While you might think end-of-year planning is still a couple of months away, now is actually the time to get started. That’s because creating a meaningful and measurable strategic plan requires more than just leadership’s input. By starting the process now, you’ll be finishing up in time for the new year, rather than just getting out of the starting gates.
Let’s recognize and appreciate that strategic plans are significant work. They require deep thinking about the state of the business, agreement on key goals for the future, and metrics to keep people and teams accountable. Once that hard work is done though, it should then be easy to ensure the plan is executed upon, right?!?!
Not so fast…
Too often, I have seen teams that create a masterful plan, only for it to come to an end during the presentation of the plan itself. Even if all team members are lucky enough to be invited to hear the plan, without follow up and further direction the plan is likely to remain in a drawer and dusted off at the end of the year or planning cycle. Only then does the team/organization remember what their original goals and strategies were…and the reality of where they ended up, or how much scrambling they need to do to meet the goals so late in the year.
The good news is that there is a way to avoid this disconnect by making sure the planning process extends beyond high-level goals and strategies, down to individual team member action plans. Our Strategic Planning Foundation Program can help you and your team devise a clear, actionable plan in as little as 90 days.
Why you need a solid, actionable plan
Too often, we find that teams that are not aligned in the beginning-to-middle of the year struggle to achieve results. At the same time, we have worked in situations where all team members fully know and understand how the strategic plan applies to them. In these scenarios, the team is likely to not just meet – but exceed – the goals and metrics for the year.
Here’s how the process works:
STEP ONE: Goals/Vision Planning Process with Leadership
Before any plan can be drafted, there needs to be leadership alignment on both the goals for the year (not just revenue, but product/service expansion, customer satisfaction, retention, etc.), critical success factors and barriers that need to be considered, and the vision/story of how we are going to attack these goals.
OUTCOME: This 2-hour session ends with consensus, which Corporate Path Leadership uses to create an official Goals/Vision document.
STEP TWO: 12-Month Strategic Planning Session
This is the largest time commitment of all. In order to be most successful, it is important to make sure all team members are part of a full-day session, dedicated to creating the framework for the strategic plan. Why all team members? Front line team members benefit from fully feeling part of the process that links the background for the strategic plan with the creation of the plan itself. Leaders benefit from the more detailed ideas that the team may have, and their help identifying possible “landmines” that might keep the team from reaching the proposed goals.
All participants walk out of the 8-hour session understanding how the plan is going to be shaped, and can start thinking about how they individually will be a part of the plan.
OUTCOME: Immediately after the session, Corporate Path Leadership uses the input to draft the actual plan and refine it with team leadership.
STEP THREE: Individual Team Member Application Meetings
The last step is far more personalized, and for good reason. These meetings with all team members (conducted individually) allow for a more thorough conversation with individuals so they can – with the help of their manager – identify those areas where they have specific actions and accountabilities for the plan, and how they will organize their time to meet these needs.
The timing for these meetings follows a logical process, starting with team leaders and commitments first, followed by the next layer of management, and so forth until all team members have completed the process.
OUTCOME: Corporate Path Leadership uses this information to create a team planning document with timelines and ownership.
STEP FOUR: Collective Team Action Plan
This 1-2 hour wrap up meeting with the entire team reviews the links connecting the initial goals/vision to the strategic plan to the collective actions and metrics that will guide the team for the next 12 months.
OUTCOME: A collective recap is a chance to reinforce the importance of the plan and everyone’s contributions. It also sets expectations for ongoing reporting and how the team will track overall progress against the plan.
Beginning to end, this entire process can be completed in 90 days.
We’re here to help!
As 2026 is rapidly approaching, make sure your team is ready for creating a solid, actionable plan for next year. Please visit the Strategic Planning Foundation Program page to learn more. Contact us to evolve your strategic planning process and enlist our help to identify, execute on and exceed your goals.