"How much do you know about
the key elements that underpin
your business's
success?"
Time: 10.07am
Dear Business owner or manager,
Of
course you know a huge amount about your business because
you work in it every day. But
maybe there are important things about your business
that you don't yet know.
Take
the quiz below and
see how well you do.
1. Do you know
what the main elements of your business's vision
for the next 3 years are?
Yes
No
2. Can you name your business's
strategic objectives over the next 12 months?
Yes
No
3. Do you know the
critical indicators which can measure the success
of your business?
Yes
No
4. Can you name the key success
factors that determine how well your business
does?
Yes
No
5. Do you know the key action
points that you need to be implementing over
the next 3 months in order to be closer to achieving
your main goals?
Yes
No
So, how well did you do?
If you're like probably 90% of the people
reading this, you won't be able to answer "yes" to
all five questions. And you may well not have been able
to answer "yes"
to any of the questions.
Does
it matter if you can't say "yes"
to all
of these questions?
Most emphatically, yes it does!
Without a vision for the next 3 years or
clear objectives for the next 12 months, how on earth
can you make serious decisions that will determine the
future direction of your business?
Without knowing which are your key performance
indicators and how they are doing, how can you pick
up some of the more subtle changes that may have a serious
impact on your business in the coming months?
Without being clear what your key success
factors are, how can you determine what your priorities
should be?
And without knowing what key action points
need to be implemented, how can you be confident that
you are getting to grips with some of your business' key
issues?
"British
consultant and author Francis Miller has devised
a process for writing an internal business plan
that makes the procedure virtually painless. He has
demystified the development of the internal planning document
with a well-written, easy-to-follow online manual.......
The
brilliance of Miller's approach lies in his ability
to break the project down into a series of exercises
delineated with easy-to-follow graphics and tables."
Pat Kriska, Associate
Director, BBA Program, Cox School of Business, Dallas from
a review of the Internal Business Plan Manual in Women's
Enterprise magazine
What you need to do to be able to
answer "yes" to all five questions
The
answer is simple. You need to start some form of
business planning.
With an internal
business plan, you'll get to know a huge amount more
about your business and you'll be able to answer all
of those questions without any difficulty.
"I
cannot thank you enough for the help provided by your Manual
- especially as someone new to a post.
I
am delighted to report that my plan was overwhelmingly
accepted by our Senior Management Team, and I
was complimented on its thoroughness and focus."
Comment
from someone who wishes to stay anonymous as she doesn't want
her managers to know that she used the Manual
What benefits can you get from
an internal business plan?
Here are some of the benefits that you can get from an internal business plan:
you will feel much more in control since you'll be systematically thinking about new opportunities and dealing with potential problems as they arise
an internal business plan helps you put the 80:20 principle into practice. It will make you identify where you can get the best results and then help you concentrate on these areas
when you've identified what you really want out of your business, you're going to be much more motivated to achieve it
you'll be able to start putting some of your best ideas into practice instead of just thinking about how wonderful they might be
Perhaps you're now getting an idea of the benefits an internal business plan could bring you?
And,
as you can see from all the comments on this page, the Manual is not something to be read
and forgotten about. It actually works in practice.
"My
current project is to produce an internal business
plan for the new homes division of our company,
and this has been made much easier thanks to
the Internal Business Plan Manual.
It has been an excellent guide and the worksheets
are immensely useful."
Lorna
McCandlish - Finance
Director, JMT Group Ltd
An easy-to-use
manual
The Internal
Business Plan Manual is
one of the very first publications that focuses on
internal business plans and how to write them. It's
long enough to give you all the information you need
but short enough not to demand too much reading time.
You will learn:
what the difference is between your vision, mission and values - lots of people are confused by these terms but there's really no need to be
details of 2 different approaches for developing your vision - you can either choose the one you prefer or use both of them
what the psychological concept of 'self-efficacy' has to do with your business and how it could be holding you back
what the difference is between left- and right-brain visions - you will be given lots of questions to develop both sorts of vision
how you can tell the the difference between a planned and emergent strategy and why it's best to keep both of them in mind
how to develop your mission statement easily by asking a few simple questions
"My
bosses were very impressed with the business
plan I produced.
The
thing I particularly liked about the Manual
and worksheets was that it was not 'set in stone' or saying
'this is the only way to produce a plan' but rather made you
aware and ask the relevant questions to be able to produce
a plan."
Christine
Lester (who wrote her business plan in 24 hours)
Project Initiatives (NW) Ltd
You will also learn:
a simple approach to analysing your external environment
how, using the Results and Planning Pyramid, you can go from your vision right down to the individual actions needed to achieve it in just 5 levels
a simple way of identifying your Key Success Factors which will help to ensure your business's success
the importance of identifying Key Performance Indicators to help you assess how well the business is doing
how to develop an action plan - you'll be given a template with all the areas that need to be covered
a quick way to work out your time commitments (and those of your staff, if you have them) - and what your four options are if you find yourself overloaded
By making the whole process simpler, the Internal Business Plan Manual takes the pain out of business planning.
"I have found the Manual
incredibly useful and thought- provoking.
The worksheets have been a great framework for articulating
my vision."
Bernie Price
Organisational
Development Consultant
Who the Manual is for
This manual will be useful for you if:
you run a business and want it to be more successful
you've ever had a nagging feeling that you need to be more in control of your business
you've
been asked to work on a business planning document
by your bosses and you're worried that your
lack of business is going to show you up
you want to make an impact in your business by showing you understand the key strategic issues
you want a simple introduction to business plannning
you
need to develop an internal business plan for a
non-profit organisation (while the manual is directed
towards business, the process can
be just as well applied to the non-profit sector).
"I
am very pleased that I was able to produce a simple
format business plan in a very short period of time,
thanks to invaluable assistance from the Internal
Business Plan Manual."
Bill
Howarth - Steel Framed Homes, Lancashire
Risk-free guarantee
If,at any time over the next 12 months, you don't feel completely satisfied with the manual, then all you have to do is to send a quick email and you'll be given a prompt refund with no questions asked.
"For
someone who has never written a business plan,
I have really enjoyed using your Manual! Simple,
concise and to the point!
It
has helped me to stay focused and organised on what
I should be thinking about when developing the business
plan. I have created the document in about a week
and it will continue to be my working document for
the rest of the fiscal year!"
Suzanne
Lavallee
Manager at large global software company
Cost
The
manual, which is an e-book in Acrobat format,
costs only $39.95. This will give you a 2-user
license, which means that you can work on the
manual with a colleague if you need to.
Just consider the benefits of having an internal business plan. If you developed a clear vision,started dealing with some of the challenges you face and felt more in control, wouldn't that beworth the costmany times over?
Free Bonus
As a free bonus, you will receive worksheets of all the questions included in the manual in a Word document. This means that you can either type your answers directly into the Word document or else print the worksheets out and write your answers in by hand. Whichever way you prefer, the worksheets will help you to develop your new business plan quickly.
How to Pay
Click
on the button below and you will be taken to a secure
server where you'll be asked to fill in your name
and address and payment details.
When
payment has been authorised, you'll be transferred
to a download page from where you'll be able to download
the manual immediately.
Francis Miller
PS. These
are challenging times for everyone in business. As
competition gets tougher, it will be the intelligent
businesses that prospers. And having a business
plan is going to make your business more intelligent.
"Concise,
practical and of real use to
businesses large and small, this is a 'must
have' manual
for success."
Prof Tom Lambert - Professor of Consultancy at Rushmore University; international
trainer, consultant and broadcaster; and the author of many books
including 'Key Management Questions' (Financial Times/Prentice Hall)
"The
Internal Business Plan Manual is excellent. We have
found it very straightforward to work through and
would certainly recommend it to others."
Sarah
Berry - Finance Director and Company Secretary, Sovereign
Healthcare www.surf-sovereign.com
"I
purchased your Manual as I was preparing a presentation
for the group of trustees of a small charity, with
the aim of convincing them that I was the appropriate
person to be the charity's General Manager.
I
found it useful in structuring my thought processes,
and it helped me put together my vision of the
future of the charity and the strategy for achieving
it.
May
I now thank you for your Manual as the charity's
General Manager designate."
Gordon
Haigh, Hampshire
"A
note to express how pleased I was with the Internal
Business Plan Manual. I found the questions and
structure very useful - it provoked good discussion
and helped us develop our business plan.
Starting
off with a blank sheet of paper would be quite daunting.
Your template got us started more quickly.
I
would recommend it to other small businesses
as a great tool which forces you to think about the
future of your business rather than just 'today'."
"I
would like to compliment you on the work that you
have put forth in your Manual. It has been extremely
helpful in putting my thoughts together.
I
like the question-answer format and find that the
more thought to the questions and points that you
raise, the more ideas and answers I come up with."
James
G. Wendler - Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Precision Automated Technology Inc. www.p-a-t.com
"My
wife and myself have been working through the
Manual. The truth that surfaced was that our relationship
with our clients had become stagnant.
We
have worked on this and have even gained some new
clients as well getting some old clients back.
Our focus has gone from the daily grind back to
treating the client as Number 1.
I
must say with joy that the improvement has come
from using the Manual and applying it. The logic
involved is unimpeachable."
Tommy
Simpson - Toucan Electronics/Atlantic Internet Services, South
Africa
"The
publication helped
me start and complete a very serious task in developing
an internal business plan for my company.
I
am MD for a sub-company within a group and will freely
admit that I hadn't had much business plan experience.
The Manual redressed this and made me think about where
the company was to go in relation to its sister companies.
Time
was against me but, within a week, it all came together
nicely and investment was secured."
Giles Morgan
- Managing Director, AGM Computer Services Ltd
"The
approach of keeping things uncomplicated certainly
helps to keep the momentum going to get the
plan finished.
I have given up with writing
a plan in the past because I was following
an extremely complicated format in a hardback
book."
Richard
Stettner - Managing Director, Mortgage Master (UK)
Ltd, Birmingham
"Congratulations
on a well-written manual - it is easy to follow
and understand."
Etuale
Sefo - Regional Manager, Pacific Forum Line, Auckland,
New Zealand
www.pflnz.co.nz
"I
have found the Manual very useful. It will be
a document that I shall keep to hand and re-visit
regularly."
"It was a relief to find such a simple
approach to such an important subject. The Manual
and workbook took me through the process in easy steps
but with unerring focus.
I have to say it prompted me
to shine a light into areas I probably didn't want
to think about but, having gone through the process,
I now have a better action plan in steering the business.
An invaluable management tool!"
Andrew Wallis -
Curator, The Guards Museum, London
