Your Executive Summary: The Most Critical Part of Any Report or Plan

The Executive Summary (sometimes titled the Introduction, Business Description, Statement Purpose, etc.) is used to summarize the details of your business plan, other document or other report.  In addition to your mission and vision statements, you may want to include your company’s value statement (describes a company’s intrinsic value, importance or desirability) and guiding principles (describes what the company views as its rule or code of conduct).
 
While the Executive Summary is located at the beginning of any business plan or other document ore report, it’s always prepared last.  This is because its purpose is to summarize all the details contained within the body of your document.  It should be two to four pages in length, and give the reader a concise synopsis of your business. 
 
If you are seeking outside financing, the Executive Summary should pique the interest of the reader enough to read further, and ultimately finance or invest.  Each question should be answered briefly from the information contained in the body of the document.  In-depth descriptions are not necessary here as they are covered in detail in the body the document.  Each section should be one to two paragraphs in length as described below:

1. The Business – Describe the nature of your business and its core competencies.  Simply ask yourself, “What business am I in?”
   
2. Mission Statement – The purpose of a mission statement is to describe your business, commitment, customer and philosophy as it is today.
   
3. Vision Statement – The purpose of the vision statement is to describe your business, commitment, customer and philosophy as they are projected to be in the future.
   
4. Business Objective – Based on the mission and vision of your company, your objective should state what you would achieve.
   
5. Operating Plan – Briefly describe each product and service.  Discuss how each product/service will be manufactured/ produced.   
   
6. Marketing Plan – Discuss your marketing strategy.
   
7. Management Plan – Describe the owners, key persons and employees in your company.  Briefly discuss their roles, responsibilities and capabilities.
   
8. Financial Plan – Discuss the initial investment in the company.  If seeking financing or investing, describe the type of financing, amount, purpose and use of the funds.
   
9. Strategic (Long Range) Plan – Discuss your view about where the company is and its future.  Describe the growth strategies to be employed for expansion or diversification of products or services.
   
10. Succession Plan – Describe how the business will be transferred, sold or liquidated in the event it becomes necessary to do so.
    

Regardless of the type or purpose of the document you are creating, an Executive Summary is critical.  Even though preparing a report of any kind can take a tremendous amount of time an effort, many financiers or other interested parties, do not take the time to read it in its entirety. But make sure your Executive Summary is inextricably tied to the details of your report.


Excerpted from, "The Start of Something BIG: Your Ultimate Guide to Writing a Dynamic Business Plan."