Power in the Results of Your Plan!
Published August 31, 2009 | 
I need to make one statement right away and get it out in the open, and that is the fact that no business or strategic plan is ever 100% dead on accurate, but of course having no plan is absolutely never the right thing to do either, so let’s look at the actual results of the business compared to those projected in the business plan.
Another seemingly contradictory statement is that most plans are wrong and yet extremely vital, it’s an unexpected and surprising thing to hear from someone who forecasts and prepares business and strategic plans for a living, especially for those that have never developed and put a plan together, so after making a statement like that where else do we have to go, except to the very core of what business and strategic planning is.
Let me start out by saying that those who are deeply involved in plans prepare projections that many times are incorrect, and of everyone I know, only a few even came close in predicting the steep plunge in the global economy last year in the summer and fall of 2008, 
so it goes without saying that those who are deeply involved in business planning processes around the world have been going through a lot of changes, adjustments and corrections, and multiple reviews and revisions, a classic true learning experience for everyone.
So you see why my opening statements about needless ineffective business and strategic plans, and yet their importance should start to make sense, and as we look ahead to the rest of the 2009 and further ahead to 2010, many upbeat forecasts that are being questioned, are in the review and revision process and starting to reflect the realities of the global economic situation, which always brings up the question why do business and strategic planning in the first place, is everyone just wasting their time developing plans and forecasts?
The answer should quickly become obvious that although the results are inaccurate at times, how we can determine where we are, if a map hasn’t been produced to show us how we got there in the first place and of course, where we are going.
If and when you look at your plan prepared last year, and of course the results should be greatly different from what actually took place, you would compare the two in detail and look not only where the differences are, but where the greatest differences exist, for example, where expenses were tied 
to sales, where sales performed as expected, and look for how all the numbers were supposed to tie together, not just why they didn’t, and many times contributing factors that exacerbated the economic impacts can be identified, and those factors can be planned for and possibly eliminated as adjustments are made for the future.
And If you are like the many thousands of global entrepreneurs and organizational leaders that did not have a business or strategic plan, then this might be a really good time to get the process started in order for you to develop and have a much clearer view of your future business, and you can start by making some simple projections for sales and revenues, costs and expenses, and at this time don’t worry about whether they’re wrong or not, just try and make sure that you check each month to determine where and how, and in which direction the numbers were incorrect so that you can make necessary adjustments as a result of the information, and this whole process should bring you much closer to the action of what is taking place in the local, national, and global markets, and increase your awareness of the actions you need to take to increase your success.
By implementing the review process on a monthly basis, if you are wrong you are only wrong one month at a time, and as you use the plan’s comparison to actual results and associated analysis to see more closely what is happening exactly, your adjustments will improve, become more accurate, and the future results will be much more in tune with market activity, and you should begin to see monthly improvements.
These planning and analysis steps will increase your analysis skills, and put you in a better position to forecast more accurately when the markets should finally start to improve, and they will at some point, and you will be able to use what you learned in the process to see the signs, anticipate what will take place, and plan your actions accordingly.
So although the results of planning may be wrong and inaccurate, it is still a critical key component to an Entrepreneur’s or organizational Leader’s strategies for success, and an essential tool for successful global Entrepreneurs, as they learn in addition to preparing an initial business or strategic plan, an important part of the process is making necessary changes and adjustments, ultimately determining how to recover in the most effective and efficient manner, and how would you know how to recover if you didn’t prepare the business and strategic plan in the first place.
The Power of Purpose Unleashed!
Published August 29, 2009 | 
Vision Statements and Mission Statements are often inspiring words chosen by highly successful Entrepreneurs and business leaders to convey the direction of the business organization in a clear and concise manner, and through carefully crafting a clear mission statement and vision statement, you can powerfully communicate your intentions and motivate yourself and your team to realize a well defined and inspiring common vision of the future.
But what about these two terms often used interchangeably, and although there is a vast difference between a mission and vision, and the two concepts play-off of one another, they work in very different ways.
Mission is the purpose or reason for the existence of your business and it is a general heading or direction. A mission is what you stand for, should be timeless and it should rarely, if ever, change and it should always stand the test of time in that there is no end to the mission.
A vision is a specific future destination or a dream with a deadline, and having said that the vision should change over time. The vision must say “yes” to some ideas and “no” to others, since it’s about what the future might be, could be, and shouldn’t be, example: “To put a man on the moon before the end of the 1960’s.”
Mission is about preserving the core of which provides continuity and stability, like a fixed stake in the ground or the horizon limiting possibilities, and acting conservatively, 
while the vision is about stimulating progress, urging continual change, compelling constant movement, expanding possibilities, and revolutionary change.
To build your mission remember, a mission statement should be somewhat timeless and it should apply not only today but possibly even twenty to fifty years from now, and it should put forth a general direction or heading stating what it is that you stand for. In essence, a mission can never really be achieved as it should be on going, and if it can be achieved if completed, then it is a vision not your mission, and you should think of your mission as your true north heading on your compass. Microsoft’s mission is simple as “Help entrepreneurs realize their full potential”.
To create your mission statement, first identify your business’s “purpose or reason for existence,” and be sure to focus on the idea or approach that make’s your business stand out and apart from its competitors, and is the main reason that customers will choose to do business with you and not your competition.
Next identify the key measures of your success and make sure you choose the most important measures (and not too many of them!), combine your winning idea and success measures into a tangible and measurable goal, then refine the words until you have a concise and precise statement of your mission, which expresses your ideas, measures and desired result.
Once you’ve created your mission statement, move on to create your vision statement and first identify your organization’s mission, then define the human value in that mission, next, identify what you, your customers and stakeholders will value most about how your business will achieve this mission and further define these into the values that your business has or should have. 
Combine your mission and values, and refine the words until you are satisfied you have a vision statement inspiring enough to energize and motivate people inside and outside your business.
Finally, ask yourself what big goal do you want to try to achieve in the next three to five years, what does success really look like in five years, how should your business be different in five years then it is now, and using your own metrics of success and approach to accomplish, for you to consider yourself successful? Microsoft’s vision is as simple as “a computer in every home that’s running Microsoft software”.
How to Structure a Business Plan and Narrative
Published August 27, 2009 | The first thing I need to point out and emphasize, is that there are no required formats for a business plan and with good reason, but there is however, a fairly common structure that most business plans use as a skeletal framework. 
In order to provide a context and to the scope of your business plan, you should identify the time period for which the plan will focus, be it a one year, two years, three or more, this time constraint is necessary in order to provide a window of context for your thinking and decision-making.
First of all, think of a business plan as a story, a story that explains how a business works, and when a business plan doesn’t work, it’s typically because it fails either the narrative test or the numbers test, two questions which simply ask “Does the story makes sense?”, and “Does the story add up?” A business plan is therefore usually broken down into these two test sections, first, a written section typically called the plan narrative, and second, the numbers section, typically referred to as the financial projections or feasibility, and even though separate, 
the two sections must be completely entwined, which is where the business plan problems surface by the two sections failing to relate and tie information together.
The narrative of a business plan is usually broken down into three major sections including first the business description section, second the market strategy section, and third the management and operations section. The business description section simply describes attributes about the business itself and should include company mission/the purpose, company vision/dream with the deadline, and the section should also include current business status and description of future plans. Along with the business description, information about the industry should be included indicating the chief characteristics and trends, and finally the product and service description section along with proprietary features and future development plans.
The market strategy section documents all of the activities surrounding the most important function of your business, the marketing, which addresses the questions of what you sell and how you sell it, and should include a market analysis with target market and market trends along with the growth potential, competitive analysis with competitor profiles, market niche and market share, and a comparison of strengths and weaknesses. Market strategy also includes cost, differentiation, focus, pricing strategy, distribution strategy, service and warranty policies, and promotional strategies including social media strategy, advertising, public relations, personal selling, and sales promotions.
The management and operations section of your plan is critical, and many times closely focused upon by potential investors and lenders, because it describes who will manage the business and how they will do so, including the description of how you produce the products you sell, or the services that you deliver, and of cour
se, basic details of how the day-to-day operations of the business are conducted. The management and operations section of your plan should also include the management team listing including education, background and responsibilities, and the ownership structure of the business, whether sole proprietor, partnership, S corporation, LLC, etc., and a strategic partner and supplier discussion along with human capital and personnel needs discussion, and finally insurance and risk management discussion and facilities overview.