herent in the assumptions. The planning cycle need be no longer or more complicated than the annual business planning cycle. Ideally, the long-range plan will be an extension of the annual business plan, with focus on growth targets and performance against those targets each year instead of each quarter in the current year. At the small- and medium-size business level, most entities are by nature limited to a few products. As an organization grows, the number of products and markets addressed with those products grow. Ultimately, most enterprises operating in the profit-making sector grow to a point where they diversify. The first level of diversi- fication is an additional product in the same or adjacent market segments, followed by new or enhanced products that address new markets. Ultimately, growing businesses are acquired or acquire other companies. As acquisitions are made, the acquiring company is said to operate more than one line of business, while the acquired company becomes a line of business or product line in a larger entity. Balancing investment and resources in an enterprise where the prod- uct or service portfolio is limited to a few specific offerings in a well- defined market segment is one kettle of fish. It involves a two-level structure where organizational leaders decide on a basic set of prod- ucts and services and define the market in terms of applications and customer set, followed by detailed market research and competitive analysis. This set of intelligence is then used to make a strategic operating and financial plan encompassing the current plan, or next year's annual plan and projections covering 3, and preferably 5, years into the future. On the other side of the spectrum lies the organization with two or more operating units or divisions, each with its own sales force, product, and/or service set, operating independently of other div- isions in a unique market, keeping a unique set of accounting records while using a unique set of human and capital resources. This situ- 13 TECHNOL