Business Plan

I was looking for something on the net when I came across this article. Well, looks like it is much suitable for the company's management at the time being. So, sempena utk semua yg tgh sibuk membuat business plan 2005 (esp. for Telekom's staff as I knew that currently everyone is working for it), i would like to share this article with all of you. Bolehlah juga nak kasi kat boss esp. yg suka sgttt ajak meeting even mende kecik2 pun meeting, lepas tu waste a lot of time kat bilik meeting with too many irrelevant ideas.

Happy reading and good luck in doing your business plan!;)
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Thinking strategically
By Terry Goodyear

Ask most executives about business planning and they will tell you about the weeks of agony that merely culminate in hours of unsatisfactory meetings, prevarication and delay. While this may be a surprise, given that excutives have all the necessary statistics, data and report at their disposal, many still fumble their way through, which isn't the best way forward for companies. What's worse is that many companies go into the new financial year without their financial plans signed and sealed. The problem actually boils down to the lack of strategic thinking in decision-making.

To further illustrate this point, consider this question: If there are two companies that are in the same industry, producing the same goods and services, and are the same size in terms of assets and capital, what will determine the relative success of these two companies in two to five years' time? The answer? Ideas. Ideas that can be converted into business plans or propositions that in turn will enable the company to compete and grow.

In our post-industrial world, organisations are increasingly judged by their innovations, not their output. Still, converting ideas into sound business propositions is not as simple as it sounds. Many a time, ideas get lost in the organisation's so-called black holes, be it the perception that the top management will not like that particular idea, or that an idea — no matter how good it looks on paper — will not be workable, or the unwillingness to change the way things are done (the typical if-it-is-not-broken-why-fix-it attitude).

Compounding this are the countless meetings to discuss ideas that, at the end of the day, may only hit a brick wall. In fact, according to a recent study conducted by SCQuARE International in the UK, British businesses lose an estimated £12.3 billion a year on managerial time spent on ideas that are going nowhere and failed business pitches. On top of this, £10.8 billion is lost on unproductive meetings and £6.2 billion on the time-wasting effects of office politics.

The survey too found that two-thirds of the managers polled say they could save 10% or more of their time if they could avoid unproductive meetings. This is equivalent to 24 working days a year! At the same time, it was found that almost half the respondents waste the same amount of time on ideas that go nowhere.

Still, without ideas and innovation, a business cannot change and certainly cannot move forward. SCQuARE International's report reiterates the importance of innovation succinctly: Without innovation, a company will simply remain as it is, stagnate or die. Good management teams take a business forward through their ability to innovate and change. Given all the time spent on ideas that go nowhere, it is not enough simply to have a good idea. Any idea will clearly need to be sold through the system. And this is where SCQuARE International and the programmes they offer come in useful.

SCQuARE is a framework that ensures that a business plan, proposal or idea is thought through, authenticated and then structured in such a way that it has the greatest chance of success when delivered. Ross Lovelock and Roy Ashworth founded SQuARE, formerly known as Magnolia House, in 1993. Lovelock comes from a marketing background and has been dealing with fast- moving consumer goods companies for 20 years, with stints at Nestlé, Milk Marketing Board and PepsiCo International. Ashworth has 35 years of experience in finance, IT and was a systems specialist before co-founding SCQuARE. In 2000, the company was incorporated as SCQuARE International Ltd (SIL).

By using the SCQuARE methodology, one is able to sieve through the given information and reduce it to the critical issues that then allow decisions to be made quickly and decisively. The time taken to make decisions as such can be reduced by 50% to 90%. SCQuARE makes managers think before they act. Managers are taught to question conventional methods, they learn to understand key issues faced and the underlying causes, and are provided the structures and stimulus to explore creative solutions. SCQuARE guides participants through a step-by-step analysis of the situation, questioning and finding solutions from the questions. SCQuARE reads as:

S: Setting or strength — this can take the form of figuring out what is your aim or objectives.

C: Changes or complications — these could be a new set of circumstances, opportunities or threats. "C" also stands for consequences.

Qu: Question — this is the pivotal question that comes from the analysis of the above two factors. From here, one determines what is the next course of action in order to meet the objectives.

A: Answer — the answer to the pivotal question. Using the SCQuARE process, this answer will include a summary of the strategies to deal with the issues.

R: Recommendations — this is the action needed to implement the strategies in the answer.

E: Evidence — this is proof to show that each action is justified and the benefits that each action will generate.

SIL's global clients include Tesco, Pfizer, Marks & Spencer, Avis, PepsiCo, British American Tobacco (BAT), Nestlé and Philips, among others. SCQuARE has been in Malaysia since 1997 but as early as 1995, SCQuARE was introduced as part of a programme to impart the methodology to all BAT subsidiaries in Asia- Pacific. The founders of SCQuARE realised the potential and set up a regional office in Kuala Lumpur, which is headed by its managing director Philip Das. The regional office is designed to meet the growing need for strategic consultancy services in Southeast Asia. According to Das, clients in Malaysia include Akzo Noble (Regional) Danone, Telekom Malaysia, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, Multimedia Development Corp, some government agencies and multinational corporations.

The company's plans for Malaysia include broadening its local client base and tapping into local multinationals with significant business interests in China. Although the timing of SIL's entry into Malaysia could not have come at a worst possible time — at the start of the regional financial crisis — today, with the local and regional economies on the mend, there is optimism for the market.

There is an enormous appetite for learning here, what more the challenges brought by the Asean Free Trade Area. This means that companies that cannot move swiftly will be left behind. Today's companies need to execute strategies with speed and they need to be focused. Besides strategic decision-making skills, SCQuARE is invaluable for all management levels as it allows executives to think. It not only allows top management to focus on leadership but also creates a new set of thinkers and leaders that in turn will help narrow the leadership gap. SCQuARE conducts three to four-day courses, which also include workshops and learning sessions as well as support services. For more info check out www.scquare.com.my

Terry Goodyear is the technical director of management consultant SCQuARE International Malaysia Sdn Bhd .