Strategic and Financial Planning “Plans are worthless, but planning is everything” (Eisenhower, 1957). Businesses that do not plan are very likely to fail and, at best, will not recognize the full range of profit opportunities available to them. Strategic planning helps businesses define how they will make money in the future. Financial planning goes further by using the strategic plan as a reference and helps businesses determine their short- and long-term budgets as well as the possible effectiveness of their plans. The innovative nature of business requires companies to plan new initiatives to determine the costs they will incur, the possible profits from sales, and the type of risk they will encounter. Strategic Planning Initiative – Barnes and Noble and NOOKOver time, technical innovations have changed the way things are done. of life for millions of people. These breakthroughs continue to surface and understanding these technologies and how to properly use them is essential in the business world. Barnes and Noble is a company that has adapted to these changing times and is proving its ability to keep pace. The NOOK is a digital reading device, and with Internet access, it offers a nearly endless list of all forms of literature. With the release of NOOK, this unique product allowed Barnes and Noble to establish itself strongly in the digital text market. Barnes and Noble's annual report explains how they will continue to use NOOK and explains that it has recently become a product that can generate very profitable revenue (Barnes and Noble, 2013). NOOK is a product that could potentially be considered the downfall of bookstores, but Barnes and Noble has figured out how to take its place in the digital market while maintaining the middle of paper ......s/annual_reports.htmlBarnes&Noble. (2012). Our business. Retrieved December 9, 2013, from Barnes&Noble: http://www.barnesandnobleinc.com/our_company/our_company.htmlDe La Merced, MJ (June 25, 2013). Losing ground on Nook, Barnes & Noble ceases its own manufacturing of color versions. (NY Times, producer) Retrieved December 9, 2013 from DealBook: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/06/25/losing-ground-on-nook-barnes-noble-ceases-its-manufacture-of - color-versions/?_r=1Eisenhower, DD (1957). Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1957. Government Printing Office. Retrieved December 9, 2013 from http://books.google.com/books/about/Public_Papers_of_the_Presidents_of_the_U.html?id=XkrOHaeghuYCTitman, S., Keown, AJ, & Martin, JD (2011). Principles and Applications of Financial Management (11th ed.). Boston, Massachusetts: Prentice Hall.