STRATEGY SESSIONS #19
 
BUSINESS STRATEGIES VERSUS PERSONAL STRATEGIES

by Dr. Steve Payne

 

This blog isn’t about business strategy.  Instead, I have been discussing strategic thinking and decision making for major career and life challenges.  There are at least a few important personal occasions when more serious strategic analysis, such as I’ve been recommending, could be valuable and worth your time and trouble.  Examples might be the choice of an educational path after high school graduation, an initial career choice or a later shift in occupation, and retirement concerns.  Obviously a major life choice would also be to start a new business or become some type of entrepreneur.

Those interested in starting a new business are usually counseled very early on that they need to prepare a business plan.   This document provides essential information to potential partners, investors, bankers, and others.  Developing this document forces the potential entrepreneur to cover a lot of ground and address issues that he/she might otherwise ignore or neglect.  The business plan communicates key aspects of the strategy that the entrepreneur will be pursuing.  Many internet sites are available to help individuals who do not much experience in writing business plans.  One source is the U.S. Small Business Administration.  Similar to other recommended approaches for writing a business plan, this site describes the major parts of the business plan as follows: 

An executive summary appears initially as a short overview of the business plan as a whole and the company goals.  This is followed by a section of the plan that covers what the company will actually do, how it differs from others, and the markets that will be served.  Next research is given on the industry, market, and competitors for this undertaking.  The remaining sections of the business plan address choice of an organizational and management structure and human resources, service or product line information on potential customers and how they will benefit from this line, sales and marketing strategy, funding needs and requests for the venture, and revenue and financial projections for the future.  An appendix provides information on licenses, leases, legal requirements, etc.  Business plans such recommended by the SBA and others might cover over thirty or more typed pages.

I’m introducing this overview of a business plan for an entrepreneurial pursuit for only one reason.  If those involved in entrepreneurial activities are expected to take the time and effort to develop and communicate such an involved plan, why should other important personal challenges and choices such as higher education, career, and retirement be handled almost casually and without any strategic analysis and planning?  Aren’t these decisions as important?

 

Although I’m not suggesting as detailed analysis and planning be spent for higher education, career, retirement and other personal challenges, I do believe that the fairly simple four-step process that I’ve recommended can be quite useful for many people.    Among questions to be answered in developing educational, career, or retirement strategies are production, marketing and financing concerns.  For example in the case of the third concern, what forms of costs and revenues might be expected in pursuing a particular strategy?   Internal and external analysis (steps 1 and 2) should provide information to answer these basic issues and help in mapping out actual strategies to pursue.