The New Business Road Test: What Entrepreneurs and Executives Should Do Before Writing a Business Plan

Chapter 1: Opportunity: The Lifeblood of Entrepreneurship How important is opportunity assessment? Three crucial distinctions The seven domains of attractive opportunities Is the market attractive: macro and micro considerations Is the industry attractive: macro and micro considerations Can the team deliver? Using the seven domains model Where do attractive opportunities come from? Opportunities for niche-market entrepreneurs Chapter 2: Delivering Benefits to Attractive Target Markets Why do we begin our thinking here? Which do customers want, benefits or features? iMode delivers clear benefits at the right price Beer drinkers see the Lite Nike runs away with the athletic shoe business, one segment at a time Sony's Walkman delivers real options OurBeginnings.com makes a costly marketing miscue The investor's perspective Lessons learned Chapter 3: Do Attractive Markets Matter? Hero Honda's rise in India Whole Foods corners a growing market WD-40's many uses makes it market grow EMC capitalizes on technological trends Thinking Machines can't find a market The investor's perspective Lessons learned Chapter 4: Are Different Industries All the Same? In the pharmaceutical industry, most companies win In the DSL industry, most companies lost The investor's perspective Lessons learned Chapter 5: What Does it Take to Gain Distinctive Advantage? Winning in a lousy industry: the resource-based view What makes a viable business model? For Zantac patents mean profits Nokia's processes keep it in front eBay: a dot-com business model that works! EMI loses its first mover advantage WebVan's bricks don't stack up The investor's perspective Lessons learned Chapter 6: Know What You Want Opening vignette: Mahatma Ghandi Howard Schultz's passion for the coffee experience The investor's perspective Lessons learned Chapter 7: The Ability to Execute Who wins, who loses? Critical success factors make the difference Palm has what it takes in the technology business Schwinn hits the skids Breckenridge Brewery loses its fizz The investor's perspective Lessons learned Chapter 8: Connections Matter, but Which Ones Matter Most? Virata turns on a dime Failure history: not yet determined The investor's perspective Lessons learned Chapter 9: Traps to Avoid The "who is my market" trap: Search Master The "no viable market segment" trap: EO The "no sustainable business model" trap: Pets.com The "me-too" trap: The Winchester disc drive parade Chapter 10: Making Lemons into Lemonade Innovation in stagnant markets: Nike, Starbucks Being different in unattractive industries: Wal-Mart, Gap Opportunities for niche market entrepreneurs: Enterprise Car Rental Chapter 11: What to Do Before You Write Your Business Plan The customer-driven feasibility study The customer-driven feasibility study and the business plan: how do they differ? Opportunities are not static: so shape them! Why bother?