There are many planning frameworks in business, so let’s start with a common understanding of Annual Planning.

Annual Planning is a dynamic process that consists of the following steps:

• It starts with Reviewing your Previous Year’s Results to celebrate your accomplishments and learn from your shortfalls.
• Setting SMART Goals and Developing Strategies to achieve your goals.
• Aligning your Budget with your Annual Plan Goals and Strategies.
• Most importantly, establishing regular Annual Plan Reviews throughout the year to track results, drive accountability and make changes if needed.

It’s not a one-time event and document that gets dusty on your office shelf.

Let’s use an example with something fun like planning a vacation!

Planning Example

Before you go on vacation, you need to develop a plan first:

• What do you want to do? Go skiing, golfing, or perhaps sightseeing in Europe?
• Where do you want to go? Beach, mountains, maybe Italy.
• How are going to get there? Drive, fly or even ride your bike.
• What’s your timeframe and when go? Next September? How long will you stay? Two weeks, or is it just a long weekend?
• How much can you spend? Are you on a Budget or want a High Priced Luxury?

See how this works?

Commit to Annual Planning

Business owners and their teams need to go through the same process to plan for their organization! Start by committing to the process to let everyone know this is important. Remember Goals are the what. Strategies are the how. Reviews ensure you stay on track and there are no surprises at the end of the year.

It may sound funny, but I’ve known some business owners who spent more time planning their vacations than planning for their business.

Annual Planning is a dynamic process that provides focus and drives accountability within your organization to achieve the results you want from your business.

To learn more about Annual Planning, check out our on-demand Master Class, Annual Planning for Success.