If you haven’t already done so, now is the time to start your planning for the outcomes you want in 2026.
Jim CastigliaThis is a great time to put together a strategic planning session. If you’re not comfortable with formal strategic planning, it’s best to K.I.S.S. — Keep It Simple, Stupid. (K.I.S.S. is a design principle that originally came from the U.S. Navy. Keep it super simple; keep it simple; and keep it short and sweet are a few alternatives.)
Here’s how: logistically, plan for at least a 4-hour conference with your top team, but 8 hours or more may be more appropriate for your business. (If you’re reading this and you're not the business owner, show them this article. Recommend a planning session for the company and its departments.)
Use Planning Processes to Improve Sales and Profits
Customary goals include using planning processes to improve sales and profits; reduce costs; eliminate or minimize the risk of being blindsided; plan ways to get the most out of your people and processes, enhancing their efficiency and effectiveness; or simply make things better.
Justifiably, your primary focus is usually on increasing sales and profits. I don’t want to de-emphasize that focus, but there are many other ways you can “make things better” while still maintaining the current, acceptable status of sales and profits. This article will focus on some ways to do so and spark new ideas.
Remember that business is a thinking sport. If you want to do better, you must get better. Learn something new and practice what you’ve learned. A “Pin the Tail on the Donkey” strategy is painful, slow, expensive, and it rarely succeeds. (K. Cunningham)
So, let’s start by considering the four dimensions of business:
- Management
- Finance
- Marketing
- Economics
Making Things Better for Your Finishing Business
Where can we make things better in each dimension?
Management: Can you make things better in one or more of the following areas? Goals; organization chart; authority; lines of communication; the staffing plan; customer service; procedures; controls; compensation; feedback; team work; decisiveness; growth
Finance: Can you make things better in one or more of the following areas? The business plan; debt-equity structure; accounting practices; cash flow; debt repayment; asset management; equity; ratios; trends; controls; security; timely information; avoiding insolvency; avoiding bankruptcy; acquisition; growth; getting set up for the eventual sale of the business
Marketing: Can you make things better in one or more of the following areas? Sales management; product management; advertising management; the sales force; training; compensation; R&D; delivery; service; target market(s), the 4 Ps/marketing mix (product, place, promotion, and price)
Economics: Can you make things better in one or more of the following areas? Failure prevention plans; assessing the sensitivity of your business to general economic conditions like interest rates and inflation; as well as demographics like age, education, career stage, family stage; migration patterns; unemployment; geography; key legal, political, social, environmental, and financial influences.
Now you know why Warren Buffett’s partner for 50 years, Charlie Munger, famously said, “It’s not supposed to be easy. Anyone who finds it easy is STUPID.” He was talking about successful investing, but the same principles apply to business.
Ideas for Potential Focus
David AllenHere are some other ideas for potential focus:
- Dust off and revisit your org chart (why you should have one = how the work gets done and by whom, as well as the lines of authority and communication
- Improve your problem-solving skills
- Improve your company’s communication skills
- Improve the effectiveness of your meetings; agendas? Rules?
- Improve your strategic planning process: formal or informal
- Review your corporate values (what you stand for); do your employees adhere to or violate those values; how do you address violations? Which ones need to be reinforced?
- Look at your company’s goals and objectives. Goals are longer-term; objectives are shorter-term.
Author David Allen, Getting Things Done—The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, created what he calls the Horizons of Focus or The Altitude Map, where priorities are determined from the top down:
- 50,000 level: Purpose and core values (ultimate intention; why are we doing this?)
- 40,000 level: Vision (what will it look like; long-term outcomes)
- 30,000 level: Goals and objectives (what do you want and need to accomplish)
- 20,000 level: Areas of focus and responsibility (important spheres of work)
- 10,000 level: Projects (outcomes that can be completed within a year)
- Runway: Actions (next physical, visible actions to take on any project)
- Waste—where is waste sucking profits out the window? It’s your #1 enemy.
- Is your business “out of control” or “in control?” A business that’s in control meets or exceeds its sales and profit objectives; a business that’s out of control doesn’t
- Performance reviews: are people thin-skinned; are they effective; how’s that process? How often? (Management guru Dr. W. Edwards Deming claimed that conventional annual PRs are a waste. An employee’s work is tied to many systems and processes. There are alternatives to this practice.
- Review your business’s critical drivers (leading indicators)
- Review your KPIs (lagging indicators)
- Do a SWOT analysis
- What external factors can affect your operations? Look at your competitors, the technology trends (A.I.), and industry trends
Translate Strategy Into Operational Terms
Robert KaplanDr. Robert Kaplan, Harvard Business School, and Dr. David Norton, co-creators of The Balanced Scorecard, felt that organizations that could translate strategy into operational terms could achieve breakthrough results. They asserted that employees must understand the company strategy from four perspectives:
- Financial perspective (revenue growth and productivity strategy)
- Customer perspective (customer value proposition)
- Internal process perspective (innovation, management, excellence)
- Learning and Growth perspective (competencies, technology, culture)
Assignment: go through this article and make a checklist of areas you think could be made better, and then go over it with your team, partners, and any other stakeholders. Get their feedback and input. Come up with a high-priority list. (This is a powerful exercise that can help everyone “sing from the same hymnal.”)
The benefits of bringing your best people together to create an executable strategy for 2026 are numerous: it builds teamwork, amplifies confidence, provides clear direction, engages your people, and can go a long way toward “making things better.”
Don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. I help companies make things better. Text me at 949.338.7141 or email me at jvcastiglia@icloud.com.
Jim Castiglia is the founder of Business Street Fighter Consulting, supporting entrepreneurial business owners in their desire to grow and maximize the value of their businesses. You can reach him by email at jvcastiglia@icloud.com or text him at 949.338.7141.
