Member-only story
I remember the first business plan I wrote like it was yesterday. I had just joined Maxim Integrated Products, and my boss, the late Ziya Boyacigiller, asked me to develop a plan for Maxim’s Voltage Reference business. The Voltage Reference had been struggling, and it was my responsibility to turn it around.
So I set about developing my plan. I met with customers, and I talked with various engineers inside the company about our capabilities. I completed a 35 page plan, and I excitedly plunked it on Ziya’s desk.
The next day, Ziya came back to me and, always the teacher, suggested I share my report with Len Sherman. Len, at the time, was running Maxim’s applications group.
I told Len what I was up to, and I gave him my plan. He looked at then plan, and then he said, “This is way too long! No one is going to read it.
“You need to present this in bullet points, rather than in complete sentences.”
I thanked Len for his input, and I rewrote my plan. 35 pages went to 8 pages. I presented my new report to Ziya.
Ziya was pleased with the new report. Then he told me a story about an aide giving a report to Henry Kissinger, President Nixon’s Secretary of State.
