Help! I Need To Write A Business Plan
Business Development Series (Article 1 of 9)

An idea without a plan is nothing more than a theory. All leaders need a plan and all leaders of organizations need a business plan. So, what is the difference between writing a business development plan and writing a business strategic plan?

Well, it depends on what you are trying to accomplish.

There are times when you might not need or want to change your strategyA strategy can be defined as a coordinated set of actions designed to create the conditions most favorable to achieving an objective—you simply need a plan to help you implement your current strategy better; you need a guide to help you manage the day-to-day operations of your organization. In this situation, what you need is a plan that develops the parts of your business that will help you successfully implement your existing strategy. We call this a business development plan, and it is written as an instructional guide to help the employees in your organization understand their role and what it will take to perform that role. It is also used to help investors/funders—potential and existing—understand how their investment will be put to use.

A strategic plan is useful when things have changed so much that you come to suspect that your current strategy is out of date.  A strategic plan starts by assessing how your environment—both internal and external—has changed and how those changes impact the day-to-day operation of your organization. Writing a strategic plan is a much more intense process and requires more people and more resources to pull it off successfully.