Starting your own company? You’ll need a business plan. Starting a non-profit organization — you’ll also need a business plan. And for both, you will need clarity to define your vision, over-riding philosophy, intentions, mission, goals and objectives. These are the factors that keep a company, corporation or a sole proprietorship on track for the long term. They help in the short term when developments become chaotic, when decisions require responses way too rapidly, and when at the end of the day, week, month or fiscal year you ask, “What are we doing this for?!!!” Planning is essential to fulfill objectives, goals and the intentions for starting any business.
What happens to small businesses that become huge in a short order and do not include a vision, planning or goals, but just let the flow of ever increasing sales dominate the whole process? Before long chaos reigns and the small business implodes when, if it had applied some forethought, it could have become immensely successful.
How did the “garage start-ups” manage to become so big, so developed and so successful? The answer is, “By adapting!” to the changing situations and conditions. They adapted from the exploratory developmental phase by planning in growth and the business infrastructure necessary to carry the vision, philosophy and mission forward. Different circumstances require different plans.
The business of cities came into existence many thousands of years ago. Eventually it became necessary to design and build the physical infrastructures necessary for a city to maintain its existence: security measures, roads, water supplies, waste removal, and eventually separated residential and commercial areas, and so on. Governance and civil authorities came into existence to keep the peace inside and outside of the walls; and to collect taxes to keep the machinery running. Money lenders, then banks, loans and other financial institutions formalized some parts of the exchange process. And social institutions and organizations came into existence for those of like minds and interests.
And this was done without an overseeing social architect, without a vision, over-riding philosophy, mission, goals or objectives. Society just happened, “ker-plop!” Just like the little garage start-up that became hugely successful, cities, societies, governments, and economies seem to have come into existence without a vision, over-riding philosophy, mission, goals or objectives. Even the three pillars of every functioning society are not organized internally. And none now have an overriding plan for their continued existence, and no thought for their sustainability at any level. Now what?!