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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 your career forward
。 Adding to your skills and experience
。 Knowledge for free
。 The best Business Schools for post programme management
development
。 Taking tests
Although personal development is not an academic discipline； it is on the
syllabus at all the top business schools。 There is no mon ground either
on what its content is； how it is delivered； or how much time is devoted
to it。 At the London Business School； its Career and Professional Skills
Development Programme （CPSDP） aims to provide the skills needed to
apply knowledge gained on the MBA。 It covers an eclectic mix of topics；
including assertiveness； conflict management； negotiating strategic transactions；
high…impact presentations； business writing； public speaking；
interview skills； networking and work/life balance。 Instituto de Empresa
（IE） Business School； Madrid； offers as its career…boosting proposition
Appendix 279
the option of taking a fully bilingual （Spanish–English） MBA programme
should you wish to； boosting your mand of the world’s second most
important business language。 China Europe International Business School
（CEIBS） in Pudong； Shanghai； has a Career Development Centre （CDC） that
provides a whole range of services to MBAs to help them plan their career。
Mock interviews； self…assessment tests； career counselling and pany
visits ensure that 91。5 per cent of graduates have successfully landed a job
within three months a。。er graduation。
The lifetime learning proposition is as varied as the personal development
in terms of content and emphasis。 The proposition； however； is mon to
all top business schools。 While the MBA programme is considered a good
foundation for a career in business or indeed any organization； it is just a
foundation。 That knowledge needs to be built on； enhanced and extended
over the MBA’s lifetime。 As their career needs change their alma mater
is there to help。 Columbia Business School offers courses on Turnaround
Management； Value Investing； and Launching New Ventures。 The Indian
School of Business； launched in 1997 in association with The Wharton
School and The Kellogg School of Management （later joined by LBS）；
offers focused courses such as Marketing Fundamentals for Hospitality
Businesses as well as more general ones such as Strategic Negotiations。 ISB
also lays claim to successfully encouraging 81 per cent of its students to
make remarkable career shi。。s； with an Army Colonel heading a real…estate
venture； an orthopaedic surgeon assuming the role of a COO； and a rocket
scientist opting to be the production head of a media concern。
Under the headings below you will find everything you need to keep
your MBA knowledge up to date； progress your career and enhance your
earning power。
LEARNING FOR FREE FROM THE WORLD’S
TOP BUSINESS SCHOOLS
There are no subjects either within the core MBA disciplines covered in this
book or in respect of any conceivable subsidiary elective field； however
obscure； in which you can’t get a free video or audio lecture； detailed subject
notes； worked examples or application templates。 These are all made
available either accidentally or o。。en intentionally； courtesy of generous
knowledge…sharing endowments provided to top business schools。 The
resources listed below represent just the tip of a very large iceberg and
cover only the resources from business schools consistently listed among
the best in the world。 With a modest investment of time you can unravel
many more sources using the business school ranking sources listed later
in this chapter。
280 Appendix
Berkeley University of California （United States）
The Haass School of Business （haas。berkeley。edu/haas/video_room）
links to lectures by star outsiders such as Steve Wozniak； co…founder of
Apple Inc； speaking about entrepreneurship and his experiences during
the early days of Apple； Starbucks co…founder Dave Olsen on his successes
and the importance of ‘Leading from the H