Biz Plan : Executive Summary

The Facts

1. Considered the most important part of a business plan, the executive summary must be cleverly crafted with the audience in mind, as it is the reader's first impression. Since readers may not even get to the detailed portion of the document, the executive summary should be clear, concise, focused and professional in language, not cumbersome or muddled with technical jargon.

Function

2. While it summarizes key points and prepares readers for upcoming content, executive summaries primarily function to entice readers to explore the rest of the document in depth.
   
   Primarily used in business plans, an executive summary must make an immediate impact on the reader. The key elements of executive summaries for business plans are:
   
   • Conveying the business, product and market served
   • Demonstrating the business' competitive advantage
   • Showcasing any major achievements
   • Depicting current market value
   • Proving the legal form of operation
   • Displaying principals and key personnel

Misconceptions

3. An executive summary is not the same as an abstract. The main purpose of an abstract is to inform the reader about the points covered within the document in more concise terms by omitting the details of each major point and are typically written for scientific and academic purposes. The executive summary also isn't an introduction, preface or collection of highlights.
   
   Experts, such as Bill Reichert of Garage Technology Ventures and Tim Berry, president of Palo Alto Software, argue over the appropriate length of an executive summary; generally, an executive summary should be able to stand alone while conveying the proper information.
   
   Do not cut and paste sections of the document into the executive summary. It must offer fresh, original and compelling language.

Size

4. When it comes to writing executive summaries, a good rule of thumb is to make the length equal to or less than 10 percent of the total number of pages in the document.

Significance

5. An executive summary should demand the reader's attention, as its purpose is to compel the reader to read the entire document. An effective executive summary highlights the purpose of the document, the problem or question addressed in the document and the background of the document through persuasive writing skills.
   
   While the executive summary should enable the reader to understand the document without reading its entirety, the executive summary should usually be compelling enough to convince the reader to thoroughly examine the complete document.