The magic of Harry Potter recently found its way into business strategy and planning. In fact, author J. K. Rowling gave up one amazing secret to her creative genius that every entrepreneur would do well to learn.
No, she did not conjure her 3,407 page chronology using black magic, a wand, or a potion.
In fact, the business of writing the seven Potter books was a huge task that started with something even more amazing: the magic of a hand-written, single page plan. If you ever wondered how she managed to plan and keep track of the interwoven story lines in the 766 page Order of the Phoenix, check out this picture recently released by slashfilm.com. (At right, or here's the big version.)
Rowling can plan a 700-page book on a single sheet of notebook paper, so you gotta believe entrepreneurs can do the same with their business plan. If you’re like me, you are probably used to 30 -40- page business plans that research and describe every aspect of a new venture. Lots of detail. Lots of contingencies. And sometimes, lots of fluff.
Fluff or no, business plans tend to be too heavy for the average entrepreneur. When it starts to feel like a burden, many of us quit. Either we venture on without a plan (to certain doom) or we decide not to pursue the new idea at all (and live under the stairs forever).
Rowling’s magic is a shortcut to a more powerful, more meaningful business plan. A single page, full of scribbles and scratches, that maps out each significant event and ties them all together into the beautiful arc of a giant novel...or the foundation of giant business.
Fortunately, this is not an entirely new idea. I love a one-page business plan and have written many using a not-so-cryptically named system called The One Page Business Plan, created by my friend Jim Horan. I’ve seen it used equally effectively for one-man-bands and Fortune 500 companies (though I admit, never for a children's book!).
But you don’t really even need a system to practice the simplicity of a one-page plan. Get the story straight in your head. Map it out. Research it. Get comfortable with it. Then begin boiling it down into the key parts.
Keep in mind that a great business plan is just like a great novel – a compelling story told simply. When you understand the concept so well that you can boil it down to one page, you will have no problem communicating your vision to investors, employees, and partners.
Interestingly, the very act of writing in short, tight concepts will also begin to magically transform your business. Simpler writing leads to clearer thinking and a more focused – and stronger – business strategy. It’s a virtuous circle. Clear thinking leads to simpler writing which leads to clearer thinking.
When you strip away all the detail, all the superfluous research, and all the pages of redundancy, a single page business plan can give you more than you will ever need.
Dedicated to your (magically simple) profits,
PS: I'm a business owner just like you. And I've compiled my best tips and tricks for building a magical business -- one simple page at a time -- on my own business advice website. Subscribe for a free e-book on raising capital to start or grow your business.
