Notwithstanding that "battles are often lost for want of nails", a company rarely succeeds or fails for minor or trivial reasons. The causes are usually substantial and are often self-evident, at least to an outsider. For example, the business was completely over-borrowed; management was weak; a major new product opportunity was identified; legislation changed; a major competitor went bust or expanded; the company never reinvested.
It should be possible in the course of a few pages to set down the main elements of a business's vision, mission, values, objectives, goals, strategies, SWOTs etc. The compilation of a short report along these lines is likely to prove much more difficult than a lengthy dissertation which mixes up details and principles, and confuses the broad picture. See a sample strategic plan - use the back button on your browser to return to this page.
Independent advisers or non-executive directors can play a valuable role in this process because they can readily adopt the role of devil's advocate and also bring external knowledge and expertise to bear. The worksheet presented below may also assist.
For further information on business planning issues, refer to other papers in this series which cover business ideas, business strategies, financial planning, cashflow forecasting and business planning.
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