The American College, a fully accredited US institution of higher education dedicated to financial services, recently announced their adoption of The One Page Business Plan® as an industry best planning practice. They have begun the process of incorporating the Financial Services Edition into their Masters in Financial Services Practice Development and Management courses. Dr. Mary Quist-Newins, CFP, CLU, ChFC, State Farm Chair in Women and Financial Services, Assistant Professor, Women’s Studies said, “This book will be required reading and students will be required to submit their One Page Business Plans along with their One Page Budget for their course grade.” For over 83 years, The American College has been a valued business partner to banks, brokerage

Vision - What am I creating? This would be from my standpoint (features, services/products, $, ideal client, etc.) Mission - How am I helping/servicing my clients? What are the end results from the clients standpoint? Purpose - What is it inside of me that makes me do or brings out the passion or drives me to do what I'm doing Having said that, the problem is that in business, you'll see mission and vision interchangeable, depending on what book you read.

"The plan itself enables you to create a checklist of things you must do and learn in order to succeed. It forces leaders to get really clear about those strategies and tactics, and most importantly, to debate those issues with other smart people who can help you. Until you commit to a plan, there is no accountability and no way to clearly measure progress. As it turns out, most plans don't turn out as planned exactly -- things may be better or worse. But without a plan, failure is more likely because you'll thrash about wasting time and effort without accountability. The planning process saves you time, effort and energy." -- Mark Thompson, co-Author of Success