301 302 302 302 303 304 xviii The Six Conditions That Can Trigger the Need for a Contingency Plan Natural Disasters Violence Hijacking Terrorist Attacks Workplace Violence Sudden Shifts in Business Paradigms Disruptive Technology Bad Mental Models The Antidote for Bad Mental Models Unknown Problems Known Potential Problems That Are Ignored Excessive Growth: Too Much, Too Soon The Early Warnings That Can Help Keep You on Track The Six Steps to Diminish the Negative Impact of a Troubled Situation How to React Quickly and Decisively to Disaster Situations Decision Making in a Crisis Damage Control The Seven Rules for Successfully Managing a Contingency Situation Summary The Key Questions: Preparing a Solid Contingency Plan The Practical Applications: Developing Your Contingency Plan Contents 305 306 306 307 307 308 308 309 309 310 311 312 313 313 314 315 315 315 317 320 321 321 Contents xix 12 Implementing and Sustaining Your Business Plan How to Implement Your Plan Monitoring Your Plan to Ensure Compliance Measuring Everyone Against a Business Performance Model Establishing Two Types of Standards of Performance 323 325 325 328 331 How to Sustain Your Plan: The Four Plan Assurance Activities 332 Business Process Mapping to Improve Your Bottom Line Levels of Processes The Payoffs of Process Mapping The Six Purposes of Process Mapping Process Mapping as a Motivational Tool The Practical Applications of Process Mapping How and Where to Start Process Mapping Connecting Individual Performance With Process Mapping Preliminary Questions Before Process Mapping Process Ownership and Management to Overcome Four Obstacles Using Teams in Process Improvement Activities The Five Organizational Changes to Support the Business Plan Assurances for Leadership and Managership Development The Two Techniques for Skills Training Summary The Key Questions: Implementing and Sustaining Your Business Plan 333 335 336 337 339 339 340 341 343 343 345 345 347 348 349 350 xx The Practical Applications: Implementing and Sustaining Activities Contents 351 Epilogue: A Word From the Author Appendices Appendix A: The Full Business Planning Model Appendix B: The 1-Page Strategic Plan Appendix C: The 1-Page Operational Plan Appendix D: The 1-Page Organizational Plan Appendix E: The 1-Page Resources Plan Appendix F: The 1-Page Contingency Plan Appendix G: Preconference Assignment Appendix H: Plan Continuity Appendix I: Master Action Plan Worksheet Appendix J: Short-Term or “Quick Fix” Action Plan Worksheet 353 357–403 357 361 365 369 373 377 381 391 397 401 Notes Bibliography Index 405 409 419 List of Figures xxi List of Figures CHAPTER 1 Figure 1-1. Your story works in two directions. Figure 1-2. Four fields of energy that generate passion. Figure 1-3. The nine elements to create energy are all pieces of a puzzle that, when fitted together, create workforce momentum for the plan. Figure 1-4. Where is your organization on the growth line? CHAPTER 2 Figure 2-1. The strategic plan sets the direction of your company. Figure 2-2. The operational plan sets the strategic plan into motion on a practical level. xxi xxii List of Figures Figure 2-3. The organizational plan matches the structure to the goals of the plan. Figure 2-4. The resources plan matches requirements to the overall plan. Figure 2-5. The contingency plan builds cases for alternatives. Figure 2-6. The business planning cycle has four phases. Figure 2-7. Getting ready to plan has two important steps. Figure 2-8. The planning conference builds five plans in a single session as phase 2 of the planning cycle. Figure 2-9. The business planning must cycle through at least one more level—Level 2 for staff and business units. It may go to a third or fourth level depending on the size of the company. Figure 2-10. The implementing phase puts the plan into motion. It is necessary to ensure the plan has a life span longer than the planning conference. Figure 2-11. The sustaining activities must include regular measurements of quarterly targets. Figure 2-12. During the sustaining phase you must pay attention to the leadership and managership activities required to keep the planning momentum. CHAPTER 3 Figure 3-1. The old model of management was rational, logical, and linear while the new model requires interactive relationships as the foundation. Figure 3-2. backPlanning is a concept of starting at some future point in time to establish a vision and goals, then working backward to confirm the mission. Execution is then a forward activity from the base of the mission. Consider the phrase “back planning and forward execution.” Figure 3-3. Extend your time analysis backward to give as much depth to your business plan as possible. List of Figures xxiii Figure 3-4. Planning creep is a common business trap limiting a company’s potential. CHAPTER 4 Figure 4-1. The mission and vision serve as the two end points for the path of your plan. Figure 4-2. The vision and the vision statement together provide the direction of the plan. Figure 4-3. A company’s vision is inclusive of the direction for all subunits such as staff functions and strategic business units. Figure 4-4. Corporations with diverse businesses may have multiple visions as long as they converge at the higher level. Figure 4-5. The mission must have a higher-order purpose, and it must help employees understand why they come to work each day. CHAPTER 5 Figure 5-1. Goals make up the body of the vision. They are the incremental units of measure to accomplish the vision. Figure 5-2. Bold goal setting avoids planning creep (A–B), establishes high expectations, and requires stretch from the workforce (A–C). Figure 5-3. Multiple objectives are the intermediate steps toward the strategic goal and ultimately the vision. Figure 5-4. Tasks are the many mission-essential things you must do each day. They are the intermediate steps to the objectives. Figure 5-5. Employees are confused when tasked from at least three sources. Figure 5-6. Strategies are the big picture “how” you plan to reach your goal. xxiv List of Figures Figure 5-7. Tactics are the short-term “how” you plan to reach your goal. CHAPTER 6 Figure 6-1. When business units have different focus from the corporate focus, loss of direction, cohesiveness, and teamwork happens. Figure 6-2. A corporation with diverse business units must be plansdriven. It is the only combination that allows diversity. The only thing that matters in this case is whether the business unit met its plan requirements. That’s the bottom line. CHAPTER 7 Figure 7-1. You lose management credibility when you don’t model your values. Figure 7-2. The foundation of your story is in danger when a gap exists in your philosophy because your story loses operational alignment. Figure 7-3. Principles are the cross-check you filter the business plan through to ensure nothing is missing. CHAPTER 8 Figure 8-1. The operational plan sets the direction into motion. It is how you plan to work the next year. Figure 8-2. The operational plan is cut out of the total ten years. Figure 8-3. The hockey stick model allows an organization to get by for several years with less than satisfactory performance. As the flat spot is extended year after year with only small growth, the real target is identified. List of Figures xxv Figure 8-4. It does little good to develop more business while your profits are draining out the bottom due to operational inefficiencies. Figure 8-5. Heat loss starts when the company doesn’t work in a coordinated team fashion. Figure 8-6. Your operational plan should contain well-defined quarterly targets for responsibility and accountability. As illustrated here, the targets will not necessarily be equal across quarters. CHAPTER 9 Figure 9-1. The organizational plan is the platform from which you structure resources and control work. Figure 9-2. A traditional structure is graphically represented by a pyramid. Regardless of the labels put in the boxes, it still represents high control, fixed lines of communications, and definitive responsibilities. Figure 9-3. Organizations of the future will be fluid and flexible with an open architecture that permits free flow of information. Figure 9-4. An organization can reshape itself by using strategic alliances, strategic partnerships, and outsourcing. CHAPTER 10 Figure 10-1. The resources plan helps you determine both shortterm and long-term requirements for core competencies in addition to other prerequisites needed to accomplish the plan. Figure 10-2. Three approaches give you different results. Planning creep produces mediocre results. Planned action gives you desired results. The hockey stick does not produce your full potential. Notice the “ramp up” effort required in line A–B. xxvi List of Figures CHAPTER 11 Figure 11-1. The contingency component triggers when alternatives to the basic plan are needed. Figure 11-2. The map of different contingency situations can help you tailor your responses. CHAPTER 12 Figure 12-1. The implementing and sustaining phases must work together in a seamless flow to ensure execution of the plan. Figure 12-2. The implementation period is characterized by quarterly reviews. A full review and update of the plan is conducted in the fourth quarter. Figure 12-3. There are three levels of performance that must be tracked against the business plan. They are organizational, team, and individual. All lead to the strategic goals. Figure 12-4. During the sustaining phase you must pay attention to four sets of activities required to keep the planning momentum. Figure 12-5. Business Process Mapping streamlines your internal ways of doing work. That is your fastest way to increase the bottom line. INTRODUCTION How This Book Can Help You Develop a Powerful Business Plan That Works T his book gives you a proven method to help ensure your company’s success. Organizations fail to accomplish their goals for one simple reason: The management story being told is incomplete, inaccurate, and incongruent. This book cuts past the traditional problems of planning and provides management with a documented method of building a simplified business plan that works. You’ll learn how to tell a story that is inclusive of employees and empowers them to participate in the company success. xxvii xxviii Introduction THE FIVE CRITICAL INGREDIENTS OF SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS PLAN A There are five conditions critical to successfully building a powerful, executable business plan. You must: 1. Simplify definitions and use words in plain business language. 2. Clearly demonstrate the relationships among planning elements. 3. Successfully link the connections between your strategic, operational, organizational, resources, and contingency plans. 4. Incorporate all functions into a single planning model. 5. Achieve total employee involvement by taking the business plan to all levels. I wrote this book for you as a manager, someone who is the steward of any organization, be it large or small. The concepts of business apply no matter whether you are an entrepreneur or a manager for a well-established, publicly traded company. Companies are organizations, no matter what their size, type, or product. This means you must have an integrated business plan no matter who you are or what you do. Business planning is important whether you are a start-up company in e-business or working on a multinational planning team. This book gives you a place to start, a system to make sense of the confusion around planning, and a model to build a complete package. WHY THE TRADITIONAL PLANNING MODELS FOR BUILDING A BUSINESS PLAN DON’T WORK I can contribute to your success by sharing a method of business planning based on an approach that’s different from the dry, tradi- Introduction xxix tional numbers method. My experience is that you are currently using one of three approaches to business planning: traditional, piecemeal, or one with a deflected focus. The Traditional Approach: Good Intentions, Dismal Results A large number of published works and many management consultants simply say the same thing. They are replays of the same themes of setting the vision, establishing goals, and getting employee buy-in. Had the traditional approach of forming a planning team and producing a document been successful, there would be no need for this book. The traditional planning approach fails because the required parts are not integrated, the results are boring, and the process is not completed throughout the company. These three faults create a deadly waste of company time, money, and talent. While the intentions are good, the results are dismal. That is why traditional planning appears to have management teams simply going through the motions over and over again with each yearly plan. The Piecemeal Approach: No Way to Fit the Pieces Together This book gives you all the elements of the business plan and shows you how to fit them together. Most businesses think they are planning when in fact they are going about it in a piecemeal fashion. Company presidents need to see a simple but complete picture that tells them how to be successful. Everyone needs to understand the relationship between strategic goals and next week’s tasks. Employees need to understand the annual targets and how they apply to their performance. Objectives need to be tied to accountability and responsibility. In a piecemeal approach I’ve found management teams that do not understand the interactive relationships of the parts and pieces of planning. xxx Introduction This book gives you the tools you need for designing a fully integrated business plan for your company. A business plan is simple on the one hand yet sophisticated on the other (see Appendix A). You must be able to present that simplicity and complexity simultaneously. The picture you create must encompass both the short- and long-term views. It must be strategic yet contain details of the daily requirements. The concept must include verification of where you are today as well as documentation of where you intend to take the business. Finally, it must serve as a reference tool for your employees and management as they conduct business. This book creates a vehicle for bonding among your team. What better way to become a team than to deal with real business issues in an orderly, professional fashion? And finally, this book helps you create a condition for full participation in the plan, not the traditional “let’s get it over with” attitude. Once you get your team on the same page, there will be no serious blocks in your planning process. The Deflected Focus Approach: Falling Short of Your Company’s Real Needs Planning models and theories that approach faddish status usually prove to fall short of achieving business success. They don’t present a complete process, resembling more bits and pieces of processes rather than a unified, logical pathway to the future. They deflect from the true needs of planners to tell a story in business terms. For example, hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent on reengineering efforts, Total Quality Management (TQM), and the balanced scorecard, all with minimum overall return. These activities may be good as specific tools, but they cannot substitute for a completely integrated planning model. Unfortunately, companies attempt shortcuts with these overpromised tools and get fragmented success. Only by using a complete planning cycle and applying appropriate tools at appropriate times can you ever achieve the full force of the business plan. Introduction xxxi THE THREE UNIQUE FEATURES OF THIS BOOK THAT WILL HELP YOU ACHIEVE YOUR BUSINESS PLAN GOALS There is a fourth option that overcomes the problems with traditional, piecemeal, or deflected business planning. This planning process puts energy and emotion back into the company. It energizes the workforce by tapping into employees’ purpose and passion. The model encourages the use of intellectual capital and promotes the empowerment of people to take responsibility for accomplishing agreed-on, realistic goals. The planning process forces examination of how work is done with the idea of eliminating unnecessary and wasted efforts that translate to lost profits. This book will help you find a sensible starting point, illustrate the value of the parts and pieces of an integrated planning model, and build a case so logical that you cannot avoid writing a business plan. I’m g

 

 

 
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