| Introduction |
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PART 1 GETTING STARTED WITH BUSINESS PLANS |
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Chapter 1 Preparing to Do a Business Plan |
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Identifying Your Planning Resources |
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Checking out the variety of sources out there |
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Purchasing business-planning software |
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Seeking professional help |
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Assembling Your Planning Team |
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14 | (1) |
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15 | (1) |
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Delegating responsibility |
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Putting Your Plan on Paper or in Cyberspace |
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16 | (1) |
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17 | (1) |
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18 | (1) |
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Chapter 2 Understanding the Importance of a Business Plan |
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Bringing Your Ideas into Focus |
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26 | (1) |
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27 | (1) |
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Understanding the Planning behind the Plan |
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Is planning an art or science? |
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29 | (1) |
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30 | (1) |
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31 | (2) |
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Bankers, backers, and bootstrappers |
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33 | (6) |
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Chapter 3 Setting Off in the Right Direction |
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39 | (12) |
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Understanding Why Values Matter |
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40 | (1) |
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Weighing utilitarianism and other philosophies |
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Applying ethics and the law |
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42 | (1) |
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Getting caught lost and unprepared, if not naked and afraid |
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Understanding the value of having values |
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44 | (2) |
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Clarifying Your Company Values |
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46 | (1) |
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Putting together your values statement |
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46 | (2) |
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Following through with your values |
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48 | (1) |
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Creating Your Company's Vision Statement |
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48 | (3) |
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Chapter 4 Charting the Proper Course |
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51 | (16) |
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Creating Your Compan's Mission Statement |
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52 | (1) |
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52 | (3) |
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Capturing your business (in 50 words or less) |
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55 | (2) |
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Introducing Goals and Objectives |
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57 | (1) |
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57 | (1) |
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58 | (2) |
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Efficiency versus effectiveness |
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60 | (1) |
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Minding Your Own Business: Setting Goals and Objectives |
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61 | (1) |
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Creating your business goals |
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61 | (1) |
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Laying out your objectives |
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62 | (1) |
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Matching goals and objectives with your mission |
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62 | (1) |
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63 | (4) |
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PART 2 DESCRIBING YOUR MARKETPLACE |
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67 | (94) |
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Chapter 5 Examining the Business Environment |
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Understanding Your Business |
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70 | (1) |
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71 | (2) |
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Configuring the structure |
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73 | (2) |
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75 | (3) |
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Remembering the relationships |
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78 | (2) |
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Figuring out the finances |
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80 | (2) |
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Coming up with supporting data |
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82 | (3) |
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Recognizing Critical Success Factors |
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85 | (1) |
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Adopting new technologies, procedures, and policies |
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86 | (1) |
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Getting a handle on what counts most |
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86 | (1) |
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Determining what drives your business |
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86 | (1) |
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Looking for a great location |
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87 | (1) |
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Dealing with distribution |
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87 | (1) |
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87 | (1) |
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Getting along with government regulation |
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88 | (1) |
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SWOT: Preparing for Opportunities and Threats |
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89 | (1) |
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Finding warm and soothing waters |
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89 | (3) |
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Scanning for clouds on the horizon, ice on the water, or worse |
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92 | (3) |
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Chapter 6 Slicing and Dicing Markets |
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95 | (16) |
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Separating Customers into Groups |
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96 | (2) |
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Identifying Market Segments |
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98 | (1) |
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99 | (4) |
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103 | (4) |
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107 | (3) |
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Finding Useful Market Segments |
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110 | (1) |
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Is the segment the right size? |
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110 | (1) |
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Can you identify the customers? |
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111 | (1) |
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Can you reach the market? |
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111 | (2) |
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113 | (4) |
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Chapter 7 Getting Up Close and Personal with Customers |
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117 | (1) |
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Keeping Track of the Big Picture |
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118 | (1) |
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Categorizing Your Customers |
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119 | (1) |
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120 | (1) |
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Defining your good customers |
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121 | (1) |
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Handling your not-so-best customers |
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122 | (1) |
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Scoping out the other guy's customers |
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123 | (1) |
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Discovering the Ways Customers Behave |
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124 | (1) |
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Understanding customer needs |
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125 | (2) |
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Determining customer motives |
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127 | (1) |
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Figuring Out How Customers Make Choices |
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128 | (1) |
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Realizing perceptions are reality |
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128 | (1) |
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Setting in motion the five steps to adoption |
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129 | (1) |
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Understanding the Global Customer |
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130 | (2) |
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Serving Your Customers Better |
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132 | (2) |
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Looking at a Special Case: Business Customers |
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134 | (1) |
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Filling secondhand demand |
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135 | (1) |
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Decision-making as a formal affair |
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136 | (1) |
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Knowing the forces to be reckoned with |
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136 | (3) |
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Chapter 8 Covering Your Competition |
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139 | (22) |
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Understanding the Value of Competitors |
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140 | (2) |
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Identifying Your Real Competitors |
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142 | (1) |
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Considering competition based on customer choice |
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143 | (3) |
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Paying attention to product usage and unexpected new competition |
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146 | (1) |
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Spotting strategic groups |
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147 | (2) |
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Focusing on future competition |
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149 | (2) |
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Tracking Your Competitors' Actions |
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151 | (1) |
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Determining competitors' capabilities |
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151 | (2) |
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Assessing competitors' strategies |
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153 | (2) |
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Predicting Your Competitors' Moves |
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155 | (1) |
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Figuring out competitors' goals |
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155 | (1) |
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Uncovering competitors' assumptions |
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156 | (2) |
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158 | (1) |
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Organizing facts and figures |
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158 | (2) |
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160 | (1) |
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PART 3 WEIGHING YOUR COMPANY'S PROSPECTS |
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161 | (78) |
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Chapter 9 Assessing Where You Stand Today |
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163 | (20) |
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164 | (1) |
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Identifying Strengths and Weaknesses |
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165 | (1) |
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Keeping frames of reference |
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165 | (1) |
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Defining capabilities and resources |
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166 | (11) |
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Monitoring critical success factors |
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177 | (3) |
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Analyzing Your Situation in 3-D |
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180 | (1) |
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Getting a glance at competitors |
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180 | (1) |
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Completing your SWOT analysis |
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180 | (3) |
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Chapter 10 Profiting from Your Business Plan |
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183 | (18) |
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Describing What You Do Best |
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184 | (1) |
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Looking at the links in a value chain |
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184 | (3) |
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187 | (2) |
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Understanding your value proposition |
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189 | (1) |
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Putting Together a Business Model |
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190 | (1) |
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191 | (2) |
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193 | (1) |
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Making Your Business Model Work |
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193 | (1) |
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Searching for a competitive advantage |
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194 | (1) |
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Focusing on core competence |
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195 | (1) |
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Sustaining an advantage over time |
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196 | (1) |
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197 | (4) |
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Chapter 11 Figuring Out the Financial Details |
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201 | (20) |
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Reading Income Statements |
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203 | (1) |
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203 | (2) |
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205 | (1) |
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206 | (1) |
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Interpreting Balance Sheets |
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206 | (1) |
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207 | (3) |
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Categorizing liabilities and owners' equity |
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210 | (1) |
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Examining Cash-Flow Statements |
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211 | (2) |
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Moving money: Cash in and cash out |
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213 | (1) |
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Watching cash levels rise and fall |
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214 | (1) |
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Evaluating Financial Ratios |
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214 | (1) |
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Meeting short-term obligations |
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215 | (2) |
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Remembering long-term responsibilities |
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217 | (1) |
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Reading relative profitability |
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218 | (3) |
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Chapter 12 Forecasting and Budgeting |
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221 | (18) |
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Constructing a Financial Forecast |
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222 | (2) |
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Piecing together your pro-forma income statement |
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224 | (4) |
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Estimating your balance sheet |
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228 | (2) |
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Projecting your cash flow |
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230 | (1) |
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Exploring Alternative Financial Forecasts |
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231 | (1) |
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Utilizing the DuPont formula |
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231 | (2) |
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Answering a what-if analysis |
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233 | (1) |
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233 | (1) |
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Looking inside the budget |
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234 | (1) |
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234 | (5) |
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PART 4 LOOKING TO THE FUTURE |
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239 | (74) |
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Chapter 13 Confronting Uncertainty |
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241 | (24) |
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Understanding the Dangers of Ignoring Change |
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242 | (1) |
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Defining the Dimensions of Change |
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243 | (1) |
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244 | (4) |
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248 | (5) |
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253 | (2) |
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255 | (4) |
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259 | (2) |
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Preparing for a Changing Future |
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261 | (4) |
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Chapter 14 Thinking Strategically |
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265 | (20) |
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Applying Off-the-Shelf Strategies |
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266 | (2) |
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268 | (6) |
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274 | (2) |
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276 | (3) |
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279 | (1) |
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The evolution of new strategic models |
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279 | (1) |
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Outsourcing and offshoring |
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280 | (1) |
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281 | (1) |
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282 | (1) |
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Market-follower strategies |
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282 | (2) |
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Tailoring Your Own Strategy |
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284 | (1) |
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Chapter 15 Growing Up, Growing Bigger, and Growing Old |
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285 | (28) |
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Facing Up to the Product Life Cycle |
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286 | (1) |
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287 | (1) |
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288 | (1) |
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288 | (2) |
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Riding out the senior stretch |
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290 | (1) |
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Gauging where you are now |
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290 | (2) |
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292 | (2) |
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Same product and same market |
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294 | (2) |
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New market or new product |
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296 | (4) |
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New product and new market |
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300 | (2) |
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Managing Your Product Portfolio |
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302 | (1) |
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Utilizing strategic business units |
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302 | (2) |
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304 | (5) |
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Asking Two Final Questions About Growth |
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309 | (1) |
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Knowing that, yes, growth is good |
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309 | (1) |
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310 | (3) |
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PART 5 PUTTING YOUR BUSINESS PLAN INTO ACTION |
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313 | (22) |
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Chapter 16 Shaping and Shape-Shifting Your Organization |
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315 | (10) |
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Recognizing That Form Follows Function |
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315 | (2) |
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Putting Together an Effective Organization |
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317 | (1) |
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317 | (1) |
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Focusing on a functional model |
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318 | (1) |
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Divvying up duties with a divisional form |
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318 | (1) |
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Sharing talents with the matrix format |
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319 | (1) |
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Dealing with too many chefs in the kitchen |
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320 | (1) |
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Finding what's right for you |
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321 | (1) |
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Thinking and Organizing for the Future |
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322 | (3) |
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Chapter 17 Leading the Way |
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325 | (10) |
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Encouraging Leadership Roles |
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326 | (1) |
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Leading from the front or the back |
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326 | (1) |
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Looking at leadership styles |
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327 | (1) |
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Developing Business Skills (And Having the Right Personality Traits) |
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328 | (1) |
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Evaluating personality traits |
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328 | (1) |
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Distinguishing appropriate skills |
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329 | (1) |
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Creating the Right Culture |
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330 | (2) |
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Following Through with Your Vision |
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332 | (1) |
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Bringing Your Plan to Life (And Making a Final Check) |
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333 | (2) |
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335 | (20) |
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Chapter 18 Ten (Or So) Signs That Your Business Plan Needs Refreshing -- or Worse |
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337 | (6) |
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Your Business Goals Change Abruptly |
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338 | (1) |
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You Don't Meet Your Plan Milestones |
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338 | (1) |
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New Technology Makes a Splash |
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338 | (1) |
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Important Customers Walk Away |
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339 | (1) |
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339 | (1) |
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Product Demand Falls Sharply |
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339 | (1) |
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Revenues Go Down or Costs Go Up |
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340 | (1) |
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340 | (1) |
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Key Financial Projections Don't Pan Out |
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340 | (1) |
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Too Much Growth, Too Fast |
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341 | (1) |
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An Unwanted Surprise Pops Up |
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341 | (2) |
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Chapter 19 Ten (Or So) Questions to Ask about Your Plan |
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343 | (6) |
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Are Your Goals and Mission in Sync? |
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343 | (1) |
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Can You Point to Major Opportunities? |
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344 | (1) |
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Have You Prepared for Threats? |
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344 | (1) |
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Do You Know Your Customers? |
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344 | (1) |
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Can You Track Your Competitors? |
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345 | (1) |
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Do You Know Your Strengths and Weaknesses? |
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345 | (1) |
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Does Your Strategy Make Sense? |
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346 | (1) |
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Can You Stand Behind the Numbers? |
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346 | (1) |
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Are You Really Ready for Change? |
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346 | (1) |
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Is Your Plan Concise and Up-to-Date? |
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347 | (1) |
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What's the Worst That Can Happen, and How Will You Deal with It? |
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347 | (2) |
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Chapter 20 Ten (Or So) Business-Planning Never-Evers |
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349 | (6) |
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Failing to Plan in the First Place |
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349 | (1) |
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Shrugging Off Values and Vision |
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350 | (1) |
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Second-Guessing the Customer |
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350 | (1) |
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Underestimating Your Competition |
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350 | (1) |
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351 | (1) |
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Mistaking a Budget for a Plan |
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351 | (1) |
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Shying Away from Reasonable Risk |
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351 | (1) |
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Allowing One Person to Dominate a Plan |
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352 | (1) |
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352 | (1) |
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Forgetting to Motivate and Reward |
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352 | (1) |
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353 | (2) |
| Appendix: A Sample Business Plan |
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355 | (26) |
| Index |
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