Running a business these days means you need to be super flexible. The online world has changed business so much (that’s the understatement of the century), and being able to pivot is everything.
As someone who specializes in business planning, I sometimes have people ask me whether it makes sense to sit down at the beginning of each year and write out a plan. Things change so fast, and the plan that you create at the beginning of the year might not make sense by the time summer comes around. Is it a waste of time to do an annual planning session?
Well, I am here to tell you that annual planning is NOT dead. It’s still a really good idea and something that can make the difference between your best year ever and a year that’s just okay. I truly believe this, and it’s not just because I’m obsessed with lists, organization, and planning all the things. But, here’s the thing: you have to do it a little differently than you’re probably used to doing it.
Plan Your Direction, Not Your Steps
The tendency most business owners have is to sit down at the beginning of the year and set those super big goals. So far, so good! However, their next instinct is to break those big goals down and set smaller goals for each quarter and sometimes, even smaller goals for each month. That’s when things start to go a little haywire.
The issue is, when plans get too specific and detailed, it can actually set you up for failure, not success. Most people get way too attached to their plan. They “set it and forget it” no matter what happens. They become married to the arbitrary deadlines they’ve set and don’t feel like they have the option to pivot if needed.
From my experience speaking with clients about this, I’ve discovered that having an annual plan that is too detailed and concrete almost always leads to one of two outcomes: a) the plan gets followed so religiously it actually limited the growth potential of the business, or b) a deadline gets blown and the whole plan is scrapped.
Building a Personalized Growth Blueprint
Instead of being tethered to an inflexible and limiting annual plan, I like to help my clients create a personalized growth blueprint. This isn’t just a fancy way of saying the same thing, it’s a technique I use to focus on growth in a way that actually benefits your business rather than holding you back.
A personalized growth blueprint starts with three basic steps:
- First, you strategize your big bold visions for the year.
- Then, you streamline your operations and teams to be as efficient as possible.
- Finally, you set yourself up for success by detailing the current gaps in your workflows and determining how best to fill them so your business can grow and become even more profitable over the course of the year. Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?
While it can be inspiring to read other people’s annual plans for their business, what you really need is a personalized blueprint to follow to take things to the next level. Going through this process gives you a strategic vision and action steps that you can easily adjust every quarter without having to re-do the entire process.
Achieve, Plan, Repeat
What happens when you’ve planned everything out for the year and you achieve your goals by the beginning of October? Sure, you’ll probably pat yourself on the back for a little while, but then what? There’s still three more months in the year and now you have no direction and that annual plan you set in January is of no use to you. Cue the panic.
With a personalized growth blueprint, you’ll be able to easily follow a formula of achieve, plan, repeat that will keep you focused on your next big, bold vision. You’ll become so adept at pinpointing obstacles that are in your way, building new systems, outsourcing and delegating tasks, and building project management processes and SOPs that really move the needle. Basically, you’ll be unstoppable.
So, at the start of this new year (and new decade) I don’t want to dissuade you from doing some serious business planning… I just want to make sure you’re not limiting your growth in the process. If you need some help scaling your business in 2020 and beyond, let’s work together!