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DEVELOPING NEW BUSINESS IDEAS16

This fourth step of planning for implementation is informed by a
number of guiding principles, including asset parsimony, keeping
things simple, the need continually to influence and sell, and exercising
vigilance and flexibility. The final guiding principle consists of
reapplying at a focused level the processes and techniques outlined in
the first three steps of the idea development process in order to resolve
specific blocks.

Milestone planning will help you identify key events and activities,
define their timing and interdependencies, and articulate the
assumptions which underlie your business case and which will be
tested against reality at each milestone. At the conclusion of this fourth
step, you will be ready to codify all the elements of your business idea
into a formal and fully fledged business plan.

The case study on Frederick Smith, founder of Federal Express,
demonstrates how even the most formidable obstacles to
implementation can be overcome. The case study on Jollibee Foods
Corporation demonstrates how a structured and creative approach to
implementation planning allowed a small fast-food operation in the
Philippines to develop sufficient market strength to restrict global giant
McDonald’s to second place in the market.

making the most of models We make extensive use of

diagrams and models within this book to aid clear understanding,
although we fully recognise that models necessarily over-simplify the
realities of operational life.

Firstly, the book is laid out in a linear sequence of apparently logical
steps, whereas the very nature of innovation is that it is an iterative,
interdependent, dynamic and fuzzy process. Insights from later steps
continually feed back into earlier ones, as well as feed forward into
subsequent steps. The duration of each step will vary according to
individual market circumstances. Similarly, the degree of time overlap
between individual steps will also vary according to individual market
circumstances.

the very nature of innovation is that it is an
iterative, interdependent, dynamic and fuzzy
process