This is a new approach, but some of the principles have been there a long time. Others are just making their debut. Take a look at Chapter 2, on attitude adjustment. The headings there highlight the differences between this approach and the standard planning method. If you’re impatient, consider this quick summary:
- It’s about planning, not just a plan. If you don’t review it regularly you’re wasting your time. The review schedule is absolutely essential.
- It’s about appropriately-sized planning. Start simple, maybe with your core strategy, sales forecast, and milestones table, for example. Maybe that’s all you’re really going to use at the beginning. If so, then that’s all you do. Grow it as you need to. Use it at every step. Form follows function.
- It separates the plan from its output. You can have a plan without having a formal complete business plan document. The plan is what’s going to happen. The output might be a document, speech, presentation, or something else.
- It separates the supporting information from the plan. Not everybody needs to develop market forecasts and management team profiles to convince an outsider to invest. Most people know their market and want to plan their business, and they manage it without spending a lot of time proving that the market exists.
Tim Berry is the founder and chairman of Palo Alto Software and Bplans.com. Follow him on Twitter @Timberry.
