How Strategists Leadby Cynthia Montgomery.

How Strategists Leadby Cynthia Montgomery. The article describes strategists as meaning makers, voices of reason, and operators. Which of these roles would you like to practice more in your capacity as a leader in either your personal or professional life? In between 200 - 250 words, please identify one action you plan to take in the coming weeks to practice your strategic leadership. Submit your final Executive Business Plan Summary by Wednesday, October 26, 11:59 PM This is a 3-5 page single space document that has the following components: Project Title: Aligns with business product/service as much as possible Description of Product/Service: A brief description that focuses on what function your product/service performs, not how it performs it. Remember to be feature/benefit oriented. (15 points) Business Objective: What goal do you want your business to achieve? This can be measured in a variety of ways including market share, sales revenue, channel distribution and market leadership positioning. (A combination of these elements works well). Just remember to make sure that it is based upon measurable, believable and achievable tactics. This should be no more than a paragraph that is qualified within the business plan. (20 points) Market Size and Opportunity: If adequately substantiated, this can be the most compelling element to both your executive summary and business plan as a whole. Succinctly describe who will buy your product/service and at what volume. Make sure that your business plan contains market data to qualify whatever projection you make. (15 points) Target Market Description: Briefly describe who will make the purchase decision for your product or service. Remember to always think beyond the reseller channel and describe the end-user too. This will indicate to a prospective investor that you have thought through a comprehensive positioning of your product in the market. Include demographic and psychographic data describing what person will buy the product, and why and how your business plans to reach them. (20 points) Sustainable Competitive Advantage: Realism is the key word to bear in mind here. Make sure that you have uncovered all current and potential competitive forces in the marketplace. Once you describe these forces, position your product relative to the competition in the market. Assuming you have a clear competitive advantage, take the description a step further and communicate how your business plans to sustain that advantage. (20 points) Management Team: Briefly describe the key executive management team. A paragraph that highlights the individual team members’ accomplishments in your market will suffice. (Remember the full resume of each team member will be included in the business plan). In the event that your team is not completely formed, don't worry. Often a VC can assist you in the placement of a key executive within your organization. (20 points) What do you need to Succeed? Don't be shy about asking for what you need to move your business forward. This usually precedes the Usage of Funds statement, indicating how you propose to allocate funds and resources. (20 points) Return on Investment: Finally, describe what investors can expect to receive as a result of their investment in your business. (20 points)