Seven Steps to a Successfull Business Plan

This 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....
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Seven Steps to a Successfull Business Plan 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 xxi Introduction: How This Book Can Help You Develop a Powerful Business Plan That Works xxvii The Five Critical Ingredients of a Successful Business Plan xxviii Why the Traditional Planning Models for Building a Business Plan Don’t Work xxviii The Traditional Approach: Good Intentions, Dismal Results xxix The Piecemeal Approach: No Way to Fit the Pieces Together xxix v vi Contents The Deflected Focus Approach: Falling Short of Your Company’s Real Needs xxx The Three Unique Features of This Book That Will Help You Achieve Your Business Plan Goals xxxi Your Management Story xxxi The Concept of backPlanning xxxii The 5-Page Business Plan 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 1 The Company Story: The “Single Most Powerful Weapon” in Preparing a Business Plan 2 The Three Reasons Company Stories Fall Short of Expectations 3 When a Story Is Badly Told 4 When the Story Pieces Don’t Add Up 5 When the Story Isn’t Believable 5 The Antidote to a Badly Managed Story 5 How Slogans Work as Windows Into Your Company 6 Organizational Energy Fields: The Invisible Forces That Hold Your Company Together 10 Fields of Belonging 11 Fields of Challenge 11 Fields of Purpose 12 Fields of Contribution 12 vii Contents The Nine Tools for Generating Effective Business Energy Fields 12 Growing Up to Be What You Don’t Want to Be: The Three Stages of a Company’s Life Cycle 16 Stage 1: Matching the Stage and the Story 17 Stage 2: Growing Your Story 17 Stage 3: Accepting Stagnation of Your Story 20 Summary 21 The Key Questions: Creating Your Company Story 22 The Practical Applications: Bringing Your Company Story to Life 23 2 The Practical Guidelines for Building a Business Plan in Five Pages 25 Defining Your Business Plan 26 How the 5-Page Business Plan Works 27 The Strategic Plan—Forming the Heart of Your Story 28 The Operational Plan—Bringing Your Plan to Life 29 The Organizational Plan—Defining Your Corporate Structure 31 The Resources Plan—Analyzing the Support You Need to Put Your Plan Into Action 32 The Contingency Plan—Taking Evasive Action in a Crisis Situation 34 Tips on Capturing Information and Minimizing Paperwork 36 The Four Unique Phases in a Business Planning Cycle 37 Phase 1: Prepari ...