INTERNAL USES FOR THE PLAN

A business plan is an important management tool. It enables management to plan company growth and to anticipate changes in a structured way. Executives sometimes argue that it is
useless to write a business plan because the marketplace is changing so rapidly that any plan
is quickly outdated. While it is certainly true that change is a matter of course, the process of
preparing a business plan is at least as important as the plan itself. It forces management to
think through the business in detail and to set objectives. And it allows benchmarks to be set,
against which the company’s future performance can be measured.

Perhaps most important, the business plan commits the entire management team to the same goals. The process of working out the plan’s objectives invariably forces executives to reconcile different visions of where the company stands and where it is headed.

A written business plan can be an important internal document for companies with multiple
locations and operations. Top management can monitor the business plans not only to be
certain that formal planning is occurring, but also to determine whether the finished plans
are consistent with long-term financial and market goals.