It’s January, the time for big goals to save money, take more time off, get in shape, become someone who cooks a week’s worth of organic, seasonally fresh meals every Sunday, etc. It’s also time for…the dreaded annual strategic planning session. You know, those very long meetings where the CEO talks at you about the lofty goals that have been set and why they’re important, then leaves you and the others in the room to figure out how on earth you’re going to make all of that happen. Or maybe in your company they look like high energy, collaborative sessions that get everyone psyched for all the amazing things you’re going to accomplish in the coming 12 months, only to be forgotten in a few weeks because everyone is busy putting out fires. I’ve sat through both and I’ll confess to having facilitated a few of the latter once upon a time. Nothing frustrates a team more than feeling burdened by goals set from on high or putting time and energy into ideas that are never realized.
So why do we do it? Why do we keep returning to the torture that is the Annual Strategic Planning Meeting? Because we know our businesses need goals and those goals need to be communicated to the wider team so their day-to-day contributions bring us closer to those goals. Ideally we want buy-in and even (dare we say it) enthusiasm for those priorities. But so many companies don’t know how to go about this in a way that actually works.
Spoiler alert: It really isn’t about the session itself. It’s all about what you do in the weeks and months after the session that makes or breaks your strategic planning process.
I said process, did you catch that? Effective strategic planning is not a one-and-done event. Things change—competitors pop up, pandemics cause lockdowns, key employees leave, ideas take longer to implement than expected, and better ideas emerge. To be strategic, there have to be opportunities to revisit the strategies being used to achieve long range goals. Caution is needed here, though, because changing the plan every few weeks is a surefire way to fuel burnout and resentment. Effort feels wasted and so people begin to contribute less and less energy to the current ‘priority’ being thrown at them.
Enter the Quarterly Strategy Revisit. This is not a reboot on your long range goals every 90 days; far from it. It’s a review of those long range goals and then deciding what needs to happen in the next quarter to achieve them. There is also a key element of reflection on the last three months. What progress was made? What did we learn? What new development needs to be accounted for in our plans?
The second critical element to a strategic planning process that yields results is communication. The learning and reflection piece I mentioned? That needs to be done at every level—not just the leadership team. The main learnings and new information have to be carried up to the company’s leaders so they can make more informed decisions. Then the identified priorities for the coming quarter are communicated back out to the entire team with context on how those priorities advance long range goals or address pressing problems.
So now is not the time to plan your annual strategic planning session. It’s the time to set your strategic planning cadence for 2024. Take the time to look at the coming year. What makes sense for your company and team? If you are an accounting firm, forcing a strict rhythm of every 90 days will put your Q2 Strategy Revisit in early April and we both know that just isn’t going to work. So have your first quarter go until April 15th, let everyone catch their breath and have your Strategy Revisit in late April. Aim for roughly three months, but be reasonable. And while you’re at it, schedule those updates where you share progress made on annual goals and the priorities for the coming quarter. Stick with it and you’ll see greater alignment and traction toward your vision. Happy scheduling!