The eight questions of annual planning
When we consider a planning session based on the year ahead, it can become overwhelming with where to begin, what to focus on, and what to prioritize. Strategic planning is often too complex, and an organization’s vision is seldom clear and concise. It can also have a detrimental effect if the viewing window does not take into account how the plan aligns with your 10 Year Target and your 3 Year Plan.
Annual planning should:
a. Provide direction for the organization in all functional areas for the next year.
b. Define the scope of the organizations activities in terms of what it will and will not do.
c. Match the activities of the organization to the environment in which it operates so that it maximizes opportunities and minimizes threats.
d. Synchronizes the organizations activities to its resource capacity.
From there, scalability and financial implications are considered to see if the plan remains feasible and so forth, a budget is built to support it, everyone steps forward to execute with precision and utmost clarity, laser focus…and all things are then good, Right? We know from our previous efforts this is not typically the case. Yet we sally forth, in spite of ourselves, for lack of a better model.
Gino Wickman, founder of Entrepreneurial Operating System, in his popular and powerful business book TRACTION, approaches this with a framework he has spent many years developing into its purest and simplest form. Gino insists that rarely will any of these plans hit their target or hold up without answering 8 Questions first.
These 8 Questions are found in the Vision component, the first of his 6 key components you are encouraged to strengthen and refine. I will share them with you momentarily, but first consider that it’s never such that an organization doesn’t have a vision, it’s that they rarely agree on that vision. Gino invites you to a discipline that will solve that for you and your team, and it’s simply called “answering the 8Q’s”. What we do as EOS implementers is help a leadership team agree on these 8 simple questions about their business. In all of our honing and refining of our work we realize there are only 8Q’s any leadership team needs to ask to then have a crystal clear vision to take to the rest of the organization. So here they are:
- Core Values – What are the 3 to 7 characteristics that define who you are as a leadership team and as a company and culture, and you must agree on those 3 to 7.
- Core Focus – What is the true core where you excel? The idea is to agree as a united leadership team that this is in fact the very core, that you aren’t dabbling in any ‘shiny stuff’ that distracts from that laser focus. Make sure everyone agrees.
- 10 Year Target – What is the overriding goal you’re all working this hard toward? What is the finish line? What is it that when reached the owners goal is fulfilled and complete? Again, everyone must agree.
- Marketing Strategy – This is agreeing on who is our ideal target market that we are going after, what are the 3 top differentiators that we’re selling and telling to the world? What is our proven process for doing business with our customers and what is our guaranteed pledge or promise that puts their mind at ease when doing business with us? And again it’s agreeing on those elements that is your marketing strategy.
- 3 Year Picture – This is painting a picture and agreeing, what is the revenue, profit and measurable goals and then 5 to 15 bullet points just painting a picture of what your organization will look like in 3 short years and yes, everyone is agreeing on that 3 Year picture.
- 1 Year Plan – So going into that next year, what is the Plan? What is the revenue, profit and measurable goals and then what are the 3 to 7 most important things that must get done in the coming year? Less is more, and again agreeing.
- Rocks – Bringing it down to the ground and answering what are your Quarterly Rocks? What are the 3 to 7 most important things that you and your team must get done in the next 90 days to make that 1 Year Plan a reality, to put you on track for that 3 Year picture and ultimately make that 10 Year Target.
- Issues – What’s on the Issues List? Agreeing on, what are all of our issues, obstacles, barriers, ideas, opportunities and if we look to the future, sometimes it’s just good therapy but the idea is to agree as a leadership team – admit all the issues that we face as we go forward.
I promise you - if you will get on the same page with your leadership team and answer these 8 questions, you will align everyone, and get everyone rowing in the same direction and then, have a crystal clear vision to take to your organization. I want to drive home the danger of looking at the year ahead with myopic vision, but instead treat every Quarter as the end of a year.
All that said, the EOS Team has created a tool they call Vision Traction Organizer (VTO). It’s a tool that captures the answers to the 8 Questions. It is free and downloadable on the EOS website, its powerful, and - if you want our help, schedule a free 90-minute meeting with me to learn more about this very complete and straightforward Business Operating System.
Until next time, stay focused.
