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Business Planning: Who Makes Up Your Team?

As a business leader, you must not only have a team, it is essential that you be 100% clear about who makes up your team, what experience & talent they bring to the table, and what their responsibilities include. Without clarity in these domains, you will undoubtedly overlook potential within your team, resulting in missed opportunities for not only you and your team, but for the company as a whole. For this reason, section D of the CNLB Business Plan Outline* is: Management Team. After all, you are taking precious time to write the plan for your company's future, discovering and being with those sometimes pesky "I don't knows", and no stone should be left unturned, particularly when it comes to the heartbeat of the company, your team.

*Note: To access the complete CSN Business Planning Outline click here.

The Management Team section includes a concentrated look at:

• Key Personnel
• Description of Responsibilities
• Organizational Chart

While every section of a written business plan is extremely important, this section in particular serves three purposes:

1. It serves as a tool to communicate the depth of your team and how their talents will contribute to the success of your endeavor. Keep in mind that most people who write a plan assume their staff, and it's their staff that has the power to make or break the company.
2. It serves as a tool for you, the author and business owner, to take a look at who your team is comprised of and what their individual contributions are to you and your company and tells you what may be missing.
3. It defines the roles of your team members.

When preparing the Management Team section of your business plan, simply making a listing of your key employees is a great place to begin. From this listing you begin compiling data on these key team members. Now remember, these are your team members and the writing of a business plan for your company can easily be delegated to your team members. Doing so will provide you with three things:

• First, you get help.
• Second, the key team member writing out his or her own job responsibilities gives him/her the opportunity to discover what they might not know about their role as a key team member.
• Third, you get the chance to check out how your team members perceive themselves as a part of the management team. Are they clear about who you expect and need them to be? Do they accurately describe their responsibilities? And through this exercise, have they uncovered for themselves any "Ah, has!" which in the end, will make them a more productive team member?

In addition to this being a learning opportunity for all, you do want to make sure some basic factual information is included within this section, including: their background, education, years of experience in their respective fields, and whatever other skills and attributes will serve as vital assets for the company.

This section can be much like a mini-biography for all the management team. And while you do not want to summarize everyone's resume, this is your chance to highlight your individual team member's relevant strengths, talents, and experiences. As you write and/or proof read each biography, take the time to carefully look at the qualities of each individual. Ask yourself, "Are they playing to their full potential? Is there a skill that I may have overlooked? How can this person grow towards becoming a bigger player?" When considering your team as a whole, ask yourself, "What's missing? Does the team have the potential to facilitate this plan without me being there? Do I have a powerful enough team for this plan to be successful?" And "If I don't, what am I going to do about it?"

If your company has an external support network such as a board of directors, consultants, or accountants, you may consider stating these in this section. You may also consider stating your company's major investors, especially if you are seeking additional capital. If you plan on naming any individual within your external support network in your written plan, get the written consent of these individuals first.

To summarize the Management Team section you could use an organizational chart. Based on your preference, you could also list this chart as a part of your appendix. When writing this section, remember to use this time as an opportunity to analyze your team and your support group. If there is something that is missing, something that needs improvement, or something that is working extremely well, then make notes and incorporate these into future goals. And always remember, most successful companies have an equally successful management team to support them.

Note: When all of the factual information for the Management Team section of your written business plan is complete, you will want the introductory paragraph of this section to serve as a summary of all of the management team personnel, providing a strong statement of who the key team members are and their role in contributing to the success of the business plan. This introductory paragraph should be short and to the point. You will want to discuss the overall background of the team including their combined years of experience. i.e.: "ABC Construction Company is supported by an outrageous and unstoppable management team. Our management team is comprised of individual's expertise in architecture, roofing, dry-wall, carpentry, insulation, and business management. Together, the team at ABC Construction has over 100 years of experience in the trades."