I particularly like the 3 tools approach but I do take issue on several things.

1 - I find it useful to separate the idea of planning (thinking about the future and making decisions) from the plan (a written document).

2 - I have always favoured having several plans rather than one. OK they need to be consistent but a business plan for a third party to raise finance has to be different from a business plan for internal use. Your outline that you provides supports the business plan to raise funds and sells the organisation to potential backers.

3 - the Guerrilla Marketing 7 sentence marketing plan is one of tehh most powerful techniques I know for being really clear and precise about exactly what is required and expected for marketing a particular offering. Its brevity is one of the strengths of the approach.

Inevitably lots of us have our own ideas about what makes an effective business plan and there are several posttings on the Business Coaching Blog.

I do like to see a plan as a working document. Referred to often, actions ticked off and the plan updated when circumstances change.

Some people say to me that they have their plan in their head. I explain that the beauty of writing it down is that something special happens between brain and fingers.

You start noticing gaps that you missed. You notice inconsistencies in your thinking when effectively you are asking for something to be big and small at the same time. But best of all, the thoughts charge through your brain because the act of writing forces you to clarify exactly what you mean.

The other big advantage of writing the plan is that it is a record. It is there to remind you what you thought at the time, the assumptions that you made. It is so easy to think that you are being consistent and staying with your current plan, when in reality it gradually transforms into something else. Fine if that is deliberate, not so good if you have allowed possible opportunities to divert you from your chosen path.

I will come back and have another good look at your blog and you may be interested to see the Business Coaching Blog. I would like to thing that we can help each other.