“A business plan has zero value as a fundraising tool according to new research from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of 
Business. Entrepreneurs should be perfecting their business, not spending hours refining how their plan looks on paper, say researchers.” So says a press release from the Smith School, dated April 6, 2009.
This conclusion was based on a study of the business plans of more than 700 dot-com companies from the late-1990s to early-2000s boom era. The study, “Form or Substance? The Role of Business Plans in Venture Capital Decision Making,” appears in the May 2009 issue of Strategic Management Journal.
A noted business planning expert, author, and angel investor disagrees. Tim Berry, president of Palo Alto Software, Inc. (Business Plan Pro) offers this response:
“Isn’t this about as dumb as saying a screenplay doesn’t matter because the audience won’t read it?”
Berry goes on to say that venture capitalists may not read the plans – “but the plan is for you, the startup wanna-be, to know what you’re trying to do, and how much money you need, and why, and what you’re going to spend it on. You may only show the VCs the presentation, but if you don’t have a plan behind it, with your numbers straight, then they’ll know it.”
Read it all on Berry’s website.
I haven’t read the study, but I’ll take a wild guess and say that most investors have regained their good sense by now, a decade after the dot-com boom. Nowadays investors need to know that the entrepreneur has worked through the rigor of a serious business plan, is fully aware of the problems ahead, and has well-thought-out solutions.
I do agree that would-be business owners shouldn’t be so consumed with writing business plans that they neglect their companies. But they can avoid being overwhelmed by seeking the assistance of qualified business consultants / writers to take care of producing solid business plans; leave the time-consuming work to professionals.
Any comments? Do business plans still matter?
The other day Mary Cullen at Business Writing Info called our attention to linguistic inflation in business communication. Her example: exaggerating 
commitment beyond 100%. She’s right. We should raise the alarm.
As Mary says, “100% effort means full capacity, and is commendable. Exaggerating commitment to 110%, 200%, 500% makes no sense, and is meaningless jargon that should be avoided in business writing.”
I’m with you on this, Mary. I once had a boss who was a serial offender. In meetings with clients he’d proclaim, “We’re dedicated to your success a thousand percent.” I’d try my best (100%) not to groan and roll my eyes.
Now that we’re fired up on the subject of egregious business jargon, what are some other examples? For starters, here are a few, with suggestions for correction.
- Out of pocket – unavailable
- Bandwidth – capacity
- Human capital – people
- Leverage (as a verb) – to take advantage of
- Dialogue – talk
- Impact (as a verb) – to have an effect on
Let’s strike a blow for the language and push back against (I mean resist) offensive and confusing jargon.
What are your pet peeves? Let me know and I’ll compile a collection in a future post.
Every business should understand that it’s responsible for the content of emails that go out under its name. Here are some “do and don’t” reminders that 
we should all keep in mind.
Do:
- Be clear and concise. Help your reader by providing context when necessary.
- Answer questions thoroughly.
- Always use correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Proofread and revise before sending.
- Indicate content and purpose in the subject line. Be specific.
- Use “reply” and keep to the message thread.
- Adopt a legal disclaimer and use it in every email.
- Have a formal email policy.
- Write with gender neutrality in mind.
- Remember that company email isn’t private. It’s company property.
- Include complete contact information in your signature.
Don’t:
- Use too much industry jargon.
- Capitalize every word in your subject line. This can be interpreted as spam.
- Use “reply all” indiscriminately. If it’s appropriate, go ahead.
- Use a high-priority flag or “urgent” in your subject line unless it’s warranted.
- Use language that could be interpreted as libelous, defamatory, sexist, or racist.
- Treat company email as your own.
- Send irate emails. Cool off. Use the phone.
- Send emails to a large number of recipients. This can expose email addresses to unauthorized persons. Use “bcc” instead.
- Write long paragraphs. Readers hate to see “walls of words” and will resist reading such emails. Instead, break up the text, use bullets.
- Be redundant. Say it once.
Language is always in transition. Your website should reflect where your company stands in the evolution of words. For example, something called 
electronic mail or “E-mail” enters the language. Soon it becomes “e-mail”, then “email”. If you use the various forms interchangeably, you’ll look confused.
Where does your company stand regarding these choices?
- Web site – web site – website
- Internet – internet
Even if your company’s website has only 1 or 2 writers or editors, a style guide will help to keep your content consistent. It will be invaluable to contract proofreaders and copywriters who come in without any idea of your company’s position on style and usage.
In addition to settling questions about new words and terms, your website style guide can reflect company policy on:
- Avoiding accusations of sexism: “the customer . . . they” (instead of “he”)
- Treatment of numbers: always use numerals or spell out “one” through “nine”?
- Always use “%” or spell out “percent” in text and use “%” only in charts and tables?
To avoid confusion on basic grammar and usage, include a section on capitalization, abbreviations, terminology peculiar to your industry, and “problem” word choices, such as “its” vs. “it’s”, “that” vs. “which”, and “affect” vs. “effect”. Include any others that vex your writers and editors.
Your website style guide should agree with your corporate style guide, if there is one. Otherwise, it can be based on a published guide.
Someone on your staff should “own” the website style guide and be responsible for keeping it current.
Today a friend (and a loyal reader of Business Writing Today) contacted me about the proper use of email in business. He had spoken on the phone with a 
senior executive at a company about a business proposition. (My friend is the proposer.) The next step was for my friend to send his proposition by email. He has never met the executive and wanted to know what I thought the correct email style should be.
My response:
“For a business email to a potential client whom you don’t know, I would lean toward formality. I write such emails like traditional business letters, but without the mailing address. If you want to include the mailing address (yours and his), that would be fine too.”
Call me old fashioned, but I believe that every business relationship calls for a degree of formality. Mistake a customer for a friend and sooner or later something will go off the track. This is true, even now in the Age of Twitter.
Prospects, customers, and colleagues deserve a level of respect that should be in play at all times, especially in correspondence.
A good rule of thumb is to write business email as if you’re writing on your company letterhead. Don’t fall prey to the prevailing assumption that all email is informal by its very nature.
When in doubt, err on the side of formality. Mind your manners. When you approach a company about engaging your services or buying your product, be polite – be respectful. At the salutation, write “Dear Mr. Jones” or “Dear Ms. Smith.” At the complimentary close, write “Very truly yours,” “Sincerely,” or “Best regards.” Sign with your full name and title.
If the reply is informal (”John. Thank you for writing . . . .”), then he or she has set the tone for future emails. Respond the same way and you both have settled at the right level of formality without risky guesswork on your part.
Does anyone have more to add? Please comment.
Guest Post by Michael Katz
My dog Abbie, a six-year-old Lab/Golden mix, has developed a curious habit in middle age: Several times each day she picks up her ball
(an old, deflated, yellow tetherball) and slowly carries it around the entire perimeter of the house. Clockwise.
We have no idea why she does this. In fact, after many months, the only “benefit” I’ve been able to point to is a well-worn path over the lawn, suggesting to our neighbors that we’re laying out plans for a future moat.
The truth is, after living with Abbie for several years now, I haven’t found much practical use for her at all. Granted, she ranks above teenagers on this scale (at least she looks at me when I talk to her), but between brushing her, feeding her, cleaning up after her and taking her to the vet, it’s a lot of work.
But you know what? I love having her in our house. She’s a constant, cuddly, petable reminder that practical value is only part of what makes life worth living.
Which brings me to E-Newsletters. Specifically, E-Newsletter voice and tone.
In the development and writing of an E-Newsletter, many people – savvy e-mail marketers among them – are quick to put voice and tone in the afterthought bucket: “Our readers are smart, busy people who work at big companies. We need to demonstrate our knowledge; that other stuff doesn’t really matter.”
I’m not the type of person who uses this kind of language, but if I were, I’d say that’s total bullshit.
But I’m not, so let’s just say I disagree.
Here’s the thing. Your readers, whether they’re smart or not, whether they’re busy or not, whether they work for big companies or not, tend to be human beings. And human beings, despite what your economist brother-in-law might tell you, are not rational decision-makers.
We buy cars, clothes, coffee, computers (and many other items which don’t even begin with the letter “c”) based on the way it feels to buy them and own them – not because we’ve performed an objective analysis of how they compare to other available options. We do it because it just feels right.
When it comes to hiring a professional service provider (i.e. you and me), the decision of who to go with is necessarily even more subjective.
Unlike purchasing a pair of sneakers, when considering the future services of an expert in a field they know little about, it’s nearly impossible for a potential client to line up one provider against the other and make an objective decision. Even if you are better in some material way, the people doing the choosing can’t tell.
Back to your newsletter. Providing useful information each time you publish is essential… and a thousand times better than simply promoting yourself. But it’s not enough. You need to reduce the risk that prospective clients feel when making a decision. You need to help them trust you if they’re going to hire you.
That’s where voice and tone comes in. What prevents your newsletter readers from picking up the phone and calling you is not the quality of your information, or the beauty of your design, or the prominence of your logo. It’s the human connection.
And so with that in mind, I offer some suggestions for connecting with humans:
1. Write in the first person. Say “I” not “we.” Say “you” not “all of you.” Speak directly to your readers whenever you can.
2. Use conversational phrases. Things like, “But you know what?” (paragraph four) and “Here’s the thing” (paragraph nine), will help your writing sound more real.
3. Use non-business words. “Curious,” “cuddly,” “love” and certainly “bullshit,” are not common in business writing. And yet curiously, they’re words we all use every day. You don’t want to go out of your way to offend people, but you need to take the gloves off enough that they can see who’s back there behind your tie and shiny web site.
4. Take your mask off. I don’t expect my clients to be as comfortable as I am in sharing the details of their personal lives in the company newsletter… but I do all I can to pull them in this direction. I do it because I’ve discovered, quite by accident, that the more people know about you, the easier it is for them to like and trust you – two necessary steps on the road to hiring you.
Here’s the bottom line. Pet owners (and parents) are painfully aware of the impractical value of having these creatures in the house. But we do it anyway, because it just feels good. Your readers may be serious businesspeople, but they’re people first. And they’ll walk right by if you don’t use voice and tone to engage them at a human level.
Michael Katz is the chief penguin at Blue Penguin Development, Inc., “E-Newsletters for Professional Service Companies.” Subscribe to his free newsletter at BluePenguinDevelopment.com.
Newsletters have come a long way since their origin in England in the 16th century. Even though the means of production have changed many times 
over the years, the purpose remains the same: to offer unique information to a niche audience.
Today’s marketing e-newsletters (so called because they are delivered electronically, by email) are employed by businesses of all sizes – from the lone entrepreneur to the multinational mega-corporation. I don’t know of a better, more cost-effective way to reach and hold onto a target audience.
What E-Newsletters Can Do
- Build relationships with customers
- Drive traffic to your website
- Establish your credibility with readers
- Improve your ranking with search engines
Build Relationships. Before you can communicate effectively through an e-newsletter, you have to identify your typical customer. Keep this customer in mind when you write each issue of your e-newsletter. Be personal. Let your readers know something about you. Write informally, conversationally. You can create a feeling of community by allowing your readers to provide feedback to articles. You can even invite them to get in on the act and contribute items themselves. Eventually – as you offer meaningful content in each issue – you’ll build trust relationships with your readers and they’ll reward you with frequent visits to your website and more orders for your wares.
Drive Traffic to Your Website. Blogs and other websites thrive on traffic. Your e-newsletter can include links back to your site for special merchandise offers or further information about topics that are summarized in your e-newsletter. An effective e-newsletter will always increase the visits to your website.
Establish Your Credibility. If the content of your e-newsletter is timely and useful for your readers, they’ll adopt you as a knowledgeable and dependable source of information that has meaning for them. Caution: don’t simply repeat information that’s already on your website.
Improve Search Engine Ranking. Remember to archive past issues of your e-newsletter on your website. This builds your site’s content – and growing content is something that the search engines dearly love.
Here are some more word choices that often give us pause when we’re writing a memo or an article. A quick review may keep us from flipping a coin the
next time we’re forced to choose.
- Although – even though. Both have the same meaning, but “even though” is more emphatic. Both combine two phrases that form a contrast. (Although it was November, he wore a Panama hat. Even though she smokes two packs of cigarettes a day, she’s a famous cardiologist.)
- Farther – further. This one is easy if you remember “far”. Use “farther” to talk about physical distance. Get it? (How much farther do we have to drive?) Use “further” with figurative distance. (You’re further along in your project than I am in mine.) Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between physical and figurative distance; in such cases, it’s OK to flip a coin.
- Like – as. Even though “like” is used almost all the time in everyday speech, there is a difference. “Like” is a preposition and should be followed by an object to form a prepositional phrase. (My date looked like a hamster.) “As” is a conjunction and should be followed by a clause containing a subject and a verb. (The warthog squealed as if he had a toothache.)
- That – which. “That” introduces a restrictive (defining) clause – the person or thing being talked about. (I have a car that is easy to drive.) “Which” introduces a nonrestrictive clause – one that gives additional information about something that has already been identified. (He wore a fur hat, which his wife had given him for his birthday.) In this use, “which” is always preceded by a comma.
- Who – that. The best rule of thumb is to use “who” when writing about a person. (He’s the vet who cured my ferret.) Use “that” when writing about an object. (This is the book that came in the mail.)
Is an in-house style manual just another “nice, but not necessary” business tool?
As a business grows, it produces more correspondence, email, proposals, marketing material, press releases, and articles in outside publications. Then
there are white papers, HR booklets, and documents that must comply with government standards. Sooner or later, there’s confusion about the “right way” to write something. There may already be general (unspoken) agreement about writing style, but a new employee or an outside writer will be at a disadvantage.
Advantages to having a company style manual:
- Provides consistency
- Establishes a certain “sound” for external publications
- Answers common questions on usage, punctuation, and abbreviations
- Sets rules for avoiding charges of sexism
- Saves time spent on revisions
A good way to start is for the company to adopt a third-party style guide, such as The Chicago Manual of Style. There are other, industry-specific and technical, style guides. Next, the company can use the third-party guide as backup and write a supplement that gives:
- Terminology used by the company and its industry
- The company’s preferences – including those that differ with the third-party guide
- Answers to FAQs from the staff and outside parties
- Examples of writing that complies with the company’s style
It happens to us all. When we’re writing a business letter, a report, or an article for the website, sooner or later we want to use a word that looks and sounds 
like another. Their meanings are similar. If we’re pressed for time and don’t consult a dictionary, we may make the wrong choice.
Here’s a short review of some of those pesky words:
- Affect – effect. These are tough because they can be either nouns or verbs. (a) As a noun: “Affect” is a technical term used in psychology; “Effect” means essence or appearance (economic effects). (b) As a verb: “Affect” means to produce a material influence upon or to act upon (how day care affects the company). “Effect” means to bring about (to effect changes).
- Historic – historical. “Historic” means having great and lasting importance (his election was historic). “Historical” means having the character of history (a historical survey of popular music).
- Its – it’s. “Its” is the possessive of “it” (the cat ate its dinner). “It’s” is the contraction for “it is” (it’s time to go).
- Lay – lie. “Lay” is a transitive verb, i.e., it requires an object and transmits its action from a subject to an object (the duck lays an egg. You don’t lay down). “Lie” is an intransitive verb, i.e., it doesn’t require an object (you lie down).
- Principal – principle. As a noun, “principal” means a capital sum (principal earns interest) or, as an adjective, the most important (the team’s principal shortstop). “Principle” is only a noun. It means a fundamental law or doctrine; a rule (conservative principles). Tip: think of the “le” in both “principle” and “rule”).
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