The Winslow Clock Company

THE WINSLOW CLOCKCOMPANY

For the third time, Dr. Winslow sat up in bed, flipped on the light, and reached for the Winslow Clock Company business plan. Maybe reading through it again would calm his growing fears. As he flipped through the pages, he recalled again all the years of thinking, tinkering, and discovery that had gone into the development of his alarm clock. How could something he spent so much time and energy on be wrong? It was such a good idea, this "throwable" alarm clock: Millions of Americans would want to get this kind of revenge on their daily call to the rat race. And, in its final design, it contained all kinds of computer-age technology. Surely, the investors tomorrow will love it! What had happened to his confidence? He had been sure enough to invest all his savings in the clock's development.

What a time to get second thoughts! Didn't he use the best technical help available to design the clock and plan the production and marketing? Maybe that was his problem-too much dependence on "experts" Being a practicing psychiatrist, he considered himself a good judge of character and motivation, but maybe his obsession with his clock had clouded his perception. Should he take more time to personally study the different production and marketing scenarios? He didn't have any more time, if he wanted to get

production started in time to hit the Christmas season. Should he wait another year, or risk going to market at a slow time of year, or ...?

The more he thought, the more the doubts and worries grew. He had to put a stop to this pointless mental exercise. The business plan he held in his hands was what he had to sell tomorrow at the meeting, so he'd better have confidence in it. If things went badly, then he could think about changes. For now, he would read over the business plan for The Winslow Clock