Strategic Planning Struggles in the New Year. You Can Still Achieve It All.

Oftentimes, just after the new year, business owners find themselves stressed and overwhelmed rather than filled with the excitement they anticipated.  They set goals in the last quarter and already have concerns about achieving them a month into the new year.  This is a common (and normal) occurrence we see when a CEO tries to do their own strategic planning.  

Here are a few of the most common pitfalls we see and how to avoid them.      

1. Clearly define your goals and objectives. 

CEO’s and business owners usually have goals, and plenty of them. But they may not know the correct steps to take or even how to shape and design the goal into being something measurable and thus achievable.  If you do not have clearly defined goals, you will not know how or even if you actually hit them.  

2. You may be overutilizing your human resources.

Most businesses know to watch their financial resources but human resources is another story.  Many times we have big dreams and don’t consider when we need to hire additional employees or when we should outsource. To add to the confusion, we often find that many CEOs are actually unaware of which employees are performing specific tasks.  It is not uncommon to find one or two employees carrying entire departments or small companies.  When planning a strategic mapping, ensure your team has the capacity and capabilities to carry out the tasks required to reach your goals.  

3. Strategic Objectives 

Strategic planning should be focused in multiple areas of the business.   Our trademarked process utilizes specific questions to cover seven core strategic objectives every business needs.  This allows us to be able to fill holes and put out fires before they start. Strategic objectives should promote cohesive growth and these will be an essential takeaway from a high quality strategic mapping session. 

4. Aligning your mission with your business strategy

This is such a simple, yet commonly overlooked, aspect of business planning.  Business owners often get stuck in the daily grind and forget why they started the business in the first place.  This can manifest as loose boundaries, or even as offering services or products simply because they were requested.  Keep in mind that every time we say “yes” to something we also say “no” to something else.  

The main goal of a strategic mapping session is to provide clarity, give direction and create a plan.  If your strategic planning has left you without clarity and you are unsure of how to achieve those goals, let us help.  Our trademarked and purposeful process will leave you feeling refreshed with a business strategy that serves your clients, your business and even your personal life.