Don't Mistake Business Plans for Planning (It May Be Dangerous to Your Financial Health)

Authors

  • Bill Parks University of Idaho
  • Philip D. Olson University of Idaho
  • Donald W. Bokor University of Idaho

Abstract

Most academic research concerning business plans suggests that business plans  improve the performance of new firms, and virtually all textbooks related to small business advise ent repreneurs to prepare plans before sta rting a business. A survey of the chief executive officers (CEO) in the INC. 500 (America's 500 fastest growing, privatel y held  small  firms )  suggests  otherwise-fewer  than  twenty percent of the respondents indicated that  they had prepared complete business plans before start-up. Furthermore, firms which prepared business plans were less profitable when entering the rapid  growth phase  than those which did not. This article explores benefits and limitations of  business plan preparation.

References

De Geus, Arie P., "Planning as Learning," Harvard Business Review, Vol. 66,No. 2, 1988:

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Ludwig, Emil, Napoleon (New York: Pocket Books, Inc., 1961).

Megginson, Leon C., Charles R. Scott,Jr.,Lyle R. Trueblood,and William L.Megginson, S uccessful Small Business Management, Fif th Edition (Plano, Texas: Business Publica­ tions, Inc., 1988).

Patton, George S. Jr., War As I Knew It (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1947).

Peters, Tom, Thriving on Chaos (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1987).

Robinson, Richard B. Jr., and John A. Pearce II, ''The Impact of Formalized Strategic Planning on Financial Performance in Small Organizations," St rategic Management Journal, Vol. 4, 1983: 197-207 ·

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Tootelian, Dennis H., and Ralph M. Gaedeke, Small Business M anagement, Second Edition, (Glenview, Illinois: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1985).

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Published

1991-01-04

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Don’t Mistake Business Plans for Planning (It May Be Dangerous to Your Financial Health). (1991). Journal of Small Business Strategy (archive Only), 2(1), 15-24. https://libjournals.mtsu.edu/index.php/jsbs/article/view/233