Different CEO’s will focus on different aspects of a business plan. Simon Sinek is all about passion and leadership. Sinek is a trained ethnographer and motivational business speaker who studies why people and organizations behave the way that they do. From his studies, Sinek consults with leaders and their companies about how to make their businesses better by understanding both consumer and managerial behaviors and by creating inspiration. He is active in arts and not-for-profit organizations, and his book “Start With Why” was published by Penguin Books in 2009.
In a “Ted Talk” delivered in support of his book, Shinek discusses the importance of identifying a core value for a leader and a company. The notion is that most companies operate outside in. That is, they define themselves first by what they produce, then by how they produce it and then by why they are producing it in the first place. That approach touches the customer first, and can (and often does) produce loyalty to an individual product. But if the company can define itself first by its core value – by the why it operates – then it operates from the inside out, and creates not just consumers, but loyal consumers that will follow the company or the leaders just about wherever it goes.
Sinek talks about instilling this in every aspect of a business plan, as well as in business operation and workflow. The primary notion: if a company can convey its sense of mission to itself, then it can convey that sense of mission to its investors in its business plan, which will secure funding and approval. Eventually, it will secure followers as consumers. This is a creative take on business plan writing, and it emphasizes the importance of establishing trust and confidence in those leading the project.
Paul Ferris is the co-founder and General Partner of Azure Capital, a venture capital firm that invests in early stage technology companies that operate in sectors from cloud services to healthcare technology to gaming platforms to financial services. His background is in investment banking.
Azure Capital is a highly selective firm. The company receives thousands of pitches for angel investment funding every year. The company will interview dozens of early stage businesspersons, but will only invest in four to six projects every year.
Ferris and his partners have a strategy within Azure that is essentially two-fold (with many subtopics), but unlike Sinek their strategy is far less emotional than it is analytical. Ferris and his partners are looking for data to formulate a plan from the beginning of a journey to its very last step. Up front, the primary focus is on research. The research in technology subsectors helps Azure create its investment roadmap, increase their knowledge of any particular tech area, and identify whether or not a company has a real opportunity worth pursuing.
On the back end, Azure operates with an understanding that the business plan needs an exit strategy. In their industry, they attempt to fund little fish that they believe will become medium-sized fish that in turn pose a creative and market share threat to the biggest fish. Thus, the strategy for most of their investments is that they will eventually sell to strategic competitors or partners. As such, Ferris likes to see plans that acknowledge this outcome and that incorporate that as a strategy in the very early stages of company planning. In short, under Ferris’ direction, Azure needs plans that will be clinical in their execution.
Sinek and Ferris stress different aspects of business plans, though both are important to the successful outcome. Writers of business plans should heed the advice of both, and keep both elements in mind when self-evaluating their proposals.
REFERENCES
1. CAA speakers: Simon Sinek, author of "Start with Why". (2009). Retrieved from www.caaspeakers.com/simon-sinek/bio
2. Ferris, P. (2012). Azure capital :: Paul ferris. Retrieved from http://www.azurecap.com/team/team-member/Paul_Ferris
3. Lester, C. (2009, July 27). Another view: A golden age for dcs. New York Times. Retrieved from http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2009/07/27/another-view-a-golden-age-for-venture-capital/
4. Locke, L. (2011, September 29). Twitter video-sharing service nabs $6.5 million. CNet News, DOI: news.cnet.com
5. Simon Sinek. (2009, September). [Video Tape Recording]. Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action., Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action.html
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