Carl J. Schramm is an American economist, entrepreneur, and former President and CEO of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a private philanthropic foundation. The Economist has named Schramm the "evangelist of entrepreneurship". Schramm stepped down at the end of 2011 after nearly ten years at the helm of Kauffman. The Kansas City Star observed: "Under Schramm's tenure, the foundation laid a geographically bigger entrepreneurship footprint, launching Global Entrepreneurship Week and becoming the nation's leading founder for entrepreneurship research."
When Schramm came to the Kauffman Foundation, most of its grant-making went to local nonprofits, but he was recruited to make Kauffman a national and global institution. Schramm also made the Kauffman Foundation a pioneer in education—it became the first grant-making foundation own and operate its own charter school.
Chuck Blakeman has had many business ventures and has made every mistake possible to have a great success in each one. He now does public speaking to let people know what he thinks that entrepreneurs could benefit from when opening a new business.
Carl Schramm and Chuck Blakeman have a unique view about business plans. It was noted in Stein Vox that he did not believe in the premise of business plans. His view on business plans is that it rarely makes sense to write a business plan, nor does it make sense to manage from them. Carl shared that so many academic institutions, business books and training programs whose titles indicate they will teach you how to start and build a business, are largely just information on how to perfect “business plan writing.”
Carl’s point is it is never the case that the formal path mapped out in a business plan is the real path that a business takes to success. As soon as the plan is done, it is out of date. So, why write business plans at all? Stick to the minimal – what is the product, who’s going to buy it, why need it, and how you are going to build and deliver it based on what you know. It only needs to be one page.
Instead of spending time writing a business plan, get on with making the business. Carl shared that in all the investments in start-ups he’s made, he has not read a single business plan. For Carl, to invest in a new business, his measure is the person, not the business plan.
This is interesting because most educators teach the notion that the business plan has to be elaborate and mention every step that a business will take for the next three years. Carl has a point in which businesses change for week to week, month to month, and year to year. A business should have an idea in mind about how they see their future but should not be upset when their business detours of the plan. Always to be able to adjust your business when needed.
