标签: plan

In the past, one of the first things the founding team of a start-up did was write the business plan. The thinking was that the company's business plan was written expressly for venture capitalists and was essential to raise money. However, it has become clear that venture capitalists do not expect — and will not read — a traditional business plan. Does that mean that the business plan is a useless, obsolete document?   I have a different, more pragmatic view of a business plan's value and believe it still is one of the most important documents any company develops. The reasons are varied and considerable, but the most important motivation to invest the time in writing the plan is the absolute need to clarify the corporate goals, objectives and plans of the fledgling startup.       Driven by this goal, the process of writing the business plan becomes more important than the final document itself. During the creation of the plan, the founding team will need to develop in-depth answers to questions about its mission, product direction, market availability and strengths and weaknesses.   Let me briefly cover two examples of key questions that will need to be resolved. The first is the capitalization table (cap table for short): What ownership of the company is awarded to each employee and how the company will be valued when seeking investments are key parameters here. Another critical element is how the company will allocate its scarce resources. For instance, which markets and customers will be chosen for the initial “beachhead” target?  How will the budget be allocated between product development and the sales/marketing efforts?   Coming up with clear answers to those questions will force healthy discussions between the team members and hopefully create an alignment in purpose that will be beneficial.    The plan will become a living document used throughout a company’s existence. And, no one should be surprised if the first business plan looks nothing like one a few years later. It will go through many iterations and could change often.   Of course, writing a business plan is a great exercise because it will service as a vehicle to get funding, though most VCs prefer a short PowerPoint presentation that distills the information from it. During an in-person meeting, the VCs will ask tough, penetrating questions and will expect well-thought-out answers. After a rigorous effort to get a business plan polished and finished, the presenters should be well prepared to answer those probing questions clearly and without hesitation about the corporate philosophy, the product roadmap and the financial plan.   Going through the exercise of developing a 30-page or longer business plan will help the founders get a keen understanding of their business. They will need to drill in on the financials and take apart all assumptions and then justify them –– great training for a VC meeting. Any startup executive presenting in front of a VC will be responding to a host of “what if” scenarios and will be expected to understand all of the business levers. If there is any interest at all from a venture capitalist, financials will become a critical part of the discussion.   Through the process, the founding team may find that the company needs to move to a different market segment. It may point out weak areas within the team, which will spawn conversations about resources. For example, no one may have the savvy to manage the financial aspects of the business or how to market the company and its products.   As the company grows, portions of the business plan can be repurposed as web content or executive commentaries and blog posts or as recruiting tools.   Getting started may seem daunting, but shouldn’t be. After all, the plan begins with open communication within the founding team. Presumably, the members like each other and work well together. Resources are available that offer a series of questions to ask, as well as business plan templates. Business books can be found in brick-and-mortar bookstores, online or a public library. Mentors and other startup executives often are willing to lend a hand.   Technology startup executives who need to keep the company nimble and evolving as needed shouldn’t think that a business plan is for fundraising only. A well-considered business plan can be a multi-purpose document with a variety of uses.   Michel Courtoy is a former design engineer and EDA executive who sits on the board of directors at Breker Verification Systems.

三月份，日本发生了九级大地震，震惊了全世界，震动了整个产业链。这段时间大家都忙着应对危机，紧急备库存，到处找替代厂商。现在过去快一个多月了，事件的影响在渐渐退出大家的视野，新闻媒体的关注度也在慢慢下降，从先前的 24 小时滚动报道，到现在的偶尔提起。终于可以从之前的忙乱中抽出身来，做个小结。看来还是无风无浪的安逸日子舒服啊。可是人在江湖漂，哪能不挨刀 J 风险管理就是做供应链管理工作中不可或缺的一部分，居安思危更是必备的一种思维模式。 从这次日本危机中可以总结的经验教训有很多，例如鸡蛋不要都放在一个篮子里，公共危机处理中的信息透明化等等。从供应链管理的角度看，通过这次日本危机，对供应商的风险管理和危机应对，其重要性变得更加突出。正如我在上一篇文章中提到的，风险管理，是作为采购一定要做的功课。 如何做好风险管理？个人认为首先要对风险管理 (Crisis Management or Risk Management) 的过程有一个完整的认识。我大致分为四部分：风险评估与识别 --- 〉应对计划 --- 〉跟踪检讨 --- 〉改善更新。 风险评估 (Risk Evaluation) 的主要目的是识别风险因子，了解万一风险发生后所产生后果的严重程度，影响程度。风险评估应该涵盖的方面包括：策略方面，质量方面，供应方面，安全方面（具体又再分解为生产安全，环境安全）。针对供应商的风险评估工作，应该由采购牵头，组成跨部门小组来完成。因为这其中涉及到许多的专业技术和知识，不是一个采购可以全部覆盖的。 在对可能的风险全面评估的基础上，就要有应对计划 (contingency plan) 的编制。这具体包括：量化的控制指标和检测范围，罗列可能导致异常情况出现的因素，以及所要采取的措施，负责实施的人员，要被通知的人员等等。 关于应对计划 / 应对措施，有人认为要越具体越好，越详细越好。个人以为，这里要有一个风险和效益的平衡。毕竟计划的东西，是现在对未来的规划。现在计划好的东西，到未来是否一定就会这样发生，或者到未来的时候情况是否和现在计划的一样，谁也不能确定。所以我以为在做具体的应对措施的时候有两个原则，第一可以从历史数据中找依据，看看各种情况会发生的可能性有多大，再决定措施要有多具体； 第二看看团队成员主要是什么性格的人，如果大部分是风险厌恶者，那就会计划得不厌其烦，若是乐观的人多，那就简单很多。但不管是复杂版本或则简化版本，几个基本的要素还是要有的，例如：风险点，关键控制点，控制方法，应急预案，风险报告路径等。 其次，对风险应对计划要有一个持续检讨和更新的过程。因为再完美的计划也只是计划，是否符合实际，是否跟得上形势，需要不断的回顾和检讨。具体可以通过要求供应商定期提交报告，到供应商工厂一起开会检讨，进行提案改善等。 另外，个人经验，和供应商开会检讨时，一定要看现场，不要被计划给忽悠了。有的供应商很会做表面文章， power point 做的很漂亮，应付客户的要求非常有经验。但到底有没有落实到实处，只有到过现场才知道。以前有个这样一个案例：在对一个供应商作风险评估时，觉得其生产区域的人员出入管理不完善，对产品信息安全有潜在的风险，要求其整改。供应商表面上也很配合，很快就提交了改善方案，十几页的报告，详细写明了人员着装如何识别，人员出入如何管控，生产区域的隔断和封闭工程如何进行，甚至还附上 auto CAD 的图纸。看起来好专业，好具体。但隔了一段时间去回访供应商，那生产区域还是没有任何管控，人员自由出入，之前所作的方案没有一条得到实施。 所以说，现场管理很重要，一定要确定其责任落实，考核量化 ，并且要有有效性跟踪 (effectiveness measurement) 。 匆匆忙忙作个小结，写的比较简略。最后想说，对供应商的风险管理，居安思危的意识很重要，所谓小心撑得万年船，这可以帮到避免损失。但当风险万一发生了，保持镇定的心态也很重要，这时就要努力减少损失。