Business Plans
The lack of a business plan is frequently cited as the leading cause of small business failure. I would suggest that a business plan could also be a contributing factor to failure. Most business plans are detailed and present clear goals and a defined path to reach those goals. Unfortunately, many business plans are written in a vacuum and are based upon assumptions and unquestioned research. For a business plan to be a driver of success, those assumptions need to be tested and validated. This is where a business model can make the difference between success and failure. In process improvement and automation the common refrain is "fix before automating." The warning inherent in the phrase is that if you simply improve or automate the wrong process, you can get to the wrong destination faster. Business plans are commonly written without considering the ramifications of the "fix before automating" rule. Great amounts of time are poured into creating beautiful plans,...