3. Know reasons behind the way your company does business (is your company interested in cultivating the perception of high quality to attract high quality clientele or do your produce low price consumables that require high volumes. Knowing that will help define the corporate strategy critical for your company’s success.)

4. Identify your competitive advantages (Every company has a few. Find those within the scope of your resources that will differentiate your from your competition and then refocus your direction to maximize those advantages.)

5. Identify and articulate your corporate goals (Every company wants to grow, but many fail to articulate how this growth will occur. Review and assess existing product and services, assign minimum performance standards and eliminate those failing to reach that level. Identify your company’s current position and establish goals, target new products and services, base your plan on goals and mission incorporating your mission statement.)

6. Identify key steps toward achieving these goals (Those are the building blocks or your business plan, the action steps you will take in order to meet your objectives. Every operational step needs to be identified and you must articulate ownership for those critical step and processes. If everyone is responsible, no one is.)

7. Know your mission statement (This is why you are in the market, your “raison d’etre.” Analyze the true mission of your company say it aloud and post it everywhere. What repeated recitation has done for most major religions work equally well in a business environment)

UNITS OF MEASURE
Your business plan is not an intellectual exercise. It must result in goals achieved and criteria met. Your plan should contain two yardsticks by which success can be measured.