Business plans, while required for most loans, present an opportunity. That opportunity, as the picture shows, brings together various parts of the organization. It might be said that the real value is in bringing together disparate stakeholder interests to look ahead and assess the market and the competition, and to seriously consider how best to move forward into the next two to three years and beyond. This planning process looks at what the team considers realistically possible, as well exploring opportunities otherwise missed without the planning process, as the puzzle pieces imply.
It’s best practice for the team to solicit input from across the organization. A formal presentation to the entire organization to celebrate the plan’s completion serves to unify the organization in the plan’s implementation.
While there are templates and software packages for business plans, as well as assistance such as through a local SCORE chapter of the SBA; it’s rather obvious in just skimming a plan whether it came from a cooperative effort inside an organization or from some boiler plate with catch phrases and a glaring lack of specifics. Internally, the process lends itself to goal setting and measurable objectives quarter by quarter. The annual process also lends itself to other forms of planning, such as updating the succession plan.