Reviewing your operations may be your basis of a long range plan. Many companies basically just look in the window at their own operations, reviewing where they were yesterday and where they are today, and then basically projecting this data forward to determine where they want to be in the future. Now, obviously that is long range planning, but in the estimation of the author, it is not good future planning. In future planning, you first have to look out the window. You have to look out the window to see whose is walking by. You have to look at your industry. You have to look at market segments. You have to look at the customer. You have to examine the customer's needs, desires, and wants. Not only today, but into the future. You have to critique competition and try to determine where they are going, where are their strengths, and where are their weaknesses. Then, after looking out the window, you look in the window at your own operation and determine where you want to be in the future. The purpose of the future plan should be to get you from where you would be if you kept doing what you had been doing to where you want to be in the future. The difference between these two points is referred to as the planning gap and the future plan is an attempt to fill that planning gap..
About the Author: Author: Written six books on planning: The Marketing Plan, Third Edition, Amacom; The Marketing Plan; New, Expanded Edition, Amacom; The Startup Business Plan, Prentice Hall; How to Develop a Business Plan in 15 Days, Amacom and The Marketing Plan, Amacom. The sixth one, The Marketing Plan, Fourth Edition went on the market a year ago. Advertising: Vice president with Grey Advertising in New York City; account supervisor with Marshalk in Atlanta; account executive with McCann Erickson in Honolulu, San Francisco and Dallas; and account executive with Campbell-Mithun in Minneapolis and Los Angeles. Account supervisor on the introduction of Fresca for the Coca-Cola Company. Founder of Luther Advertising in Stamford, CT. Clients were local and regional firms plus the trade advertising for Gannet Newspapers. Lecturer: Conducted over 300 public business seminars for University of Wisconsin, William and Mary, University of Notre Dame, George State University and American Management Association. Publisher: Publisher and editor of a Sunday supplement distributed in Connecticut inside copies of The New Times and Daily News. Marketing Consultant: A consultant to over 30 companies, both large and small. Some of the large firms and governmental departments were AT&T, IBM, Merrill Lynch, John Deere, Monsanto, Cargill, Minolta, U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Defense. Construction: Founder of Luther Construction. Installed all windows, curtail walls, doors and glass in 12 new or renovated public schools in Connecticut, a water treatment plant in New York and the new airport in White Plains, NY. Real Estate: During the past few years, WML Properties has sold 301 acres of land, leased 36,400 square feet of space and sold buildings with 61,000 square feet. E-Commerce Website: The WML-Marketing.com website is used to sell the software I have written on how to develop your strategic plan and your marketing plan. Education: BBA, University of Minnesota with major in journalism.