Strategic Planning vs. New Year Resolutions
Are you ready for 2023?
As the year wraps up, we all feel a sense of “reset,” perhaps believing things will be better or at least different when we wake up on January 1st.
Instead of focusing only on personal resolutions, business leaders are also challenged with business resolutions, or rather business goals to accomplish in the coming year.
But, just as with personal resolutions, business resolutions can be hard to keep. How can you make your resolutions stick?
Assess your current strategic planning process.
Is it…
- Cascaded within the organization? Does everyone understand how their role supports the organization’s greater vision and goals? Do the team’s goals align with and contribute to the organization’s strategic plan?
- Revisited frequently? Is it a living plan, a living document, or does it die with time or with any new challenge that wasn’t part of the plan? Did it sustain curveballs thrown at you? (Think back to the challenges you navigated as a result of the pandemic.)
- Written in a common language? Is there consistency in process and practice within and across teams and departments across the entire organization? Are there silos to fix?
- Incorporating outside perspectives? Are you sitting in a room with the same people each time, or do you leverage the insight and expertise of others? Do you welcome challenges, questions and feedback outside of your top-most executive leaders?
- Clear and concise? Does it fit on two pages or less? Is it well-organized? Does it make sense to you the next time you review it, or have you forgotten what pieces of it mean?
- Actually working? Are you happy with your current strategic planning process? Are you consistently accomplishing 80% or more of the identified goals? Simply put, does it work?
Is it a resounding YES for each of the above questions, or is there room for improvement as the calendar turns?
You may currently be preparing for what 2023 will bring your way; instead, focus on what you’ll bring to 2023 and how your leadership will contribute to the organization’s – and its people’s – success. Get yourself a strategic plan that excites you, one that gets everyone rowing the same direction and guides you to your best year yet.