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Writing the Organization and Management Section of Your Business Plan

What is the organization and management section in a business plan.

• What to Put in the Organization and Management Section

Organization

The management team, helpful tips to write this section, frequently asked questions (faqs).

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Every business plan needs an organization and management section. This document will help you convey your vision for how your business will be structured. Here's how to write a good one.

Key Takeaways

• This section of your business plan details your corporate structure.
• It should explain the hierarchy of management, including details about the owners, the board of directors, and any professional partners.
• The point of this section is to clarify who will be in charge of each aspect of your business, as well as how those individuals will help the business succeed.

The organization and management section of your business plan should summarize information about your business structure and team. It usually comes after the market analysis section in a business plan . It's especially important to include this section if you have a partnership or a multi-member limited liability company (LLC). However, if you're starting a home business or are  writing  a business plan for one that's already operating, and you're the only person involved, then you don't need to include this section.

What To Put in the Organization and Management Section

You can separate the two terms to better understand how to write this section of the business plan.

The "organization" in this section refers to how your business is structured and the people involved. "Management" refers to the responsibilities different managers have and what those individuals bring to the company.

In the opening of the section, you want to give a summary of your management team, including size, composition, and a bit about each member's experience.

For example, you might write something like "Our management team of five has more than 20 years of experience in the industry."

The organization section sets up the hierarchy of the people involved in your business. It's often set up in a chart form. If you have a partnership or multi-member LLC, this is where you indicate who is president or CEO, the CFO, director of marketing, and any other roles you have in your business. If you're a single-person home business, this becomes easy as you're the only one on the chart.

Technically, this part of the plan is about owner members, but if you plan to outsource work or hire a virtual assistant, you can include them here, as well. For example, you might have a freelance webmaster, marketing assistant, and copywriter. You might even have a virtual assistant whose job it is to work with your other freelancers. These people aren't owners but have significant duties in your business.

Some common types of business structures include sole proprietorships, partnerships, LLCs, and corporations.

Sole Proprietorship

This type of business isn't a separate entity. Instead, business assets and liabilities are entwined with your personal finances. You're the sole person in charge, and you won't be allowed to sell stock or bring in new owners. If you don't register as any other kind of business, you'll automatically be considered a sole proprietorship.

Partnership

Partnerships can be either limited (LP) or limited liability (LLP). LPs have one general partner who takes on the bulk of the liability for the company, while all other partner owners have limited liability (and limited control over the business). LLPs are like an LP without a general partner; all partners have limited liability from debts as well as the actions of other partners.

Limited Liability Company

A limited liability company (LLC) combines elements of partnership and corporate structures. Your personal liability is limited, and profits are passed through to your personal returns.

Corporation

There are many variations of corporate structure that an organization might choose. These include C corps, which allow companies to issue stock shares, pay corporate taxes (rather than passing profits through to personal returns), and offer the highest level of personal protection from business activities. There are also nonprofit corporations, which are similar to C corps, but they don't seek profits and don't pay state or federal income taxes.

This section highlights what you and the others involved in the running of your business bring to the table. This not only includes owners and managers but also your board of directors (if you have one) and support professionals. Start by indicating your business structure, and then list the team members.

Owner/Manager/Members

Provide the following information on each owner/manager/member:

• Percentage of ownership (LLC, corporation, etc.)
• Extent of involvement (active or silent partner)
• Type of ownership (stock options, general partner, etc.)
• Position in the business (CEO, CFO, etc.)
• Duties and responsibilities
• Educational background
• Experience or skills that are relevant to the business and the duties
• Past employment
• Skills will benefit the business
• Awards and recognition
• Compensation (how paid)
• How each person's skills and experience will complement you and each other

Board of Directors

A board of directors is another part of your management team. If you don't have a board of directors, you don't need this information. This section provides much of the same information as in the ownership and management team sub-section. 

• Position (if there are positions)
• Involvement with the company

Even a one-person business could benefit from a small group of other business owners providing feedback, support, and accountability as an advisory board. 

Support Professionals

Especially if you're seeking funding, let potential investors know you're on the ball with a lawyer, accountant, and other professionals that are involved in your business. This is the place to list any freelancers or contractors you're using. Like the other sections, you'll want to include:

• Background information such as education or certificates
• Services provided to your business
• Relationship information (retainer, as-needed, regular, etc.)
• Skills and experience making them ideal for the work you need
• Anything else that makes them stand out as quality professionals (awards, etc.)

Writing a business plan seems like an overwhelming activity, especially if you're starting a small, one-person business. But writing a business plan can be fairly simple.

Like other parts of the business plan, this is a section you'll want to update if you have team member changes, or if you and your team members receive any additional training, awards, or other resume changes that benefit the business.

Because it highlights the skills and experience you and your team offer, it can be a great resource to refer to when seeking publicity and marketing opportunities. You can refer to it when creating your media kit or pitching for publicity.

Why are organization and management important to a business plan?

The point of this section is to clarify who's in charge of what. This document can clarify these roles for yourself, as well as investors and employees.

What should you cover in the organization and management section of a business plan?

The organization and management section should explain the chain of command , roles, and responsibilities. It should also explain a bit about what makes each person particularly well-suited to take charge of their area of the business.

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Business Plan Section 3: Organization and Management

This section explains how your business runs and who’s on your team. Learn how to present the information in this section of your business plan.

This section of your business plan, Organization and Management, is where you’ll explain exactly how you’re set up to make your ideas happen, plus you’ll introduce the players on your team.

As always, remember your audience. If this is a plan for your internal use, you can be a little more general than if you’ll be presenting it to a potential lender or investor. No matter what its purpose, you’ll want to break the organization and management section into two segments: one describing the way you’ve set up the company to run (its organizational structure), and the other introducing the people involved (its management).

Business Organization

Having a solid plan for how your business will run is a key component of its smooth and successful operation. Of course, you need to surround yourself with good people, but you have to set things up to enable them to work well with each other and on their own.

It’s important to define the positions in the company, which job is responsible for what, and to whom everyone will report. Over time, the structure may grow and change and you can certainly keep tweaking it as you go along, but you need to have an initial plan.

If you’re applying for funding to start a business or expand one, you may not even have employees to fit all the roles in the organization. However, you can still list them in your plan for how the company will ideally operate once you have the ability to do so.

Obviously, for small businesses, the organization will be far more streamlined and less complicated than it is for larger ones, but your business plan still needs to demonstrate an understanding of how you’ll handle the workflow. At the very least, you’ll need to touch on sales and marketing, administration, and the production and distribution of your product or the execution of your service.

For larger companies, an organizational plan with well-thought-out procedures is even more important. This is the best way to make sure you’re not wasting time duplicating efforts or dealing with internal confusion about responsibilities. A smooth-running operation runs far more efficiently and cost-effectively than one flying by the seat of its pants, and this section of your business plan will be another indication that you know what you’re doing. A large company is also likely to need additional operational categories such as human resources and possibly research and development.

One way to explain your organizational structure in the business plan is graphically. A simple diagram or flowchart can easily demonstrate levels of management and the positions within them, clearly illustrating who reports to whom, and how different divisions of the company (such as sales and marketing) relate to each other.

Here is where you can also talk about the other levels of employees in your company. Your lower-level staff will carry out the day-to-day work, so it’s important to recognize the types of people you’ll need, how many, what their qualifications should be, where you’ll find them, and what they’ll cost.

If the business will use outside consultants, freelancers, or independent contractors, mention it here as well. And talk about positions you’d want to add in the future if you’re successful enough to expand.

Business Management

Now that we understand the structure of your business, we need to meet the people who’ll be running it. Who does what, and why are they onboard? This section is important even for a single practitioner or sole proprietorship, as it will introduce you and your qualifications to the readers of your plan.

Start at the top with the legal structure and ownership of the business. If you are incorporated, say so, and detail whether you are a C or S corporation. If you haven’t yet incorporated, make sure to discuss this with your attorney and tax advisor to figure out which way to go. Whether you’re in a partnership or are a sole owner, this is where to mention it.

List the names of the owners of the business, what percent of the company each of them owns, the form of ownership (common or preferred stock, general or limited partner), and what kind of involvement they’ll have with day-to-day operations; for example, if they’re an active or silent partner.

Here’s where you’ll list the names and profiles of your management team, along with what their responsibilities are. Especially if you’re looking for funding, make sure to highlight the proven track record of these key employees. Lenders and investors will be keenly interested in their previous successes, particularly in how they relate to this current venture.

Include each person’s name and position, along with a short description of what the individual’s main duties will be. Detail his or her education, and any unique skills or experience, especially if they’re relevant to the job at hand. Mention previous employment and any industry awards or recognition related to it, along with involvement with charities or other non-profit organizations.

Think of this section as a resume-in-a-nutshell, recapping the highlights and achievements of the people you’ve chosen to surround yourself with. Actual detailed resumes for you and your management team should go in the plan’s appendix, and you can cross-reference them here. You want your readers to feel like your top staff complements you and supplements your own particular skill set. You also want readers to understand why these people are so qualified to help make your business a success.

This section will spell out the compensation for management team members, such as salary, benefits, and any profit-sharing you might be offering. If any of the team will be under contract or bound by non-compete agreements, you would mention that here, as well.

If your company will have a Board of Directors, its members also need to be listed in the business plan. Introduce each person by name and the position they’ll hold on the board. Talk about how each might be involved with the business (in addition to board meetings.

Similar to what you did for your management team, give each member’s background information, including education, experience, special skills, etc., along with any contributions they may already have had to the success of the business. Include the full resumes for your board members in the appendix.

Alternately, if you don’t have a Board of Directors, include information about an Advisory Board you’ve put together, or a panel of experts you’ve convened to help you along the way. Having either of these, by the way, is something your company might want to consider whether or not you’re putting together the organization and management section or your business plan.

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Business Plan Organization and Management: How to Write Guide .

Sep 17, 2023 | Business Consulting , Business Plan , Organization and Management , Organizational Development , Strategy

Writing the Business Plan Organization and Management Section

It provides critical information for those looking for evidence that your staff has the necessary experience, skills, and pedigree to realize the objectives detailed in the rest of your business plan.

What Is the Organization and Management Section in a Business Plan?

The organization and management section of your business plan should provide details about your business structure and team. This section typically comes after the executive summary. However, some people have it further in the document after the market analysis section.

This section generally is separated into two parts. The first concerns the organization as a whole. It gives readers an overview of the company structure, which is an excellent opportunity for the reader to lift the roof off your office and peer into its inner workings. For your legal design, you may set up as a limited liability company (LLC) or nonprofit/ charity or form a partnership. It’s crucial to include this section. However, suppose you’re starting a home business or have an already operating business where you’re the only person involved. In that case, you can skip this section or show the company registration details from either the company’s house or the awarding .gov.

The second part focuses specifically on your management team and introduces readers to each member — your chance to impress them with the many accomplishments pinned to your organization’s management team.

This section may seem less important than some of the other parts of your business plan, but the truth is that your people are your business. If they’re highly competent and accomplished, the implication is that so is your business.

Of course, if you’re a sole proprietor with no management structure or any employees, this section is unnecessary other than to talk about yourself and your achievements.

The section on organization and management should outline the hierarchy, individual roles, and corresponding responsibilities. It should also highlight each person’s strengths and qualifications for their positions.

Business Plan Organization Section

The organizational section of your business plan outlines the hierarchy of individuals involved in your business, typically in a chart format. This section identifies the President or CEO, CFO, Director of Marketing, and other roles for partnerships or multi-member LLCs. If you’re a single-person home business, this section is straightforward as you are the only person on the chart.

Although this section primarily focuses on owner members, you can include outsourced workers or virtual assistants if you plan to hire them. For example, you may have a freelance web admin, marketing assistant, or copywriter. You may even have a virtual assistant who coordinates with your other freelancers. While these individuals are not owners, they hold significant responsibilities in your business.

There are various business structures, such as sole proprietorships, partnerships, LLCs, and corporations.

Detail the Legal Structure within the Business Plan Organization and Management Section

Here is an indicative list of business structures. It would help if you talked to your accountant and legal advisors to determine which legal form is the best for your business proposition.

Sole Proprietorship

When embarking on a business venture, it’s essential to consider the various structures available. A sole proprietorship is a structure whereby the business is not regarded as separate from its owner’s finances. The owner retains complete control and responsibility for the company. However, they are unable to sell stocks or bring in new owners. The business becomes a sole proprietorship if not registered under any other structure.

Partnership

When forming a partnership, it can either be a limited partnership (LP) or a limited liability partnership (LLP). One partner assumes most liability in a limited partnership (LP). In contrast, the other partners have limited liability and control over the business. Alternatively, in a limited liability partnership (LLP), all partners have limited liability from debts and actions of other partners, and there is no general partner.

Limited Liability Company

A limited company (LTD) or limited liability company (LLC) is a mixture of business structures that mixes aspects of partnerships and corporations. It offers limited personal liability to the owner and passes profits through to their tax returns.

Corporation

There are various types of corporate structures. A C-corporation enables the issuance of stock shares, pays corporate taxes instead of personal returns, and provides the highest level of personal protection from business activities. On the other hand, nonprofit corporations are similar to C corporations. However, they do not aim to make profits and are exempt from state or federal income taxes.

More information on company legal structures is available on UK.Gov and USA.SBA websites.

Describe Your Company’s Organizational Structure

This first step illustrates the positions in your organization’s employee hierarchy and how they all relate to each other.

This is usually done graphically as a guide, using an organizational chart, or “org chart” for short. People use a Microsoft tool, i.e., PowerPoint or Excel, to help.

Organization Charts typically follow a top-down hierarchy, starting with your CEO/ Managing Director in the top box at the top of the page. Lines extend down from that person’s name to boxes containing the terms of the CEO’s direct reports.

We have included an example organizational chart below for guidelines only.

Identify your business organization structure and list your team members’ strengths and skills.

Those managers then have lines extending to those who report to them, and so on, down to your lowest staff positions.

This section will give your readers a quick understanding of your management and governance structure, the size of your organization, and your lines of control and communication.

Describe your Team in your Business Plan Organization and Management Section

In your business plan’s Organization and Management section, please provide a detailed description of your team. Y ou will discuss the company’s management team, starting with the owners.

This section highlights who is involved in the running of your business and who are the support professionals. It also includes the roles and responsibilities of managers.

Suppose the company structure is a multi-owner arrangement or some other multi-owner arrangement. In that case, you’ll want to include information for every member and their percentage of ownership and ongoing involvement in the company.

It’s important to discuss how ownership interests are split, their responsibilities, what they did before securing their current position, and how they came to be involved with the company.

Here, it would help if you talked about some of your critical team members. These people are directly responsible for large portions of your business operations.

Owner/Manager/Members

Within your business o rganization and management section, y ou should introduce the team and talk about their experience, qualifications, previous companies and achievements, role in the company, and any special skills they bring with them. Please provide the following details for each owner, manager, or member of the business within your business plan:

• Percentage of ownership (if applicable)
• Level of involvement (active or silent partner)
• Type of ownership (e.g., stock options, general partner)
• Position in the company (CEO, CFO, etc.)
• Responsibilities and Duties
• Educational background
• Relevant experience and skills
• Previous employment history
• Skills that will benefit the business
• Awards or recognition received
• Compensation structure
• How each individual’s skills and experience will complement and contribute to the business’s success

Perhaps they’re an entrepreneur, business coach, exclusive advisor, or industry specialist to help you grow.

This is an ideal opportunity for companies with an Executive Board of Directors, Governance Structure, or Advisory Board to introduce them to your readers.

Executive Board

Having a board of directors is essential for your management team. Without one, you may be missing out on crucial information. This section includes details similar to those found in the ownership and management team sub-section, such as the names, areas of expertise, positions (if applicable), and involvement with the company of each board member.

Strategic Advisors

Suppose you’re looking for funding for your business or to fill a gap in your knowledge, or you may not have the funds to hire an executive board. In that case, you must inform potential partners and investors that you have a team of professionals assisting you. This includes lawyers, accountants, and any freelancers or contractors you may be working with. When listing these individuals, include their name, title, educational background, certifications, services they provide to your business, and their relationship with you (i.e., hourly rates, projects, retainer, as-needed, regular). Additionally, highlight their skills and experience that make them an asset to your team you need

Does anything else make them stand out as quality professionals (awards, past working with credible brands)?

Spotlight on the Wider Team Structure

Now, you’ve showcased the management team in its entirety. You can provide brief bios for hiring team needs or secondary members and talk at length about how the team’s combined skills complement each other and how they amplify the team’s effectiveness.

It’s also important to point out any gaps in the knowledge your team is currently suffering. Your readers will likely be savvy enough to pick up on existing holes.

Therefore, you’ll want to get ahead of these criticisms and demonstrate that you’re already aware of the positions and complementary skill sets your management team still requires and how you plan to address the knowledge gaps with future hires.

Do you need help writing your business plan o rganization and management section ? 

Every successful business plan should include the organization and management section, helping you communicate your legal structure and team.

Writing a business plan can seem overwhelming, especially when starting a small, one-person business. However, it can be a reasonably simple task. This section of the plan should be updated if there are any changes to the organization structure or team members, such as additional training, awards, or other resume changes that benefit the business.

Creating your comprehensive business plan takes planning, research, time, and a herculean effort. If, at any point, the work becomes too much to handle, we can step in to assist.

Do you want an expert “second opinion” before creating your business plan or financial forecasts? Let’s talk !

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How to Write the Management Team Section of a Business Plan + Examples

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Over the last 20+ years, we’ve written business plans for over 4,000 companies and hundreds of thousands of others have used our business plan template and other business planning materials.

From this vast experience, we’ve gained valuable insights on how to write a business plan effectively , specifically in the management section.

What is a Management Team Business Plan?

A management team business plan is a section in a comprehensive business plan that introduces and highlights the key members of the company’s management team. This part provides essential details about the individuals responsible for leading and running the business, including their backgrounds, skills, and experience.

It’s crucial for potential investors and stakeholders to evaluate the management team’s competence and qualifications, as a strong team can instill confidence in the company’s ability to succeed.

Why is the Management Team Section of a Business Plan Important?

Your management team plan has 3 goals:

• To prove to you that you have the right team to execute on the opportunity you have defined, and if not, to identify who you must hire to round out your current team
• To convince lenders and investors (e.g., angel investors, venture capitalists) to fund your company (if needed)
• To document how your Board (if applicable) can best help your team succeed

What to Include in Your Management Team Section

There are two key elements to include in your management team business plan as follows:

Management Team Members

For each key member of your team, document their name, title, and background.

Their backgrounds are most important in telling you and investors they are qualified to execute. Describe what positions each member has held in the past and what they accomplished in those positions. For example, if your VP of Sales was formerly the VP of Sales for another company in which they grew sales from zero to $10 million, that would be an important and compelling accomplishment to document.

Importantly, try to relate your team members’ past job experience with what you need them to accomplish at your company. For example, if a former high school principal was on your team, you could state that their vast experience working with both teenagers and their parents will help them succeed in their current position (particularly if the current position required them to work with both customer segments).

This is true for a management team for a small business, a medium-sized or large business.

Management Team Gaps

In this section, detail if your management team currently has any gaps or missing individuals. Not having a complete team at the time you develop your business plan. But, you must show your plan to complete your team.

As such, describe what positions are missing and who will fill the positions. For example, if you know you need to hire a VP of Marketing, state this. Further, state the job description of this person. For example, you might say that this hire will have 10 years of experience managing a marketing team, establishing new accounts, working with social media marketing, have startup experience, etc.

To give you a “checklist” of the employees you might want to include in your Management Team Members and/or Gaps sections, below are the most common management titles at a growing startup (note that many are specific to tech startups):

• Founder, CEO, and/or President
• Chief Operating Officer
• Chief Financial Officer
• VP of Sales
• VP of Marketing
• VP of Web Development and/or Engineering
• UX Designer/Manager
• Product Manager
• Digital Marketing Manager
• Business Development Manager
• Account Management/Customer Service Manager
• Sales Managers/Sales Staff
• Board Members

If you have a Board of Directors or Board of Advisors, you would include the bios of the members of your board in this section.

A Board of Directors is a paid group of individuals who help guide your company. Typically startups do not have such a board until they raise VC funding.

If your company is not at this stage, consider forming a Board of Advisors. Such a board is ideal particularly if your team is missing expertise and/or experience in certain areas. An advisory board includes 2 to 8 individuals who act as mentors to your business. Usually, you meet with them monthly or quarterly and they help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. You typically do not pay advisory board members with cash, but offering them options in your company is a best practice as it allows you to attract better board members and better motivate them.

Management Team Business Plan Example

Below are examples of how to include your management section in your business plan.

Key Team Members

Jim Smith, Founder & CEO

Jim has 15 years of experience in online software development, having co-founded two previous successful online businesses. His first company specialized in developing workflow automation software for government agencies and was sold to a public company in 2003. Jim’s second company developed a mobile app for parents to manage their children’s activities, which was sold to a large public company in 2014. Jim has a B.S. in computer science from MIT and an M.B.A from the University of Chicago

Bill Jones, COO

Bill has 20 years of sales and business development experience from working with several startups that he helped grow into large businesses. He has a B.S. in mechanical engineering from M.I.T., where he also played Division I lacrosse for four years.

We currently have no gaps in our management team, but we plan to expand our team by hiring a Vice President of Marketing to be responsible for all digital marketing efforts.

Vance Williamson, Founder & CEO

Prior to founding GoDoIt, Vance was the CIO of a major corporation with more than 100 retail locations. He oversaw all IT initiatives including software development, sales technology, mobile apps for customers and employees, security systems, customer databases/CRM platforms, etc. He has a  B.S in computer science and an MBA in operations management from UCLA.

We currently have two gaps in our Management Team: 

A VP of Sales with 10 years of experience managing sales teams, overseeing sales processes, working with manufacturers, establishing new accounts, working with digital marketing/advertising agencies to build brand awareness, etc. 

In addition, we need to hire a VP of Marketing with experience creating online marketing campaigns that attract new customers to our site.

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Other Resources for Writing Your Business Plan

• How to Write an Executive Summary
• How to Expertly Write the Company Description in Your Business Plan
• How to Write the Market Analysis Section of a Business Plan
• The Customer Analysis Section of Your Business Plan
• Completing the Competitive Analysis Section of Your Business Plan
• Financial Assumptions and Your Business Plan
• How to Create Financial Projections for Your Business Plan
• Everything You Need to Know about the Business Plan Appendix
• Business Plan Conclusion: Summary & Recap

Other Helpful Business Plan Articles & Templates

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Writing the Perfect Business Plan: Organization & Management

Now that you have completed the Company Description of your business plan, you can move on to the next section. The Organization & Management is arguably the most straightforward section of your business plan. Essentially, it tells your audience who is involved in your business and how it is structured. Here, we will discuss some best management practices for writing an informative Organization & Management section of your business plan.

Legal Structure

When you created your business, you had to decide on a legal structure for it. This may have been a sole proprietorship, partnership, or LLC, among other options. Within this section, you should discuss the reasons that you chose this structure. By giving solid reasons, your audience will know that you thought out all of the possibilities.

Key Members

In the Key Members subsection, you should list the people involved in your business and their roles. In addition, include any relevant information and credentials that align with their roles. As a result, your audience will know why the people in your business are qualified to do the tasks they are doing.

Organization Structure

You can probably leave this section out if you are the only one involved in your business. However, if any one else is involved, you should include it. The organization structure helps to show who is in charge of what, a vital part of an efficient business. You should include the “chain of command” and if there are any management levels within your company. You can even use a graphic chart to show this!

The Organization & Management section of your business plan is relatively short. However, this doesn’t mean that you should skimp on it. This section can demonstrate that you and your personnel are well qualified. This will go a long way in making your business seem more qualified. To learn about the rest of the sections of the perfect business plan, check out this overview!

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Tips on Writing the Management Team Section of a Business Plan

Free Ultimate Guide On Writing A Business Plan

• December 21, 2023

10 Min Read

A business is as efficient as its team and its management. It, therefore, becomes important for business owners to build a structured management team that achieves the objectives and goals set by the organization. Thus, making the management section of a business plan the most essential component.

Andrew Carnegie , an American steel magnate, beautifully summarized it –

Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.

A business management plan helps build an efficient team and formalize business operations . This helps businesses streamline strategies to achieve their goals.

It, therefore, becomes imperative that business owners pay utmost importance while writing the management section of a business plan.

So, if you are a business owner who is looking to formalize their business structure and write the management team section in their business plan , this guide is for you.

Here’s a sneak peek into what you’ll learn:

Table of Contents

• What Is the Management Section?
• Importance of the Management Section
• What to Include in the Management Section?
• Example of a Management Section Plan
• Ensure That the Management Section Is Fool-proof?

Sounds good? Let’s dive in.

What Is The Management Section Of A Business Plan?

The management section of a business plan is an in-depth description of a business’s team, its structure, and the ownership of a business.

The section discusses in detail who is on the management team – internal and external- their skill sets, experiences, and how meaningfully they would contribute to an organization’s goals and outcomes.

Now that we have defined what is the management section of a business plan, let’s understand why it is so important.

The Importance Of The Management Section Of A Business Plan

The management section helps you to:

1. Convince your investors (banks and government agencies) to disburse loans and grants for your business idea

2. Prove that your management team can execute your idea and if not, help hire the right fit for a position

3. Share how your advisory board can help your team succeed

What To Include In the Management Section Of A Business Plan?

The management section of a business plan helps in formalizing and structuring the management team plan and is comprised of

• The Management Team
• The Management Team Gaps
• The Management Structure

Let’s understand them in detail.

1. The Management Team

An organization’s entire management team can be divided into parts – the internal team and the external team.

The Internal Management Team

A business team consists of several departments. The most common departments are – Marketing, Sales, IT, Customer Service, Operations, Finance, and HR.

These departments may or may not be required. It purely depends on the nature and functioning of your business. For example, a dental clinic may not require a sales department per se.

The entire management team is compartmentalized according to their responsibility. This helps the business owners and investors be aware of the roles, benefits, ESOPs (if applicable), profit sharing (for sales), work contracts, NDAs (Non-Disclosure Agreements), and Non-Competition Agreements of the entire team.

It is recommended that business owners collect and document the following information about their team:

• Educational Background
• Work Experience
• Accomplishments

For example, your present VP of Marketing helped their previous company grow its bottom line from $3 million to $10 million over 18 months.

The External Management Team

The external management team is usually composed of – Advisory Board Members and Professional Services.

Advisory board members help by :

• Establishing trust, showing results, and experiencing the table.
• Increasing the confidence of investors and consumers.

This helps attract talented employees to the team. Credible advisory board members show great commitment to a company’s growth. Therefore, it becomes important to document their experience and specialization in the business management plan. The advisory board members can help give valuable advice that internal team members need or lack.

If your business has not or will not have VC funding, you may not require board members on your team.

Usually, board members meet quarterly or monthly to provide strategic guidance in place of stock options in your company. This helps attract the best advisors and motivates them to invest in your business.

For example, founders and business owners coming to raise funds in Shark Tank , a business television series, are looking for advisory members who would invest money and provide guidance on necessary steps.

On the other hand, Professional Service helps by

• Offering highly specialized advice and sharing knowledge.
• Business owners make key strategic management decisions.

Such services help businesses leverage skills that would be difficult to build and acquire over a short period.

Examples of such professional services are

• IT Consultants
• Business coaches and consultants

After a brief overview of the Management Team of an organization, let’s dive into what to include in Management Team Gaps.

2. The Management Team Gaps

The management team gap is an important part of the management section. Primarily because it helps document if your management team currently has gaps or missing skills. Your team may lack a few required skills while starting. The management team gaps help you to be aware and make efforts to close this gap.

As a business owner, you must document what positions are missing and who ought to fill that positions or take responsibility.

For example, if you need a VP of Sales, clearly document this in the section.

Also, write down the job description and key responsibilities to be undertaken,

Example – You might mention that role required 10 years of experience in the sales domain. The applicant must have experience handling a sales team, closing new accounts, working in tandem with the marketing team, and having relevant startup experience.

Be as detailed as possible. This will help you build a checklist while interviewing the right candidate and also win investor confidence in your managerial skills.

Following are a few key positions you would want to include in your management team:

• Founder and/or, CEO
• Chief Technical Officer (CTO)
• Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)
• Chief Operating Officer (COO)
• Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
• Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO)
• Head of Product Management (PM)
• VP of Sales
• VP of Marketing
• UX Designer
• Digital Marketing Manager
• Business Development Manager
• Customer Service Manager
• Customer Success Manager
• Sales Managers/Sales Staff
• Advisory Board Members

Let’s dive into the nitty-gritty of the management structure.

3. The Management Structure

The management structure defines how a business organizes its management hierarchy. A hierarchy helps determine the roles, positions, power, and responsibilities of all team members.

The management structure also depends upon the type of business ownership. Business ownership can be – a sole proprietorship, partnership, or simply an LLC.

Following is a sample management structure of an organization.

Now that we understand what details we need to document in the business management plan, let’s look at a few examples of the management plan.

Example Of A Management Section Plan

[management section of a hotel], [management team], internal team members.

Name: Charles Fargo Role: Owner Responsibility: Formulating key strategies, defining budgets, and building a business plan Experience: 35 years of owning multiple hotels in Las Vegas Educational Background: B.Sc in Hospitality Management from South Dakota State University.

Name: Michael Clark Role: General Manager Responsibility: Overall hotel operations – guest interactions, revenue management, brand ambassador of the hotel, customer satisfaction, and experience, leadership to all departments Experience: 25 years working with several technology hotels as the general manager. Educational Background: MBA from Wharton School

Name: George Trump Role: Department Manager Responsibility: Manage employees, smooth coordination amongst employees, plan daily affairs of the department, strategize, prepare reports, and deal with complaints and suggestions. Lead team members to function as a team Experience: 15 years working as a department manager Educational Background: BSc in Hotel Management from Texas University

Note: There can be multiple Department Managers depending on the nature of your business. In the case of hotels, departments can include – housekeeping, logistics, security, food, and banquets.

Name: Donald Clooney Role: Marketing and Sales Manager Responsibility: Increase occupancy and generate revenue. Position the hotel as an option for leisure activities, relaxation, and holidays. Experience: 11 years working as the marketing and sales manager for hotels Educational Background: MBA in Tourism and Hospitality from Midway University

External Team Members

Advisory Board Member

#1 Richard Branson Responsibility: Strategic advisory for sustainable growth and expansion Experience: Founder of Virgin Group

Professional Services

[management structure].

There is a gap in one key position in our startup.

#1 Chief Finance Officer (CFO) Responsibilities: Finance, Accounting, Tracking Profit and Loss, and overseeing FP&A (Financial Planning and Analysis)

How To Ensure That The Management Section Of Your Business Plan Is Fool-Proof?

“In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” ― Dwight D. Eisenhower

By building a fool-proof management plan and ensuring that all the intricate details are accounted for, we can ensure that your business has a greater chance of succeeding.

Business planning software like Upmetrics ensures that business owners, like you, get the management section planning correct on the first attempt itself.

You can also get started with a free demo today to discover how Upmetrics can help you plan your business in a breeze.

Build your Business Plan Faster

with step-by-step Guidance & AI Assistance.

About the Author

Upmetrics Team

Upmetrics is the #1 business planning software that helps entrepreneurs and business owners create investment-ready business plans using AI. We regularly share business planning insights on our blog. Check out the Upmetrics blog for such interesting reads. Read more

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How to Write a Management Plan

Last Updated: September 18, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Madison Boehm . Madison Boehm is a Business Advisor and the Co-Founder of Jaxson Maximus, a men’s salon and custom clothiers based in southern Florida. She specializes in business development, operations, and finance. Additionally, she has experience in the salon, clothing, and retail sectors. Madison holds a BBA in Entrepreneurship and Marketing from The University of Houston. There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 235,445 times.

A management plan describes how an organization or business is run. Writing a management plan allows you to formalize your management structure and operations. It also ensures that everyone is on the same page and that your goals will be accomplished. You can easily write your own management plan with a few simple steps.

Management Plan Outline and Example

Starting Your Management Plan

• Defining roles also creates accountability by making it clear who's fault it was that something did or did not happen. [3] X Trustworthy Source Kansas University Center for Community Health and Development Community-based research center focused on supporting public health development and education Go to source

• A section detailing management members and their responsibilities and authorities.
• A chart of section detailing interactions between and responsibilities of each level of the organization.
• A section explaining different aspects of your organization being managed and the policies and procedures of that management.
• A schedule for updating, enhancing, and growing management and the management plan. [6] X Research source

Describing Ownership and Management

• Include a copy of board policies, including election policies, term length, responsibility, authority, and conflict resolution. This information should already be stated in your operating agreement or other founding documents.

• List past positions and duties of each member that apply to their current management obligations. Explain how these obligations highlight applicable skills and strengthen the management positions.
• Highlight all relevant educational backgrounds for each of the managers. Explain how their training will benefit the company. Only include the education that is relevant to the positions that they currently hold.
• If you are the only employee in your business, be sure to include your own experience and strengths.

• Accountants.
• Insurance brokers.
• Consultants.

• For example, “Our team, with its diverse array of skills, have a combined forty years of experience in this field. With our coordinated democratic structure, they can work together effectively to produce results. With this team, we are confident that our business will become profitable in two years.”

Writing Out Policies and Procedures

• For example, a policy might be using and selling only green materials and products. The procedures to support that policy might be shopping from approved green vendors or checking the environmental impact of each material or product used.

Revising Your Plan

• When they approve, have all owners sign the plan before you submit it to your investors, bank, or fundraising bodies.

• Make sure there is a way for all management and employees to submit their feedback regarding the plan.
• Then, create a method by which changes to the plan can be approved and instituted. [20] X Trustworthy Source Kansas University Center for Community Health and Development Community-based research center focused on supporting public health development and education Go to source

Expert Q&A

• Many investors will read the management section of your business plan before any other section, including marketing and finances, so you want to make sure that you have the best proposal possible. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

• Do not neglect your management plan in favor of your financial plans. Both are equally important to a business plan. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 1

You Might Also Like

• ↑ Madison Boehm. Business Advisor, Jaxson Maximus. Expert Interview. 24 August 2021.
• ↑ http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/leadership/effective-manager/management-plan/main
• ↑ https://www.brown.edu/research/conducting-research-brown/preparing-proposal/proposal-development-services/writing-management-plan
• ↑ https://www.thebalance.com/how-to-write-the-management-summary-2951561
• ↑ https://open.lib.umn.edu/humanresourcemanagement/chapter/4-1-the-recruitment-process/
• ↑ https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/241072
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/editing-and-proofreading/
• ↑ http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4533-business-plan-outline.html

About This Article

The best way to write a management report is to describe the company’s management structure in 10 to 20 pages. Name the board members and explain the company’s ownership policies. Introduce all management members and present the strengths of each team member. Then, write out workplace policies and procedures. Send the management report to the company’s bank, investors, or fundraising bodies. For more tips from our Financial Reviewer, like how to outline, format, and revise your plan, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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• Business Management & Operations
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Business Plan - Management and Organization

Management and Organization Section of a Business Plan

Written by Jason Gordon

Updated at August 5th, 2023

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What is the Management and Organization Section of the Business Plan?

Outline your organizational structure and then tell about your primaries. How your business will be managed and who will be involved is an important consideration in your choice of business entity. For example, in a partnership, it is assumed that partners have equal control in managing the business. In an LLC you make the choice of whether it will be managed by members of the LLC or by hired managers. 

In a corporation, the owners/shareholders may or may not be a part of the management team. In any of the above situations, you will want to develop a plan for the roles of individual members. While individual member roles and responsibilities often change rapidly, you want to have a formalized chain of authority within the business. Remember, too many decision-makers and no single person with authority can be a major challenge to the success of a business.

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Business Management

This section should include the names, positions, and general biography of the key business personnel. This section will be incredibly important to outsider investors (angels or venture capitalists) who are assessing your business. Within the Business Management section you should include answers to the following questions:

• Name : Who are the key individuals involved in the management of your business?
• Title : What will be that person's title?
• Responsibilities : What primary responsibilities does that position entail?
• Qualifications : What is their background and qualifications for carrying out their intended responsibilities? (This will include work experience, educational degrees, and prior experience in startup ventures.)

Organizational Chart

I recommend that you create a formalized flow-chart demonstrating the hierarchy of authority within the business. This organizational chart should be cross-laid with the key core operational responsibilities of the business. For example, you may split the business responsibilities into: Operations, Sales & Marketing, and Administration & Governance. Outlining the business in this fashion will give individuals a clear sense of their responsibilities. Further, it will establish formal chains of authority that will become increasingly important as the business grows. As you add new employees you will want to integrate them within the organizational chart.Make clear the chain of authority and reporting. Outline both the responsibilities of each individual and their authority to represent the interests of the business. As the business grows you will gradually become more and more specific about the roles and responsibilities of individual members.You may also consider developing a plan for cross-training individuals for specific tasks? You don't want your business to hinge or become dependent solely on the presence of a single individual. This chart will also serve as credentials for business when approaching outside investors. These investors will want to see that the business is stable and that there is ample talent to perform all of the functions necessary to carry out the business's functions and grow goals.  

Professional and Advisory Support

When forming your business you will begin to forge relationships with outside parties who can provide advice and services to your business. Depending on your business organization, you may have professional advisors, such as a board of directors or you may have a less formal advisory board. Below are a list and explanation of some of the more common professional and advisory support for a startup business.

• Accountant - An accountant can be extremely valuable in 3 areas: Entity formation, business compliance, and tax strategy. An accountant will be able to help you understand the tax considerations that go into choosing an entity type. They can also help you understand the rules for business compliance state and federal income tax, tax deductions, tax credits, sales & use, transfer, deductions, capital gain loss, employee withholding, estimated tax payments, financial statements, auditing, etc.
• Small Business Attorney - A small business attorney is useful in a number of important areas. Entity selection and formation, contracts, intellectual property, employment law, securities regulation, business compliance & governance, collection efforts, etc.
• Insurance Agent - Depending on the nature of the business, you may require various types of insurance coverage. Common types of insurance includes casualty & damage on property, personal injury protection, professional liability, life insurance, health insurance in employee benefit plans, etc.
• Banker - I cannot express the importance of having a relationship with your bank representative. Many small businesses make the mistake of banking with large financial institutions, rather than choosing smaller, more intimate, local banks. When you are seeking loans to operate your business you will have a much easier time working with a banker who knows you personally and understands your business.
• Mentors - Find someone who you know and respect to serve as your mentor. Preferably, this is someone who has experience with startup ventures. Starting a venture can be nerve-racking. It helps to have someone close who has gone through this process before. This person will provide moral support more than expertise in a particular industry.
• Board of Advisors - A board of advisors is like a semi-formal group of mentors. Rather than providing moral support, these individuals help to guide you through the process of starting, managing and growing your business. You should try to assemble a diverse group with a variety of professional experiences. Preferably, these individuals will be a mix of knowledgeable entrepreneurs and industry experts.
• Board of Directors - If you choose the corporate form to do business, you will have a board of directors. Many closely held corporations don't have outside members on the board of directors; rather, the board consists of the owners and key members. As the business begins to grow, you may have directors who are either equity investors or experts who you compensate with equity ownership. In either case, you should seek investors and experts who can provide the greatest degree of guidance and support to your business.

You will want to detail the names, experience, and qualifications of these individuals within the business plan. The primary purpose is to demonstrate to outside investors that you have adequate support to handle your operations and intended growth path.

Related Topics

• Business Plan, Part 1 (Outline Overview)
• Business Plan, Part 2 (The Executive Summary)
• What is a Mission Statement?
• What is a Values Statement?
• Setting Company Goals
• Business Plan, Part 4 (Market Analysis)
• Business Plan, Part 5 (Competitive Analysis)
• Business Plan, Part 6 (Marketing Plan)
• Business Plan, Part 7 (Operations)
• Business Plan, Part 8  (Management and Organization)
• Business Plan, Part 9 (Financial Projections)
• Business Plan, Part 10 (Appendices)
• Business Plan , (Final Modifications)

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Operations and Management Business Plan (+Sample in PDF)

AUG.03, 2023

1. What Is a Management and Operations Plan?

RephraseA manageme­nt and operations plan is a crucial document that outlines the­ direction and management of an organization or e­nterprise. Typically create­d with a specific objective in mind, such as achie­ving company growth, expanding operations, or launching new products, this plan de­tails the organization’s goals and objectives. It provide­s a roadmap for achieving these goals, se­rves as a refere­nce for monitoring progress, and allows for nece­ssary adjustments along the way.

The plan provide­s a comprehensive outline­ of the roles and responsibilitie­s of every manager and staff me­mber within the organization. This crucial information ensure­s effective coordination among the­ management team and he­lps facilitate goal attainment. Additionally, a well-de­veloped manageme­nt and operations plan plays a significant role in attracting and retaining inve­stors and customers.

2. Management and operations business plan Sample

The following management and operations business plan will be based on the successful startup of a new facility management business. Professional Busine­ss Planning service is focused on cre­ating a sustainable facility management busine­ss that prioritizes delivering a unique­ customer experie­nce through comprehensive­ services and cost-effe­ctive solutions.

Facility Management

The main focus will be on providing tailore­d Facility Management service­s to our clients. These se­rvices may include facilities mainte­nance, energy manage­ment, environmental compliance­, landscaping, housekeeping, and se­curity. We also offer after-hours support and mainte­nance to ensure all clie­nt needs are me­t professionally and in a timely manner.

The strategic and business plan operations management will maintain a comprehensive inventory of facility management supplies, crisis management, and equipment, including tools, cleaning and janitorial supplies, and appliance parts. The busine­ss will also keep inventory of safe­ty supplies, including non-slip mats, fire extinguishe­rs, and first-aid kits.

Objectives and Goals

The best business plans to launch its facility management services no later than six months after beginning operations. Initially, the business plan management operation and organization will focus on acquiring new clients and establishing a quality service process. After this initial stage­, the business will aim to grow its service­s and customer reach by targeting ne­arby communities and neighboring businesse­s.

Employees and Organizational Structure

The management and operations in the business plan will employ a full-time staff of three and three part-time employees. The staff will have­ several key re­sponsibilities, including scheduling service­s, addressing customer inquiries, managing facilitie­s, and keeping track of inventory. The­y will also undergo comprehensive­ training to ensure exce­llent customer service­. The business will also have a de­dicated service te­chnician available on-call and an administrative assistant to handle custome­r inquiries and scheduling.

3. Operations and management business plan examples

When de­veloping a business plan for operations and manage­ment, it’s crucial to carefully consider the­ unique goals and objectives of the­ business. For instance, if you’re starting a re­staurant, you need to give care­ful thought to aspects such as menu options, operating hours, staffing re­quirements, and other factors that are­ vital for ensuring the success of your e­stablishment. The same consideration must be given when starting a salon, home care business, or law firm. Running differe­nt types of establishments re­quires a tailored approach, including specific staffing and policie­s. Creating a successful operations and manage­ment business plan involves taking a holistic vie­w of the business while ke­eping the customer front and ce­nter.

For a restaurant, an operations and management business plan examples should include key elements like the types of foods they will serve, pricing, and a detailed schedule for opening and closing by Professional Business Plan Writers . The Restaurant Business Plan should also include plans for hiring and managing staff and the necessary systems and procedures to ensure the restaurant runs smoothly. A salon will also have to consider how they will attract customers, manage services, and care for client safety and satisfaction. Home care and law firms should include detailed plans for recruiting, selecting, and training staff; organization policies; service offerings; and customer service processes.

Overall, management and operations in a business plan for service should outline all operational processes, personnel management, customer service, and marketing tactics for the business to succeed. From food offerings to staff selection, business owners should clearly outline their plan of action and adhere to their operations and management business plan for success.

4. Unlock the Path to Growth and Profit with OGS Capital: The ‘Go-To’ Management Plan Experts

At OGS Capital, we are­ experts in operations and manage­ment business plan consulting. With over 15 ye­ars of experience­, our team of skilled business and ope­rations strategists is dedicated to he­lping businesses like yours achie­ve growth and profitability. We have a de­ep understanding of the intricacie­s involved in developing e­ffective operations and manage­ment business plans and specialize­ in creating personalized strate­gies that address each clie­nt’s unique needs.

We provide­ Professional Business Planning Services, starting with our thorough business assessment se­rvices. Our consultants offer personalize­d guidance based on their e­xtensive industry expe­rtise.

At our company, we prioritize­ strategic customer targeting in our ope­rations and management business plan de­velopment service­s. Our expertise lie­s in creating accurate customer se­gmentation models and impactful market positioning plans. The­se plans enable you to e­ffectively identify the­ most suitable customers for your products and service­s, maximizing your chances of capturing your target market.

With OGS Capital by your side every step of the way, you can be confident that your plan will be completed to the highest quality and efficacy standards. Contact us today to unlock your path to success.

Q.How do you write management and operations in a business plan?

In the manage­ment and operations section of a busine­ss plan, it is crucial to provide details about the various tasks re­quired to run your business and the role­s and responsibilities of each te­am member. This section should addre­ss important questions such as who makes decisions, who handle­s daily operations, and how the staff hierarchy is structure­d. Additionally, you should include information on how the business acquire­s resources and manages finance­s.

Q.What is an example of an operation management plan?

An example­ of an operational management plan is a compre­hensive blueprint that outline­s strategies and steps to e­nhance the efficie­ncy and effectivene­ss of producing and delivering goods and service­s. This plan includes specific details about proce­dures for improving processes, se­lecting equipment, allocating labor re­sources, managing inventory, and ensuring quality control. It also e­ncompasses provisions for monitoring, evaluating, and making adjustments to ope­rational changes. Furthermore, the­ plan identifies potential risks and provide­s strategies to mitigate the­m effectively.

Download Operations and Management Business Plan in PDF

OGSCapital’s team has assisted thousands of entrepreneurs with top-rate business plan development, consultancy and analysis. They’ve helped thousands of SME owners secure more than $1.5 billion in funding, and they can do the same for you.

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Sample Business Plan

Following is a business plan written by The Business Plan Store. It is posted here with the express permission of the client (Executive names are fictitious)

We write business plans!  To get started on yours, contact us here .

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Blog Business

How to Write a Business Plan Outline [Examples + Templates] 

By Letícia Fonseca , Aug 11, 2023

When venturing into crafting a business plan, the initial hurdle often lies in taking that first step.

So, how can you evade those prolonged hours of staring at a blank page? Initiate your journey with the aid of a business plan outline.

As with any endeavor, an outline serves as the beacon of clarity, illuminating the path to confront even the most formidable tasks. This holds particularly true when composing pivotal documents vital to your triumph, much like a business plan.

Nonetheless, I understand the enormity of a business plan’s scope, which might make the task of outlining it seem daunting. This is precisely why I’ve compiled all the requisite information to facilitate the creation of a business plan outline. No need to break a sweat!

And if you’re seeking further assistance, a business plan maker and readily available business plan templates can offer valuable support in shaping your comprehensive plan.

Read on for answers to all your business plan outline questions or jump ahead for some handy templates. 

Click to jump ahead:

What is a business plan outline (and why do you need one), what format should you choose for your business plan outline, what are the key components of a business plan outline.

• Business plan template examples
• Writing tips to ace your outline 

A business plan outline is the backbone of your business plan. It contains all the most important information you’ll want to expand on in your full-length plan. 

Think of it this way: your outline is a frame for your plan. It provides a high-level idea of what the final plan should look like, what it will include and how all the information will be organized. 

Why would you do this extra step? Beyond saving you from blank page syndrome, an outline ensures you don’t leave any essential information out of your plan — you can see all the most important points at a glance and quickly identify any content gaps. 

It also serves as a writing guide. Once you know all the sections you want in your plan, you just need to expand on them. Suddenly, you’re “filling in the blanks” as opposed to writing a plan from scratch!

Incidentally, using a business plan template like this one gives you a running head start, too: 

Perhaps most importantly, a business plan outline keeps you focused on the essential parts of your document. (Not to mention what matters most to stakeholders and investors.)  With an outline, you’ll spend less time worrying about structure or organization and more time perfecting the actual content of your document. 

If you’re looking for more general advice, you can read about  how to create a business plan here . But if you’re working on outlining your plan, stick with me.

Return to Table of Contents

Most business plans fit into one of two formats. 

The format you choose largely depends on three factors: (1) the stage of your business, (2) if you’re presenting the plan to investors and (3) what you want to achieve with your business plan. 

Let’s have a closer look at these two formats and why you might choose one over the other.

Traditional format

Traditional business plans  are typically long, detailed documents. In many cases, they take up to 50-60 pages, but it’s not uncommon to see plans spanning 100+ pages. 

Traditional plans are long because they cover  every aspect  of your business. They leave nothing out. You’ll find a traditional business plan template with sections like executive summary, company description, target market, market analysis, marketing plan, financial plan, and more. Basically: the more information the merrier.

This business plan template isn’t of a traditional format, but you could expand it into one by duplicating pages:

Due to their high level of detail, traditional formats are the best way to sell your business. They show you’re reliable and have a clear vision for your business’s future. 

If you’re planning on presenting your plan to investors and stakeholders, you’ll want to go with a traditional plan format. The more information you include, the fewer doubts and questions you’ll get when you present your plan, so don’t hold back. 

Traditional business plans require more detailed outlines before drafting since there’s a lot of information to cover. You’ll want to list all the sections and include bullet points describing what each section should cover. 

It’s also a good idea to include all external resources and visuals in your outline, so you don’t have to gather them later. 

Lean format

Lean business plan formats are high level and quick to write. They’re often only one or two pages. Similar to a  business plan infographic , they’re scannable and quick to digest, like this template: 

This format is often referred to as a “startup” format due to (you guessed it!) many startups using it. 

Lean business plans require less detailed outlines. You can include high-level sections and a few lines in each section covering the basics. Since the final plan will only be a page or two, you don’t need to over prepare. Nor will you need a ton of external resources. 

Lean plans don’t answer all the questions investors and stakeholders may ask, so if you go this route, make sure it’s the right choice for your business . Companies not yet ready to present to investors will typically use a lean/startup business plan format to get their rough plan on paper and share it internally with their management team. 

Here’s another example of a lean business plan format in the form of a financial plan: 

Your business plan outline should include all the following sections. The level of detail you choose to go into will depend on your intentions for your plan (sharing with stakeholders vs. internal use), but you’ll want every section to be clear and to the point. 

1. Executive summary

The executive summary gives a high-level description of your company, product or service. This section should include a mission statement, your company description, your business’s primary goal, and the problem it aims to solve. You’ll want to state how your business can solve the problem and briefly explain what makes you stand out (your competitive advantage).

Having an executive summary is essential to selling your business to stakeholders , so it should be as clear and concise as possible. Summarize your business in a few sentences in a way that will hook the reader (or audience) and get them invested in what you have to say next. In other words, this is your elevator pitch.

2. Product and services description

This is where you should go into more detail about your product or service. Your product is the heart of your business, so it’s essential this section is easy to grasp. After all, if people don’t know what you’re selling, you’ll have a hard time keeping them engaged!

Expand on your description in the executive summary, going into detail about the problem your customers face and how your product/service will solve it. If you have various products or services, go through all of them in equal detail. 

3. Target market and/or Market analysis

A market analysis is crucial for placing your business in a larger context and showing investors you know your industry. This section should include market research on your prospective customer demographic including location, age range, goals and motivations. 

You can even  include detailed customer personas  as a visual aid — these are especially useful if you have several target demographics. You want to showcase your knowledge of your customer, who exactly you’re selling to and how you can fulfill their needs.

Be sure to include information on the overall target market for your product, including direct and indirect competitors and how your industry is performing. If your competitors have strengths you want to mimic or weaknesses you want to exploit, this is the place to record that information. 

4. Organization and management

You can think of this as a “meet the team” section — this is where you should go into depth on your business’s structure from management to legal and HR. If there are people bringing unique skills or experience to the table (I’m sure there are!), you should highlight them in this section. 

The goal here is to showcase why your team is the best to run your business. Investors want to know you’re unified, organized and reliable. This is also a potential opportunity to bring more humanity to your business plan and showcase the faces behind the ideas and product. 

5. Marketing and sales

Now that you’ve introduced your product and team, you need to explain how you’re going to sell it. Give a detailed explanation of your sales and marketing strategy, including pricing, timelines for launching your product and advertising.

This is a major section of your plan and can even live as a separate document for your marketing and sales teams. Here are some  marketing plan templates to help you get started .

Make sure you have research or analysis to back up your decisions — if you want to do paid ads on LinkedIn to advertise your product, include a brief explanation as to why that is the best channel for your business. 

6. Financial projections and funding request

The end of your plan is where you’ll look to the future and how you think your business will perform financially. Your financial plan should include results from your income statement, balance sheet and cash flow projections. 

State your funding requirements and what you need to realize the business. Be extremely clear about how you plan to use the funding and when you expect investors will see returns.

If you aren’t presenting to potential investors, you can skip this part, but it’s something to keep in mind should you seek funding in the future. Covering financial projections and the previous five components is essential at the stage of business formation to ensure everything goes smoothly moving forward.

7. Appendix

Any extra visual aids, receipts, paperwork or charts will live here. Anything that may be relevant to your plan should be included as reference e.g. your cash flow statement (or other financial statements). You can format your appendix in whatever way you think is best — as long as it’s easy for readers to find what they’re looking for, you’ve done your job!

Typically, the best way to start your outline is to list all these high-level sections. Then, you can add bullet points outlining what will go in each section and the resources you’ll need to write them. This should give you a solid starting point for your full-length plan.

Business plan outline templates

Looking for a shortcut? Our  business plan templates  are basically outlines in a box! 

While your outline likely won’t go into as much detail, these templates are great examples of how to organize your sections.

Traditional format templates

A strong template can turn your long, dense business plan into an engaging, easy-to-read document. There are lots to choose from, but here are just a few ideas to inspire you… 

You can duplicate pages and use these styles for a traditional outline, or start with a lean outline as you build your business plan out over time:

Lean format templates

For lean format outlines, a simpler ‘ mind map ’ style is a good bet. With this style, you can get ideas down fast and quickly turn them into one or two-page plans. Plus, because they’re shorter, they’re easy to share with your team.

Writing tips to ace your business plan outline

Business plans are complex documents, so if you’re still not sure how to write your outline, don’t worry! Here are some helpful tips to keep in mind when drafting your business plan outline:

• Ask yourself why you’re writing an outline. Having a clear goal for your outline can help keep you on track as you write. Everything you include in your plan should contribute to your goal. If it doesn’t, it probably doesn’t need to be in there.
• Keep it clear and concise. Whether you’re writing a traditional or lean format business plan, your outline should be easy to understand. Choose your words wisely and avoid unnecessary preambles or padding language. The faster you get to the point, the easier your plan will be to read.
• Add visual aids. No one likes reading huge walls of text! Make room in your outline for visuals, data and charts. This keeps your audience engaged and helps those who are more visual learners. Psst,  infographics  are great for this.
• Make it collaborative. Have someone (or several someones) look it over before finalizing your outline. If you have an established marketing / sales / finance team, have them look it over too. Getting feedback at the outline stage can help you avoid rewrites and wasted time down the line.

If this is your first time writing a business plan outline, don’t be too hard on yourself. You might not get it 100% right on the first try, but with these tips and the key components listed above, you’ll have a strong foundation. Remember, done is better than perfect. 

Create a winning business plan by starting with a detailed, actionable outline

The best way to learn is by doing. So go ahead, get started on your business plan outline. As you develop your plan, you’ll no doubt learn more about your business and what’s important for success along the way. 

A clean, compelling template is a great way to get a head start on your outline. After all, the sections are already separated and defined for you! 

Explore Venngage’s business plan templates  for one that suits your needs. Many are free to use and there are premium templates available for a small monthly fee. Happy outlining!

“What Is Organization and Management in the Business Plan?”

How do you write the organization and management section of your business plan?

• Remember that the purpose of a business plan is to sell people on your potential for success!
• Determine the legal structure of your business
• Develop a rough organizational flowchart. Keep in mind that owners/shareholders, directors, and third parties can also be included
• For every individual in your organizational flowchart – specify their name and responsibilities. Most importantly – highlight their qualifications for the role!
• Include official resumes and critical procedures in the appendix
• Circle back and make adjustments to the previous steps as you progress in the writing of your business plan

The organization and management part of your business plan focuses less on the business itself and more on the people behind it. A business is only as good as the people making decisions. Until (if ever), artificial intelligence can run businesses, it’s going to be people pulling the strings behind the curtain. For better or worse.

Also, keep in mind that banks lend money to people, not ideas. Venture capitalists invest in people, not mindless assets. Your business plan might be great. But, it will require one or more humans to execute that plan.

Whoever might be investing in your company will want to know the chain of command. A formal declaration of who employees report to and who the final decision maker is. If these sorts of things aren’t clarified, it can lead to catastrophe.

There are, essentially, two main parts to the organization and management section of the business plan. You’ve probably guessed what they are.

In one part you’ll discuss the business’ organizational structure. For example who will report to who, and what the chain of command looks like.

In the other part, you’ll describe the individuals who will populate those positions. Plus, their qualifications for doing so.

The organization of your business

The reader of your business plan will want to know what the organizational structure is when you are starting your business. They need to know who the key people are in the organization and what their roles will be.

Businesses need smooth running chains of command in order to be successful. And, while your business can consist of one person – there’s a good chance that at some point you’ll need quality people to help you out.

Who’s responsible for what?

Obviously, this will change over time, as your business evolves. The reader of your business plan will want to know the lay of the land when the business launches, however.

Particularly, if you’re asking for money to add additional roles in the future, you’ll want to be crystal clear about who those individuals will report to, what their responsibilities will be, and most importantly, how they’ll add value to the organization.

Generally speaking, small businesses are simpler organizations than larger ones. But, there still needs to be clarity in terms of the flow of work. Some of the critical departments to think about are sales/marketing, manufacturing/distribution, and accounting/administration. Depending on the nature of your business, research and development might be critical too. Who will be responsible for these important tasks?

Don’t be afraid to use graphics here. An illustration of the hierarchy of your business and/or the process flow can help clarify everything you’ve written about. This organizational chart can and should be used in the future – for clarification’s sake, as the business grows.

A free tool like draw.io can be used to make a good looking flowchart.

Procedures?

Beyond the organizational structure and the workflow, you might consider adding some procedures for the routine duties that these roles will handle. In fact, as you write the organization and management section of the business plan, it might dawn on you that you’ve given precious little thought to how day-to-day business will be conducted! This is the perfect opportunity to conceptualize exactly how you’ll take inputs and turn them into outputs.

Procedures demonstrate to the reader that you’ve given thought to the most efficient way to handle these tasks. They also show that you won’t be planning on wasting money on excess manpower. A business without proper procedures is one that’s going to run into trouble with inefficiency and poor customer service.

Since written procedures are detailed documents, it might best to include them in the appendix.

Third parties?

Include any roles that might be filled by third parties. Independent contractors or freelancers, for instance. Even if you anticipate relying upon consultants – that should be addressed in this section as well. Where will these people fit in the organizational chart?

If your business is going to depend on these types of individuals, the reader of your business plan wants to know about it.

More about the third parties you might consider, below.

Legal structure

Finally, the organizational section of your business plan should address the legal structure of the business. Anybody investing in your business is going to want to know whether you’re incorporated as a C or an S corporation. Or, conversely, organized as a general or limited partnership. Maybe the best legal structure for you is something as simple as in LLC or a sole proprietorship. Whatever the case may be, it’s important to convey this information.

In a corporation, the shareholders may or may not be part of the Board of Directors or the management team.

In a partnership, the assumption is that the partners will all have equal control in managing the new business.

With an LLC it can be a situation where the business is managed by the members. Or, it could be that outside managers are hired.

You can see how these sorts of things must be clarified for the reader of your business plan.

The management of your business

If you are the owner of a business, then you will list yourself. If any owners are going to be on the Board of Directors, involved with the business heavily, or on the management team you need to include a “Resume” of their skills and qualifications.

The previous section outlined the roles necessary for your startup to succeed. Now, you want to discuss the people that will fill those roles.

Whatever your role may be, the reader of your business plan will probably understand why you hired yourself. That’s one of the privileges of being a founder.

However, that doesn’t mean that you don’t have to justify why you gave yourself a particular position.

What qualifies you for this role? Hopefully, the fact that your business plan is well-polished helps to convey your qualifications. But, just because you’re a founder doesn’t mean that you can do anything. For instance, if your company will rely heavily on scientific or engineering know-how, then you had better be well-qualified if you wish to fill one of those roles.

Formalized resumes for yourself and the rest of your team can be included in the appendix. However, some of the things that you want to highlight here are:

• Their title
• What decision will they be making?
• Previous positions that they’ve held
• Leadership experience
• Industry experience
• Sales and marketing expertise
• Anything else that will inspire confidence in your company!

Here’s an idea of the individual parties you need to name/address:

Ownership/Shareholders

The number of individuals and depth of information included here will depend, in part, on the legal structure of your business.

If it’s a corporation, you’ll list the shareholders along with the type of stock they’ll own (common or preferred).

If the business is a partnership, your list the partners along with the type of partner they are (general or limited).

For an LLC, you’ll list the members.

And, as you might expect, if your business as a sole proprietorship you will list yourself.

Additionally, if any of the owners are going to be on the Board of Directors, involved with the business heavily, or on the management team you need to include a “resume” of the skills and qualifications they bring to the table.

Board of directors

Not every small business will have a Board of Directors. If your legal structure will be an S or C corporation though, it will be required. Make sure you’re familiar with the laws of the state you live in and the state in which you incorporate in.

If you have a Board of Directors then you want to specify each of the individuals that will comprise the board. As with everyone else you would summarize the skills and qualifications that they’ll bring to the table. Resumes can, again, go in the appendix.

Furthermore, you might detail any other involvement they’ll have with your startup. That is, beyond, attending board meetings.

If your business legal structure is a partnership, LLC, or sole proprietorship you will not have a Board of Directors. It may be, however, that you have a group of trusted advisors who have expressed their willingness to help your startup succeed. If that’s the case, consider naming them here. Or, you can include them with the other third parties below. It’s up to you.

Again, these sorts of things help to sell the potential for the success of your burgeoning business.

I’m sure you know the routine by now. List the names, skills, and qualifications of the upper management team.

Since these are the people that will be making the day-to-day operational decisions in your business, you want to make their accomplishments a focal point. Lenders and investors will be especially interested in how these people can earn them a healthy ROI.

Another thing to consider is that since you’ll likely be the top dog at your start up (and rightfully so) you want to emphasize how the rest of the management staff will compliment you as a manager. Particularly, how their strengths will compensate for your shortcomings. And, how your strengths will compensate for their shortcomings.

Admitting your shortcomings is not always an easy pill to swallow for an entrepreneur. We like to think that we can do it all. Again, keep in mind this is a sales document. Put your ego aside and write a management and organization section of your business plan that will get funding.

Lastly, it is here that you will specify the details of compensation for yourself and the rest of the management team. Compensation includes, of course, things such as salary, benefits, and profit-sharing.

Additionally, if any individuals will be bound by contracts or non-compete agreements, this is the place to itemize those particulars.

Other support roles

• Insurance agent

In addition to the key ownership, directors, and management, you should consider outlining key third-party professionals who will serve in advisory roles. Remember, the whole point of the organization and management section of your business plan is to highlight the individuals who have your back and how they can help your business succeed. Not every key individual is going to be inside the company either.

Your accountant

Accounting is not most people’s strong suit. If that’s the case with you, then a competent professional accountant will be an extremely valuable asset. This individual will help you with business compliance, taxes, and financial operations. Also with financial statement preparation, auditing, and payroll.

All critical tasks.

Your attorney

An attorney is also a crucial part of your advisory team. They can help you choose the appropriate legal structure for your business (with help from your accountant). They provide valuable support with any contracts, intellectual property, regulation, compliance, and governance.

The law is complex and “winging it” in these areas could stop your business in its tracks.

An insurance agent or risk management advisor

Some businesses will rely more upon this than others. However, keep in mind that many of the risks your business will run into what is called “unknown unknowns” (circumstances that you could not foresee).

Having someone in your corner that understands how to identify and mitigate these risks will put investors at ease.

Your banker

Having a good relationship with a local banker who understands your industry will help you achieve your goals.

A small bank may be preferable to a larger bank. Small banks can offer a more intimate relationship which, in turn, would facilitate a more beneficial long-term relationship.

If you have someone in your life who can provide sage advice you may consider adding them to your list of trusted advisors. Maybe you even have more than one?

If this person (these people) is particularly well versed in your industry or in entrepreneurship, then all the better! Knowing that you have someone in your corner who has been in your shoes before will inspire confidence.

An organization and management example

As with all of the other posts written on the topic of business plans, I like to include an example from my own hypothetical startup. It gives me the opportunity to follow along with the subject at hand and to “do” rather than just “say.”

The hypothetical startup is a would-be manufacturer and distributor of an all-natural, topical hair regrowth supplement for men and women.

As I alluded to above, it might dawn on you at this stage that you have some serious thinking to do as far as the operations of your business go. So much time thus far has been spent on market analysis (and rightfully so) that the day-to-day comings and goings have slipped through the cracks. Well, these things can’t get put off forever, so this is a good time to at least get rough drafts created.

With that in mind, here’s my first pass at an organizational flowchart for this hypothetical business:

Below, are some “resumes” for full-time employees and third-party advisors. These are loosely based on real people. But, for the sake of anonymity, facts are obscured.

These “resumes” are, admittedly, a little generic. While I did want to go through the exercise of creating a management and organization section for my hypothetical business plan – I did not necessarily want to commit too much time to the careful crafting of resumes for fictional people. The same goes for the creation of procedures.

Of course, if this were the real deal, I would include more formal resumes (as appropriate) in the appendix.

Management/employees

KB, President

Responsibilities – Providing strong leadership. Establishing short and long-term goals, plans, and strategies. Presiding over the entire workforce (internal and external). Managing finances. Ensuring resources are allocated properly.

Qualifications – Researched and studied the factors critical to business success in his blogs, SpreadsheetsForBusiness.com , and InvestSomeMoney.com . Performed in the capacity as a Financial Analyst and Cost Accountant for a chemical manufacuturer nearly 15 years. Assisted small businesses in problem solving as a SCORE volunteer.

Mrs. B, Administration

Responsibilities – Assist in the day-to-day management of the value chain. Implementing processes and practices across the organization. Improving performance, procuring material/resources, and securing compliance.

Qualifications – 20 years of multitasking and personality management in the education industry. Experience keeping executives and business owners organized and prioritized. Practices an intuitive approach to assistance that rests on empathy, efficiency, and astute problem-solving.

Ms. B, Customer Support

Responsibilities – Leading the charge to reach sales targets. Setting quotas. Evaluating and adjusting performance. Developing processes that drive sales. Managing social media presence.

Qualifications – Major in marketing. 4 years’ experience in a customer-facing role. Experience in setting and meeting sales goals. Proficient in CRM software.

Third-party partners

For third parties, it wouldn’t necessarily be appropriate for me to ask for a formal resume. Most of these professionals will have qualifications made public on their websites or social media – for the purpose of marketing themselves.

John Q. Defender, Attorney

Mr. Defender focuses on commercial litigation. He helps his clients with insurance coverage and claims, including general liability. He serves in both an advisory capacity and represents clients before and after litigation. Additionally, he has experience litigating cases to a verdict, including claims regarding product liability and insurance coverage.

Daryl P. Riskavoider, Insurance Advisory

A 15-year agent with Countrywide Insurance. Mr. Riskavoider has helped dozens of other startup manufacturers identify risks and protect their downside with Countrywide’s diverse array of insurance products. Countrywide Insurance has been in business for 90 years. They focus on small business needs and are one of the largest insurers in the world.

Dan O. Havesomecash, Banker

An experienced loan professional with WeTrust Bank. Mr. Havesomecash has underwritten over $50 million in financing for similar startup manufacturers. WeTrust Bank is a premier local bank with a 100-year history. They provide competitive and flexible financing solutions for regional SMBs and are committed to contributing to the growth of local business.

Other notable partners

I’ll also include a brief synopsis of my contract blender/packager and the temp service I would use to man the distribution facility. Again, the purpose of the business plan generally, (and the organization and management section specifically) is to sell the success of your business. I think that including these partners will help to do that and potentially quell any concerns that readers might have.

In these instances, however, I’m just going to copy + paste info from their respective websites. No need in trying to improve on what they’ve already put a lot of time and effort into.

Camco Chemicals, Contract Blending & Packaging

Camco’s contract blending services are both extensive and broad. With 21 liquid and 5 powder mixers, Camco can produce an impressive 1.25 million pounds of product per eight hour shift. Importantly, Camco possesses unused capacity that can serve your project’s current and future needs while assuring you of the ongoing manufacturing flexibility necessary to deliver the response time that you need to meet your customers’ demands for delivery. https://www.camco-chem.com/contract-blending

Camco is a family owned business that was founded in 1960 and continues to operate under private ownership with several second and third generation family members active in the business’ daily operation. Camco employs approximately 175 associates and operates a thirty-two acre campus situated in an industrial park setting in three adjacent buildings collectively comprising 587,000 square feet of manufacturing, packaging and distribution services. As a contract chemical manufacturer and contract packaging contractor, Camco operates on a five day week schedule with three shifts and blends a broad variety of chemical products that are sold by Camco’s customers in the consumer, industrial, agricultural, transportation, water treatment and food industries, to name just a few. Importantly, Camco does not market any products, so that its customers can be assured that their proprietary and confidential information will remain so. Camco’s overall manufacturing capacity totals nearly 300 million pounds of packaged goods with potentially several hundred million additional pounds for bulk shipments and transloads. The level of available capacity is such that virtually any project can be accommodated. https://www.camco-chem.com/about-camco

Randstad Staffing, Temporary Agency

Companies partner with us to hire better talent faster, save on HR costs and get workforce solutions that make sense for them. If you’re looking to do the same, then there are a lot of reasons to work together. We’re able to reach into our talent network and get the ball rolling for you fast thanks to the relationships we’ve built with professionals in your area. We match candidate skills, personality and working style to your company because when you place candidates in environments where they can thrive, you’re much less likely to make a bad hire. Why do people work with us? It’s because of the ways their business changes with our partnership. When we work together, you won’t have to worry about missing out on the market’s most sought-after candidates because our streamlined process will help you hire faster — but the benefits don’t stop once your new talent has been onboarded. Employee engagement and retention rates will improve with quality talent that fits your workplace — not just the job description, and your business will be set up for long-term success because our experts will provide you with tailored workforce strategies. https://rlc.randstadusa.com/for-business/randstad-learning-center/working-with-us/why-people-work-with-us

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Top 10 Organizational Plan Templates with Samples and Examples

Taranjeet Singh

Organizational plans are the foundation upon which companies build their strategies, set their objectives, and chart their course toward success. Did you know organizations with well-defined plans are 50% more likely to achieve their goals and objectives? It's no secret that a well-structured plan can be the key to success in business and management.

The Importance of Organizational Plans

Organizational plans are the blueprints that guide an organization toward its goals and aspirations. These plans outline the structure, roles, and responsibilities of individuals within the organization, ensuring that everyone is on the same page.

Fast-track your success to the next level with our coaching action plan templates .

These actionable plans provide a clear direction for the company, helping to prioritize tasks and allocate resources efficiently. In essence, organizational plans are the roadmaps that lead businesses to their desired destinations.

Organizational Plan Templates from SlideTeam: Your Solution

Creating a plan from scratch can be demanding, especially when dealing with complex structures or tight timelines. But the question is, how can you create an effective plan that aligns your team and maximizes your chances of success?

The answer is Organizational Plan Templates from SlideTeam.

Navigate change with confidence with our organizational change management plan templates .

These PowerPoint templates offer a comprehensive and visually appealing framework for developing organizational plans.

Moreover, these templates are designed to be flexible, allowing you to customize them to suit your requirements. They provide the structure and the guidance, but you have the creative freedom to make them your own.

Protect your digital assets with our cyber security strategic plan templates .

In the fast-paced business world, time is of the essence, and with our powerpoint templates , you can save valuable hours and focus on your business. You can focus on what truly matters – strategizing, communicating your vision, and guiding your team towards success.

In this blog, we will explore how SlideTeam's templates work and provide practical tips for leveraging these templates to maximize the efficiency and clarity of your organizational planning. Let’s begin!

Template 1: Organizational Planning PowerPoint Deck

With over 35 information-packed slides, this PowerPoint deck supports your decision-making and improves your company's performance. Explore vital aspects of your organization's current situation with dedicated slides that showcase key performance indicators (KPIs), including attraction KPIs, value KPIs, retention KPIs, and engagement KPIs. Assess your organization's readiness for development using a handy checklist, and gain a clear understanding of the organizational development framework, encompassing the "why," "what," and "how" of growth. Additionally, the deck provides insights into the selection of management styles, highlighting their features and their impact on your organization's success rate. Identify areas for improvement with a specialized slide on management skills training, outlining employees' needs, goals, and estimated training costs. Download our PowerPoint deck and take your strategic development to the next level.

Download Now!

Template 2: Strategic Organizational Plan for Leadership Development PowerPoint Theme

This powerful one-page presentation delivers all the essential information for effective leadership development. It is structured to help you outline leadership goals, strategies, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and target dates with utmost clarity and conciseness. Download this PowerPoint theme today to streamline your leadership development efforts and drive success.

Template 3: Approach And Activities to Restructure Organizational Plan PowerPoint Layout

This PowerPoint presentation is divided into three critical sections, each offering strategic insights and actionable steps.

The first section, "Operational and Commercial Due Diligence," provides a detailed overview of assessing your organization's current state and identifies key areas that require attention.

The second section, "First 100 Days - Successfully Takeover Control," is a roadmap for the initial restructuring phase, ensuring a seamless transition of power.

The third section, "Restructuring + Interim Management," delves into the core activities required to implement structural changes efficiently.

Download our PowerPoint Set to make informed decisions to restructure your organization effectively.

Template 4: Organizational Planning Process for Virtual Terrorism PowerPoint Preset (to avoid it)

This presentation unfolds a strategic roadmap in four concise steps. Step 1 involves an overall analysis of your work culture's vulnerabilities and threats related to virtual terrorism. Step 2 delves into establishing a robust cybersecurity framework, a cornerstone for your defense. Step 3 helps you identify and define the specific programs required to enhance your cybersecurity measures. Finally, Step 4 guides you in documenting and formalizing your cybersecurity program, ensuring its continuity and accountability. Download the C yber Security PPT PowerPoint Deck to fortify your defenses.

Template 5: Strategic Perspective for Effective Organizational Planning PowerPoint Template

This presentation offers a unique approach, presenting a three-pronged strategy to navigate the intricate world of strategic planning. Hindsight, the first perspective, empowers you to meticulously analyze the past and determine its impact on your organization.

Insight, the second perspective, delves deep into discovering organizational problems. Identify their root causes, enabling you to address issues at their core rather than merely addressing surface-level symptoms.

Foresight, the final perspective, equips you to construct a forward-thinking strategy to alleviate the impact of identified problems. By taking a proactive approach, you can make sure that your organization remains resilient and agile in the face of future challenges.

Download this PPT Slide and transform your organizational planning into a strategic powerhouse.

Template 6: Manual Steps for Strategic Organizational Planning PowerPoint Layout

This PowerPoint Layout is the definitive resource for professionals seeking a strategic edge in organizational planning. It offers a concise and compelling roadmap comprising eight essential manual steps to guide you through the strategic planning process.

Each step is designed to provide a proper understanding of the strategic planning journey, ensuring that your organization moves forward with clarity and precision. This template equips you with the knowledge and tools required for effective decision-making, aligning your team's efforts towards common objectives.

With its clear and concise content, this slide is your trusted companion for strategic organizational planning.

Download this invaluable resource now and steer your organization towards a prosperous future.

Template 7: 6 Stage Cycle of Organizational Planning Process PowerPoint Preset

This PPT presentation highlights the six critical stages of the planning process, offering a structured approach to help your organization reach its goals.

Starting with the crucial initial step of setting clear objectives, this template guides you through gathering relevant data, followed by a meticulous information analysis. Once data has been thoroughly examined, the presentation assists in creating a well-structured plan, ensuring your strategy aligns perfectly with your objectives.

The implementation phase is detailed, providing valuable insights into effectively putting your plan into action. Finally, the monitoring stage is presented to help you track and evaluate your plan's progress, ensuring adjustments can be made as needed.

Download it now to equip your team with a clear and concise roadmap to success.

Template 8: 5 Elements for Organizational Planning and Objectives PowerPoint Template

This PowerPoint presentation is designed to streamline your organizational planning and objectives by highlighting five critical elements: Plan, Objectives, Innovation, Monitoring, and Investment. With a concise slide, it provides a straightforward and highly usable resource for conveying key concepts to your team or stakeholders. It simplifies complex ideas and helps you convey the essence of your strategic vision. Download the template and empower your presentations with clarity, simplicity, and impact.

Download Now

Template 9: Multiple Organizational Projects Plan Report PowerPoint Layout

This PowerPoint presentation is an invaluable tool for presenting and tracking multiple projects within your organization.

Our template provides a clear, concise, and data-driven overview of your projects, including project details such as tasks, status, owner, assigned team members, anticipated start and end dates, actual end dates, estimated costs, and actual costs. With this comprehensive report, you can easily monitor the progress of your projects, ensuring that they stay on track and within budget.

Download PowerPoint template and take control of your projects like never before.

Template 10: One Pager IT Company Strategic Organizational Plan in Entrepreneurship PowerPoint Presentation

This dynamic and informative presentation offers an overview of your IT company's strategic roadmap, designed to propel your business to new heights.

In this presentation, you will find a thorough company overview showcasing your mission, values, and competitive advantage, allowing your audience to understand your organization's core principles. Dive into your organization-wide strategies, which outline the path to success.

The strategic organizational goals section breaks down your financial, customer, international/operational, people, and learning objectives, guiding your team towards clear, actionable targets. Additionally, our presentation includes an easily navigable organizational chart, providing insight into your company's structure and hierarchy.

Download this template to bring your strategic vision to life.

In exploring Organizational Plan Templates from SlideTeam, we've seen how these powerful tools can elevate your business planning. With their ready-made structure and visual appeal, these templates simplify crafting robust organizational plans, allowing you to focus on the essence of your strategy. By implementing these templates, your organization gains a more precise direction, smoother communication, and better resource allocation. Embrace the future with a well-defined roadmap, and watch your organization thrive.

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How Business Leaders Can Achieve and Promote Emotional Intelligence In today's workplace, emotional intelligence emerges as a critical skill for business leaders, offering benefits including effective conflict resolution, decision-making, adaptability and team-building, ultimately contributing to organizational success, trust among colleagues and a positive work environment.

By Ben Richmond • Apr 5, 2024

Key Takeaways

Why emotional intelligence is critical in the workplace, how to achieve greater emotional intelligence, demonstrate adequate social awareness by fostering strong communication and empathy, exhibiting strong self-awareness by leading by example and building trust.

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

In today's dynamic work environment, emotional intelligence stands out as a critical skill for business leaders to navigate the complexities of the workplace and ensure individual and organizational success. A magnitude of benefits come with having a strong footing around how to exhibit emotional intelligence as an organizational leader, which extends beyond just having strong social skills. Instead, its ability equips individuals to better guide others through conflict resolution, decision-making, adaptability and team-building by thoroughly understanding how to manage emotions effectively. This proves invaluable when addressing challenges (such as the evolving market conditions and economic volatility), facilitating meaningful relationships and building trust by helping to contribute to a more positive and open work environment, even during tough times.

While technical skills are critical to succeeding at any job, it's imperative for leaders to recognize the importance of soft skills as well — particularly emotional intelligence. In fact, according to Harvard Business School, emotional intelligence is one of the most desired interpersonal skills in the workplace, with 71% of employers valuing it more than technical skills when evaluating candidates. Data also reveals that 90% of top performers have above-average emotional intelligence, and individuals who work with leaders with a higher level of emotional intelligence feel 0% more inspired than those who work with a leader lacking emotional intelligence.

Related: 4 Ways Emotional Intelligence Makes You a Better Entrepreneur

Throughout my career trajectory, I've had the opportunity to lead teams of various sizes, backgrounds and experience levels, which has afforded me a profound understanding of individuals and how varying personal experiences and levels of emotion impact team dynamics. Because of this, I've strived to create a workplace that prioritizes empathy and understanding — recognizing that triggers look different for every teammate and, in turn, influence their behaviors and emotional reactions to situations in different ways.

As a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, my candor about my personal experiences — including the journey of coming out and navigating the journey of conception with my husband — has added an essential layer to my emotional intelligence and approach to leadership. By being straightforward and honest about various layers of my personal and professional life, I'm able to build trust, reliability and more open lines of communication within my teams. At the convergence of my personal and professional journey, I'm strongly positioned to utilize my learnings and experiences to bring forward better emotional intelligence, leadership and inclusivity in the workplace.

Emotional intelligence in today's dynamic work environment takes on heightened significance due to external factors that may add pressure or stress to individuals' personal lives. A critical factor of emotional intelligence is the capacity to understand and manage not only your own emotions but also being able to adeptly read the emotions of others. Given the current climate, personal emotions around volatile markets , labor market concerns and political unrest require a level of empathy from leaders; they must be able to interpret and empathize with varying feelings and perspectives on external situations and understand that they may also impact performance and participation (sometimes a hard pill to swallow).

Having a thorough understanding of the differing viewpoints and perspectives of teams and fostering an environment where diverse perspectives are both respected and encouraged are vital elements to strengthening psychological safety: an environment where individuals feel comfortable voicing information about personal challenges, triggers or workplace concerns. According to McKinsey, 89% of employees believe psychological safety is essential in the workplace, and workers who feel their identity and perspectives are valued by leadership feel higher rates of it, effectively contributing to team effectiveness, learning, employee retention and better performance.

In my experience, psychological safety helps to bind high-performing teams together, creating an environment that encourages open communication and makes it easier to resolve conflicts. It also makes individuals more comfortable taking risks, which can help them learn from and more readily admit to potential mistakes that may result from risk-taking. By embracing and acknowledging the current environment and potential challenges individuals may be facing, leaders can better navigate them and create a more open and emotionally inclusive workplace culture.

As we know, the integration of generative AI into many workflows is reshaping the landscape of jobs and technical skills. It also highlights the deep need for human touch and associated soft skills. A new study found that in the AI age, employers expect to increasingly value soft skills that foster rich, people-centric company cultures, and 92% of companies say human capabilities or soft skills matter just as much as hard skills, emphasizing the crucial role emotional intelligence still plays during the AI revolution. While AI can help to optimize processes, increase efficiency and analyze complex datasets, emotional intelligence, decision-making based on human interactions, and effective leadership are areas where humans excel and are irreplaceable in the face of AI.

That said, while technical expertise is critical in any leadership role, it shouldn't overpower or take precedence over the skills needed to be an emotionally intelligent leader. Focusing on the development of these soft skills is a pivotal step to empowering leaders to better navigate complexities, understand personal emotions, and build unwavering trust within teams. Below are a handful of skills that contribute to the broader emotional intelligence puzzle and should be top-of-mind for any leader.

Clear and concise communication is critical to fostering a team that values trust, understanding, and active engagement. In order to be an effective leader, it's crucial to find a delicate balance of self-awareness and social awareness. Self-awareness is recognizing how your words or actions may emotionally impact other team members, while social awareness describes your ability to recognize the emotions and perspectives of other team members. What might be a challenge or distraction for one teammate may not hold the same value or level of consideration for another.

Especially in today's ever-changing and uncertain environment, leaders who display empathy are better able to navigate challenges by having a more thorough understanding of their team's diverse emotional needs. Data points to the success of an empathetic leadership approach, as the majority (86%) of employees believe empathetic leadership boosts morale, and 87% say it's an essential component to fostering an exclusive environment.

To become a more empathetic team lead, it's critical to practice empathy in everyday interactions with team members. Take the time to slow down and be deliberate in your own actions and motivations, questioning whether there are alternative ways to approach situations that could enhance the well-being of everyone involved. This is especially important when difficult situations that involve problem-solving are apparent. Proactively thinking about how situations could impact individuals, either positively or negatively, can help to avoid surprises or negative reactions whenever possible.

When proposing approaches to problem-solving, consider assessing whether a collaborative effort involving various perspectives from different team members would be more effective than solely relying on individual input. A team approach to problem-solving can be very beneficial in many scenarios as it invites a range of viewpoints from diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise within the business. This approach grants team members a sense of belonging and empowerment and encourages innovative thinking and risk-taking. Allowing for alternative viewpoints in a team setting helps to foster a culture of openness and autonomy, which often encourages individuals to more readily voice their opinions and propose new ideas. Additionally, demonstrating empathy in these collaborative efforts can inspire others to lead with the same intentions, which helps to create a more empathetic and collaborative workplace.

To get a sense of where you fall as a leader, try practicing active listening to better understand the concerns and stresses of your team members. This not only gives you a more holistic view into how you can adjust your leadership style to fit the needs of your team but also demonstrates genuine interest in the varying perspectives of your team members. To bring this to light, I initiate regular check-ins with team members to discuss their concerns, challenges, excitements, and anything else they'd like to discuss to emulate an environment where open dialogue is valued. When meeting with subordinates, ask them if they have any worries or concerns about current or future projects and allow them to propose solutions and offer support wherever possible to help instill a greater level of trust. I've also found that being vulnerable about my experiences with my colleagues, both personally and professionally, helps cultivate an environment that encourages open dialogue, trust and better collaboration.

Regarding more complex topics, it's helpful to establish ground rules for respectful conversations in individual and group settings and provide educational resources to enhance understanding of more intricate topics. These elements help create a team culture that values diverse viewpoints and encourages open dialogues about external issues.

Related: These Are the 4 Emotional Intelligence Characteristics All Business Leaders Need

In my career, I've found that one of the key ways to foster a healthy work environment is to lead by example. A workplace that prioritizes organizational success and employee well-being doesn't just have open lines of communication; it also demands consistent actions by leaders.

Leading by example can be as simple as avoiding multitasking or checking your emails during team meetings, attending workshops to learn new skills alongside your team, or recognizing the achievements, both big and small, of all team members. Another area I prioritize leading by example is allowing myself to take time off from work for mental resets or personal ventures. I've found taking time off to be invaluable in improving well-being, enhancing creativity and increasing productivity. As a leader of various teams, I utilize my time off to lead by example and to create an environment where individuals may feel more comfortable doing so as well, which lends itself to healthy boundaries between work and personal lives.

I also prioritize leading by example in the areas I'm passionate about to set a standard for a positive workplace culture where employees feel empowered to take risks, express themselves freely and advocate for what they believe in. In my own career, I've utilized my voice and position of leadership to not only make positive changes that would benefit the organization but also as a way for individuals to instill trust in myself and the broader corporation. A few years ago, I was involved in establishing the first Employee Resource Group (ERG) for women at Xero to improve our workplace's overall inclusivity. This initiative was aimed at breaking down barriers for women in various roles within the organization and allowed me to demonstrate my approach to inclusive leadership and devotion to creating a culture that values and supports diversity.

This ERG's continued success — along with my ongoing commitment to creating an environment that values and respects the diverse perspectives of team members — has earned me greater trust from my colleagues. Despite this initiative falling outside of day-to-day responsibilities, participating in initiatives aimed at improving the workforce has broadened my perspective and equipped me with skills to understand and address the challenges or biases other team members may experience.

One way to ensure your leadership style and approach are well-received by team members is to solicit regular feedback from colleagues. By acknowledging that empathy and emotional intelligence are skills that can be learned and strengthened, leaders can view feedback and challenges as growth opportunities. Additionally, consider indulging in external content focused on leadership development, such as books, podcasts or working with an executive coach (I do all three). These resources can offer valuable insights into professional leadership and personal growth to create a positive impact on the workplace.

Reflecting on the important pillars of a modern leader through my experiences leading a diverse set of teams, I've been able to witness the value of emotional intelligence in leadership. By weaving emotional intelligence into organizational cultures, instilling psychological safety and practicing social and self-awareness, the workplace can evolve as a landscape that values empathy and collaboration.

Entrepreneur Leadership Network® Contributor

U.S. Country Manager, Xero

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

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