As we approach the end of this year and eagerly anticipate the dawn of a new one, now is the opportune moment to craft a strategic roadmap for the upcoming 12 months. This ensures that you launch into the new year with momentum and purpose.

The Annual Plan serves as a pivotal tool in rallying your team and unifying every facet of the business around a select set of priorities. These strategic initiatives, once accomplished, propel the business toward realising its 3–5-year objectives and, ultimately, bring it closer to your long-term vision.

An annual strategic plan not only instills a sense of inspiration among your team but also establishes the cornerstone for each subsequent quarterly plan.

To seamlessly bridge the gap between strategy and execution, consider these five steps for developing an annual plan.

Step 1: Review the Year Gone By

Reflecting on the past 12 months offers valuable lessons - if we take the time to ask the right questions.

Embarking on a retrospective review involves a structured approach:

Commence by gathering data. Explore the highs and lows, assess your performance against objectives and key results. Scrutinise completed tasks and those left undone. Delve into the 'why' behind each outcome.

With the collected data, formulate insights. Observe patterns, identify nuances, and unearth surprises. Take note of what stands out and what appears to be missing. Allow questions to naturally emerge.

From there, consider potential actions, ideas, and changes for the next 12 months. It's about contemplating what you might want to change or go after based on your observations of the past.

Step 2: Outline the Current Environment

Conducting a SWOT analysis can prove invaluable in understanding the current business landscape as it relates to you and your industry. This involves an examination of internal business strengths and weaknesses, along with external opportunities, threats, and trends.

Consider the following illustrative factors:

• Rising Interest Rates

• Inflation & Pricing

• Recruitment Challenges

• Supply Chain Issues

Identify your strengths as the internal competencies that give you a competitive edge. Concurrently, acknowledge weaknesses as internal shortcomings that pose vulnerabilities and opportunities for improvement.

Trends, on the other hand, encapsulate both micro and macro shifts that could shape the future landscape. These trends span various domains such as market dynamics, geographical influences, and developments in politics, economics, or technology.

Step 3: Evaluate the Strategic Plan and Targets for the Next 3–5 Years

Crafting a blueprint for a prosperous 2024 necessitates a clear understanding of the strategic planning process.

Strategic thinking, being an ongoing process rather than a singular event, demands thoughtful consideration on how to maximise its effectiveness over time. Several key strategic decisions should be firmly established or actively reviewed this time of year:

Core Values:

Define the fundamental principles that underpin your organisation's identity and guide decision-making.

Core Purpose:

Articulate the intrinsic reason for your existence as a business, transcending mere profit.

BHAG: Big Hairy Achievable Goal:

Set an ambitious, transformative albeit achievable long-term goal that galvanizes and inspires your team.

Brand Promise & Unique Marketing Messages

Clearly communicate the commitments and expectations you extend to your customers.

As you chart your course for the next 3–5 years, aligning with your long-term vision and purpose, it becomes imperative to establish a three-year vision. This forward-thinking approach lays the groundwork for a strategic plan that is both visionary and actionable.

Step 4: Imagine a Remarkable Year and Define Your Goals

Craft a vision of what would constitute a remarkable 2024 before it happens.

Contemplate the transformations your business will undergo in the next 12 months in order to move closer to your three year vision. Envisage the shifts in the workplace environment and ponder the ways in which success will be celebrated.

Drawing insights from your three-year vision, channel your focus towards setting goals for the upcoming year.

What specific areas demand your attention and what are the most important 3 to 7 goals to set for the next 12 months?

Step 5: Establish Your Primary Focus for the First Quarter (January 2024 to March 2024)

Having established your annual goals, the focus now shifts to the immediate quarter January 2024 to March 2024. What are the specific objectives for these initial three months? Identify the 3-7 key actions or results that demand attention.

Approach this from a holistic standpoint, considering the areas of sales, marketing, people, process, and finance.

Similar to the annual plan, the quarterly plan should spotlight 3-7 overarching priorities realistically achievable within a 90-day timeframe. Crucially, assign accountability within your team for each priority, ensuring a clear line of responsibility. If more than one person is accountable, no one is accountable.

This planning process revolves around the strategic choices you make – being that if everything is important, nothing is important.

Recognise the first 90 days of 2024 as a critical juncture for your business. It's a period of setting the tone for success and gearing up for the long journey ahead towards your BHAG.

These five steps summarise a structured strategic planning process, guiding you from high-level conceptualisation to the nitty-gritty of implementation.

For those grappling with a history of follow-through challenges, consider incorporating a "get a business coach" facet into your plan. A coach serves as a valuable ally, fostering accountability and increasing the probability of actually achieving your business aspirations.