The Productive Pessimist

  Thursday night's episode of BBC One's The Apprentice centred on often the most "Aggghhhh!!! How are these people even getting selected?!" part of the Apprentice process - the presentation of business plans. While many people will have simply enjoyed rolling their eyes and laughing at how ill-prepared the candidates were, others will have been feeling empathic anxiety. Five-year plans.  Business plans for businesses you haven't launched yet. Can't get support for a concept without a business plan, but how do you plan an idea? A fast-changing world doesn't allow  for 'plans', yet people are still demanding not just that they exist, but that they're flawless - how is anyone supposed to cope? The Productive Pessimist' s Strategic Consultancy can help answer the question "what should be in a business plan?" (or a five-year plan, or any other kind of plan.) There are also plenty of templates available online, often for free. Let'

  One of my personal frustrations is when people or companies say they want a slice of an absolutely huge pie, that's showing itself very well in just about every class - eg, a business sector that's romping all over the board, and bringing in profits with barely any effort - but then seem to find any and every reason to take as long as possible actually getting round to even picking up a plate! I go bodyboarding when I get the time. One of the key facts in that world is that, by the time EVERYONE is able to see a wave breaking, if you're not already riding it, it's too late. The same is true in business. Whether it's an individual or a company being a hesitant wallflower in the face of the ride of a lifetime, the motivation seems to be the same: they'll waste time on business cases, business plans, and, if they're an organisation, corporate governance. The prevailing attitude, certainly in the UK, often seems to be that business cases and business plans hav