Planning for the Year Ahead

December is a popular time for year-end planning but there’s a well-kept secret in the business community: sometimes even the best plans flop. This happens for a variety of reasons, but it can be incredibly disappointing to get through Q1 and Q2 and realize you’re far away from where you had planned to be. If you’re aiming for business success in 2024, here’s the right kind of strategic planning to get you there. 

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Perform A Variety of SWOT Analyses 

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The vast majority of business owners are familiar with the SWOT analysis, which entrepreneurs often perform in the earliest stages of their business. But, performing SWOT analyses across all areas of your business can be incredibly useful at any stage. Particularly as you close out one year and prepare for the next, using the structure of the SWOT analysis gives you a comprehensive view of where to place your focus (and, often, your budget). 

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For those who are less familiar, SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Ask each department in your company (e.g. Sales & Marketing, Customer Success, Product, etc.) to perform their own evaluation for their work, and then hold a company-wide SWOT meeting. You might be surprised by the power of your individual and collective strengths, what your weaknesses really are, how many opportunities you truly have, and how thoroughly you can protect yourself from threats if you take the time to identify them and think them through. 

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Be Realistic 

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Once you’ve finished all the SWOT analyses you want to perform, it’s time to break down your opportunities into goals and prioritize them. After you have an idea of how important each priority is, you can attach them to realistic timelines. Remember to think long-term, but use short-term goalposts to maintain progress and not let anything slip through the cracks. 

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For example, let’s say you realized (through a SWOT analysis) that you have an incredible opportunity to sell your product through partners in the coming year. So, you set a goal to increase revenue by 10% by the end of next year through partners alone. To reach that goal, figure out what you’d have to hit every quarter - and then how you plan to check in monthly to determine whether or not you’re on track. It’s this granularity that can make the difference between plans that become reality and those that never get off the ground. 

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Involve Your Team Members

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Throughout every step of this process, ask for input from your employees. Ask them about what’s gone well this year, from their point of view, and what they’d like to see improved in the coming year. Also be sure to make plans for employee wellness in the New Year, as well as talking with team members about career growth so you can support them in reaching their own goals. Doing well by your team doesn’t just improve employee performance and retention; it’s more importantly the right thing to do for the people who keep your business on track. 

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Institutionalize Your Plans

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Last, but not least, set follow-up meetings and alerts to remind you and your team about all the great plans you’ve cooked up. If you don’t, the busyness of the day-to-day will prevent you from getting to your goals and vision for the New Year. There should be no ambiguity about who owns what, timing, expectations, and how follow-up will be handled. These guardrails will be what keeps you moving forward, come what may. 

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Ready for an incredible 2024? Incorporate these strategies into your year-end planning and you can count on business success. Give us a call if you’d like help with your strategic planning!

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