■ Strategies
■ Strategic Intent
■ Philosophy
■ Focus
■ Values
■ Principles
The Operational Plan—Bringing Your Plan to Life
The operational plan is the dynamic component that brings the
strategic plan to life (see Figure 2-2). It is the first of ten years of the
complete business plan and is developed simultaneously with the
other four components. It defines how the company accomplishes
its strategic intent on a daily or annual basis. It breaks down the
Building a Business Plan in Five Pages
29
Figure 2-1. The strategic plan sets the direction of your company.
strategic goals into objectives and tasks to make them more under-
standable and manageable. The operational plan also provides
information to executives on how well the staff carries out its func-
tional activities. Along with the execution of functional activities
comes the requirement for staff coordination. Work cannot be
effective unless it is closely coordinated across staffs or functions.
The operational plan also helps management teams implement
actions. Because it identifies the persons held accountable, the
operational plan becomes a good benchmark for reporting process-
es of key programs and projects. This becomes the benchmark for
performance measures of both the individual and the company. A
format for this plan is found in Appendix C: The 1-Page
Operational Plan.
Seven Steps to a Successful Business Plan
30
Figure 2-2. The operational plan sets the strategic plan into motion on a
practical level.
Building a Business Plan in Five Pages
31
The Organizational Plan—Defining Your
Corporate Structure
The organizational plan (seen in Figure 2-3) is the third of the five
types of plans you must develop. It defines the structure you must
have to put the complete business plan in place. Organizational
planning begins with the concept that structure follows strategy.
The strategies come from the strategic plan. The organizational
plan is more than a wiring diagram or chart showing assignments;
it must help you do certain things. First, it ensures your people are
all properly assigned to specific work or functions. Like the opera-
tional plan, the organizational plan aids coordination among criti-
cal staff sections. Another important function is cost control. The
organizational plan illustrates adjustments that need to be made to
streamline activities within the workforces. Structure should always
be tailored to the requirements. Finally, the organizational plan
must illustrate three ingredients:
Figure 2-3. The organizational plan matches the structure to the goals of
the plan.
■ A chart showing reporting relationships
■ A clear definition of responsibilities
■ A clear definition of authorities
A template for the organizational plan is found in Appendix D:
The 1-Page Organizational Plan.
The Resources Plan—Analyzing the Support You
Need to Put Your Plan Into Action
The fourth of the five types of planning is the resources plan that
can be seen in Figure 2-4. It defines the resources you must have to
support the business plan found in Appendix E: The 1-Page
Resources Plan. This plan begins with an analysis of the annual tar-
gets and the goals from the strategic plan. Normally you can devel-
op the resources plan in conjunction with the operations plan since
the two are so closely connected.
Seven Steps to a Successful Business Plan
32
Figure 2-4. The resources plan matches requirements to the overall plan.
The resources plan provides a great deal of information to the
reader because it examines specific support requirements. It con-
tains, at minimum, information on ten categories:
1. Staffing Levels. What are your short-term and long-term
staffing requirements? What kinds of skills will be needed
at each level, now and in the future?
2.
Information Requirements. What is the volume and quality
of your information?
3. Technology. Do you have the most effective technology to
do the job? Is technology just around the corner that will
put your competition in the advantage? What is the cost
of staying up-to-date with technology?
4.
Tools and Equipment. What supporting systems do you and
your staff need to get all the tasks completed?
5. Intellectual Capital. How smart are your people? How smart
will they have to be in the future? What do they have to
be smart about? How are you using the intellectual capital
database that now exists?
6.
Time. What critical milestones exist in your plan? Where
are the important decision points in the plan? What can
you do to use your time more wisely?
7.
Relationships. What networks need to be developed? Can
strategic alliances and strategic partnerships help your
plan?
8.
Image. What is your image in the public perception? What
should it be? How will you develop this perception or
change a negative one?
9. Facilities. Can you estimate the facilities requirements? Is
the need for physical space increasing or decreasing?
What effect has e-business had on your industry?
10. Financial. Have you considered the budget constraints for
short-term requirements? What are the long-term capital
investment requirements? Do the financial numbers make
good business sense?
Building a Business Plan in Five Pages
33
The Contingency Plan—Taking Evasive Action in
a Crisis Situation
The contingency plan is the last of the five types of plan (see Figure
2-5). It is important but is often the most frequently ignored type
of plan.
Seven Steps to a Successful Business Plan
34
Figure 2-5. The contingency plan builds cases for alternatives.
There are three types of contingency planning you must con-
sider. The first is when your goals are not accomplished or are
blocked somewhere in the execution. You must have alternatives
developed to eliminate the blockage. It is a fallback position.
Normally you develop several courses of action to get you to the
goal. Multiple routes or alternatives permit you choices when the
goal path becomes blocked. You don’t change your goals, just the
actions to get you to the goals.
Another type of contingency planning is a big picture issue.
This is a disaster plan for a business-created crisis that could shut
down your company—for example, a labor strike in a plant that was
not expected or anticipated that catches management unprepared.
A contingency plan should address such occurrences.
Natural disasters are a primary contingency that companies
plan for. Like manmade situations, these occurrences can be pre-
dicted and planned for. What would happen to a business depend-
ent on landline telephone communications if a flood wiped out the
line? Remember the huge area of Quebec, Canada, that was para-
lyzed for months in the winter storm of 1998? How can you plan
for those events? What is your recovery plan?
The third type of contingency plan is developed from an inter-
nal view that examines incidents that could happen to your busi-
ness and that would cause significant concern. For example, what
would happen if members of a key management team were all
killed in a plane crash? Sad events such as this have happened
before. A contingency would have to be in place to replace those
critical people. This example is so real that at most companies it is
standard operating procedure that teams not fly together as a pre-
cautionary measure.
Another serious situation could be in the area of workplace vio-
lence. How do you prevent a serious incident from happening
inside your workplace environment? Acts of violence against super-
visors and coworkers by disgruntled employees have grown at a dis-
turbing rate in the American workplace.
1
Increasingly, embittered
employees and ex-employees are seeking revenge through violence
Building a Business Plan in Five Pages
35
and murder for alleged mistreatment on the job. According to a
Bureau of Justice, Statistics Crime Data Brief, homicide has become
the second leading cause of death in the workplace. Additionally,
statistics show that one in four workers will be harassed, threat-
ened, or attacked on the job. The topic of violence has many vari-
ables, but given the high stakes involved, it is prudent for manage-
ment to prepare to deal with workplace violence by implementing
prevention procedures. In short, this is contingency planning. An
example of the format used for contingency planning is found in
Appendix F: The 1-Page Contingency Plan.
TIPS ON CAPTURING INFORMATION AND
MINIMIZING PAPERWORK
A company-level business plan is usually written in a three- to five-
day period with all members of the executive team participating.
The end product is a business plan of five single pages as outlined
in Appendices B–F. Over the past years I have helped a number of
teams accomplish this seemingly difficult task within these time
parameters. To do that successfully requires certain preconditions
and specific actions at the planning session.
One problem at a planning conference is the capturing of
information and the paperwork that follows. The only efficient way
to record information and complete the final document is to have
on-site computers and printers for the session. This allows you to
pace the discussion by producing final written documents at the
end of the session. Too much time is lost in translation if newsprint
or handwritten notes are relied upon to capture the information.
Computer support eliminates the lag time normally associated with
the planning process. At the end of the session each participant is
given a diskette with the plan and a printed copy of the plan if they
desire. Another alternative is to e-mail the final copy to all partici-
pants.
Another important tip or technique I always use is to view the
work-in-progress through an LCD projector. This provides a fast
Seven Steps to a Successful Business Plan
36
way to develop, edit, and finalize the volume of information that
will be generated in the session. The management team can see
their work on the screen and make immediate corrections. Just
about any software such as Microsoft Word or Powerpoint can be
used for this stage of the plan’s development. All input and changes
from multiple participants can be shown on the screen and manip-
ulated as the decisions are made to finalize the content.
Using full-time computer support for planning is well within
the means of any company today. It is not difficult to have the
equipment and support personnel at the conference. Usually the
president’s administrative assistant or someone who can be trusted
with the sensitive information that may be discussed provides the
computer support.
Two additional tips can make your computing support dynam-
ic and successful. Although I have provided formats for the final
plan, don’t worry about format at the planning session itself. Have
the plan recorded in a simple word processing format that is fast
and easy to work with. The second tip is to print the plan as you go.
At several points in the conference print a copy for each partici-
pant. This gives them something in their hands, helps them review
the items, and provides assurance that progress is being made
toward the completed plan.
THE FOUR UNIQUE PHASES IN A BUSINESS
PLANNING CYCLE
Sadly, the business planning cycle in most companies is not in step
with the calendar, the execution of the work, or the need for
planned thinking. Too often the plan for next year is developed in
the middle of that year. It is a joke to your employees to issue a plan
that is already half-expired. Stop that practice! It makes you look
foolish and inept at planning.
So how do you get the cycle in the correct place? Two methods
can be used. The first is to start earlier. That’s not magic. Just do it
earlier. More important, though, is to cut down the amount of wast-
Building a Business Plan in Five Pages
37
ed energy in developing the key points. Remember that you are
going to capture the essence of your complete business plan in five
pages. To do that seemingly impossible task means you need a tool
to organize your activities.
The business planning cycle is the tool a successful organiza-
tion uses to establish a business plan with all components in place
for execution. It is more than a document. It is a completely inte-
grated process consisting of four distinct phases (see Figure 2-6).
They are preparing, planning, implementing, and sustaining. Each
phase has a unique and powerful place in the planning cycle.
Seven Steps to a Successful Business Plan
38
Figure 2-6. The business planning cycle has four phases.
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