It’s Annual Planning Go-Time. Master It With Three Surefire Tips!
If you’re like many business leaders, it’s annual-planning “go time” right now. You’re probably in the thick of it, reviewing the plan you and your team put in place last calendar year, identifying what targets you hit or missed, scrutinizing data and feedback, and assessing bottom-line success. And once those preparatory tasks are done, you know what comes next: the visionary (aka “fun”) and strategic (aka “challenging”) work to be done—developing next year’s plan.
Strategic annual planning is a lofty task, no doubt. But as you engage in the process, there are ways to legitimize it and make the process and plan truly effective. Given that, keep in mind these three planning pointers:
- Don’t go chasing shiny objects. In the annual planning experience, it can be tempting to brainstorm possibilities and even dream big. There’s nothing wrong with that. Great leaders and organizations dream big and set lofty goals. That said, there is a difference between dreaming, which goes hand-in-hand with visioning, and chasing shiny objects, which are usually distractors from your vision or your highest-level Vital Goal.
Take action: In planning meetings and exercises with your staff, make a concerted effort to be on the watch of “shiny objects,” or those distractors that may look good on the surface but potentially steer you off course, undermining your goals.
- Prioritize what’s vital. Looking back at what you’ve learned over the past year(s), what’s going to matter most in the upcoming year? Is it a focus on building engagement with customized coaching? Is it improving on strategies that will provide robust ROI? Is it making internal changes that may boost productivity? You can’t do it all, and those on your team (or other stakeholders) may have different opinions about what matters most. So work with your people to identify Vital Goals, collaborating to build buy-in and ownership of these targets.
Take action: When planning, educate your team on where your company has been, where it’s at, and where it’s slated to go. Encourage dialogue, input and engagement, asking questions and facilitating your team’s ability to surface the goals they feel matter most for the year. Tap them in the process of prioritizing.
- Do a reality check. Once you’ve selected your Vital Goals, make sure how you plan to achieve these goals and execute strategies are realistic. Do you have the resources to work toward and hit your marks? Do you or will you have an accountability system with processes and procedures in place to ignite and sustain goal achievement? If not, do a full stop. Why? Because even the best of intentions without the right resources or backing of a proven accountability system to support and drive it will likely backfire.
Take action: Get the facts about how bringing accountability into your annual plan can make or break your success. And hear stories of real business owners who’ve used it to drive winning results for themselves!
If you need help creating an annual plan that will drive goal-achievement and real business results, Contact MAP today!
