Business Planning Gifts

'Naughty, nice, nice, nice, naughty, nice. This you call a business plan?'

"So that's my presentation: Could I have 100 million for the startup?"

Executive at desk, thinking: 'I plan strategically, therefore I am.'

'The chairman will now dance his vision for Carbco in the twenty-first century.'

"The only problem I see here is that most of us plan to be out of here in three years."

Well, I think that Bob's Disaster Recovery Plan seems to cover everything.

"I thought an illogical framework would work better."

'I think you are taking this elevator pitch way too literally'.

Take risks. Take action. Build momentum.

"Nobody said it would be easy!"

As team members we need to rise above assigning petty blame and work at the larger goal of creating plausible excuses.

"We must never take for granted the precious gift of hindsight."

'That's it? That's your backup plan?'

'If we happen to experience deja vu, let's make sure we do some things differently.'

Businessman at the deep end.

Chasing the one big idea

'Please, Norman - Not another one of your big ideas.'

"The margin of error is plus or minus one hundred percent."

"I said, 'Don't worry, I still have a few tricks up my sleeve.' That's when he called my bluff."

'Don't know about you but I've invested in my future.'

"We must stay focused on the problems of today so we can formulate the excuses for tomorrow."

'Here is my proposal for making our department more productive. The proposal contains my best cognitive distortions.'

He finally had time to develop a marketing plan.

"He's a very important employee in the company.. He draws in all the arrows in the organizational flow charts."

'You've got to give credit to Jim, he really looks after his customers!'

'I'm taking one step at a time. Next year I get the barn.'

This is the last time I make a business decision based on popular opinion.

Lost Business Plan

"We're planning on adding the details later. . ."

'If the pesticides, herbicides and fungicides keep us from selling this as wine, how about we go into the nightlight business?'

"So what do you really think of my business plan?"

"Yes very good, but when I say I need to see your business model before agreeing any loan, I mean your strategy."

'I know a lot of people start their businesses in a garage, but this is a parking garage.'

'Shouldn't we be more positive and also have a plan in place in case things go right?'

"Our strategy was RIGHT, it was just that the rest of the universe didn't fit in!"