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2005 (April) Roundtable: Business Plan: Why Have One?

This roundtable, attended by a group of non-profit directors, focused on the business plan as a tool – a means to an end and not an end in itself. We discussed the pros and cons of business plans, including such salient points as: Is it an operational blueprint for your organization? Does the framework force you to organize and express your thoughts concisely? If you have a sense of where you are going and a timeline, will you be better prepared to deal with the unexpected and make the necessary adjustments? Or, are you using it as a screen to hide the fact that you really don’t know what you’re doing?

Many diverse, valid viewpoints were shared, but the one point on which we all agreed is that "A map is an asset on any road trip, but it’s the driver behind the wheel who will make sure the vehicle reaches its destination!"