Steven has recently come into the family business.  He is bringing new energy to a long dreamed about project – the design and production of high-quality chocolates.  In essence this is a new business.  Superb has been in the business of distributing candies, cookies, cakes, and other items to small shops for 15 years, but the production of anything – let alone a sophisticated food product like chocolate – is outside their current experience.

Superb has a lot going for it – a good knowledge of the consumer market they serve, a strong business infrastructure, lots of business street smarts, and profits from their existing business to fund expansion into production.  But this is also a whole new world.  Their consultant is telling them that planning now, before they’ve have pushed too far ahead, is key to assuring that this venture takes them where they want to go and not someplace else.

Steven and his father have every reason you can think of to skip the crucial planning step.  It starts with the father being very busy in the existing business and with Steven devoting significant portions of his time to his graphic design/brand development business and a serious interest in writing and performing music.  There isn’t a crucial need – at least yet – to raise capital so they’re not talking to investors.   And there is the belief that the specialty chocolate industry is poised to grow and that they can easily carve out their space in it.

Consider the following:

1. How would you go about building a case for Steven and his father taking the advice of their consultant and entering into a vigorous planning process?

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