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roles and responsibilities of key players； the resources required in terms
of money； people and materials and so forth。 While there is much debate
about exactly what should go into the business plan and how it should be
laid out； there is no doubt that it is the essential tool for ensuring that a
well…thought…out strategy is executed successfully too。
This is the suggested general layout for a business plan as used on
the MBA programme at Cranfield and； from observation at international
business plan petitions； seems to be fairly universal。
Executive summary
This is the most important part of the plan and will form the heart of any
presentation to the board； shareholders or prospective investors。 Wri。。en
Strategy 275
last； this should be punchy； short – ideally one page but never more than
two – and should enthuse any reader。 Its primary purpose is to excite and
inspire an audience to want to read the rest of the business plan。
The executive summary should start with a succinct table showing past
performance in key areas and future objectives。 This will give readers a
clear view of the business’s capacity to perform as well as the scale of the
task ahead （Table 12。1）。
Table 12。1 Executive summary – history and projections
Last
year
This
year
Business area Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
etc
Sales turnover by product/service
1。
2。 etc
Total sales
Gross profit％
Operating profit ％
Total staff nos
Sales staff nos
Capital employed
Return on capital employed ％
Then the executive summary should continue with sections covering the
following areas：
。 what the primary products/services are and why they are be。。er or
different from what is around now；
。 which markets/customer groups will most need what you plan to offer
and why；
。 how close you are to being ready to sell your product/service and what
if anything remains to be done；
。 why your organization has the skills and expertise to execute this
strategy and if new or additional people are required； who they are or
how you will recruit them；
。 financial projections showing in summary the sales； profit； margins and
cash position over the next three to five years；
。 how the business will operate； sketching out the key steps； from buying
in any raw materials through to selling； delivering and ge。。ing paid；
。 what physical resources – equipment； premises – the plan calls for。
276 The Thirty…Day MBA
The contents – putting flesh on the bones
Unlike the executive summary； which is structured to reveal the essence of
your business proposition； the plan itself should follow a logical sequence
such as this：
。 Vision： A vision’s purpose is to stretch the organization’s reach beyond
its grasp。 Generally； few people concerned with the pany can now
see how the vision is to be achieved； but all concerned agree that it
would be great if it could be。 Once your vision bees reality it may
be time for a new challenge； or perhaps even a new business。
。 Mission： A mission statement explains concisely what you do； who you
do it for and why you are be。。er or different from others operating in
your market。 It should be narrow enough to give focus yet leave enough
room for growth。 Above all； it should be believable to all concerned。
。 Objectives： These are the big picture numbers such as market share；
profit； return on investment that are to be achieved by successfully
executing the chosen strategy。
。 Marketing： This section provides information on the product/service
on offer； customers and the size of the market； petitors； proposed
pricing； promotion and selling method。
。 Operations： This area covers any processes such as manufacture； assembly；
purchasing； stock holding； delivery/fulfilment and website。
。 Financial projections： Detailed information on sales and cash flow for
the period of the plan； showing how much money is needed； for what；
by when and what would be the most appropriate source of those funds：
long… or short…term borrowings； equity； factoring or leasing finance； for
example。
。 Premises： What space and equipment will be needed and how your
home will acmodate the business while staying within the law。
。 People： What skills and experience you have on board that will help run
this business and implement the chosen strategy； what other people
you will need and where you will find them。
。 Administrative ma。。ers： Do you have any IP （intellectual property） on
your product or service； what insurance will you need； what changes if
any will be needed to the accounting and control and record systems。
。 Milestone timetable： This should show the key actions you have still to
take to be ready to achieve major objectives and the date these will be
pleted。
。 Appendices： Use these for any bulky information such as market
studies； petitors’ leaflets； customer endorsements； technical data；
patents； CVs and the like that you refer to in your business plan。
All these topics are covered in this book and by using the index and table of
contents you can find your way to them quickly。
Strategy 277
Using business planning software
There are a number of free so。。ware packages that will help you through
the process of writing a business plan。 The ones listed below include some
useful resources； spreadsheets and tips that may speed up the process；
but are not substitutes for finding out the basic facts about your market；
customers and petitors：
。 American Express （h。。p：//home3。americanexpress/smallbusiness/
tool/biz_plan/index。asp）： American Express runs something it calls the
Small Business Exchange Business Plan Workshop。 This workshop will
help you create a business plan to guide your business through the
start…up or growth phase； or with a search for capital。 Learning on its
fictional plan； you will be ready to create one of your own。
。 BizPlanit （bizplanit/free。html） has free resources；
including free business plan information； advice； articles； links and
resources and a free monthly newsle。。er； the ‘Virtual Business Plan’； to
pinpoint information。
。 Bplans （bplans）； created by Palo Alto So。。ware； offers
thousands of pages of free sample plans； planning tools and expert
advice to help you start and run your business。 Its site has 60 free sample
business plans on it and its so。。ware package； Business Plan Pro； has
these plans plus a further 140。 The sample business plans are tailored
for every type of business； from aircra。。 rental to wedding gowns。
。 Royal Bank of Canada （royalbank/sme/index。html） has a
wide range of useful help for entrepreneurs as well as its business plan
writer package and three sample business plans。
WHAT BUSINESS ARE YOU REALLY IN？
This is the question posed by Harvard’s Theodore Levi。。 in his quintessential
Harvard Business Review article ‘Marketing Myopia’； published in 1960。
In the article he argued that business strength and growth opportunities
resided in customer relationships and not in products alone。 So start and
finish any strategic analysis with this question。
Appendix：
Personal
development
and lifetime
learning
。 Moving