Back to Work — Your First Move of the New Year
If you have a Strategic Business Plan for 2025 you most likely completed it before the holidays. To achieve your '2025 business goals, you need to make your first move this week! —
My Strategy Execution Tip for this week is that your first move in the New Year should be to gather your executive team or key players and review your 2025 plan with them.
During this meeting be sure to:
Review the plan and how it was created.
Highlight your 3 or 4 major initiatives (projects) for the next quarter.
Name the executive responsible for overseeing these initiatives for the next quarter.
Establish 6 to 12 milestones for these initiatives in date order for this quarter.
Verify with the team that they view these initiatives and associated timelines as achievable.
Have they received any press back? This is their chance to explain why they have reservations about achieving the initiatives within the proposed timeline.
Address any concerns, and remove the obstacles. Typically they are resource-related, money, staffing, or the project lead being spread too thin.
It's your job to get their buy-in, by adjusting the project, whether it's the scope, timing, or providing the necessary resources. Once you get the executive's team buy-in you are well on your way to making this a successful quarter and year for your company.
The next move is to hold an Executive Team meeting at the beginning of each week, no more than 45 minutes! During this meeting you will review each of the 3 to 4 major initiatives, looking at the predetermined milestones and if you are behind do what needs to be done to get the projects back on track.
Execution is all about accountability, it is your responsibility to ensure that this weekly meeting is happening, with or without you! And as pertains to the Executive Team's accountability during this meeting you must hold them empathetically accountable for the initiative or project they are responsible for. After all, as above you received their buy-in that it could be achieved, which provides you the ability to ask..."You felt the project was achievable at the beginning of the quarter. What seems to be the problem? What can I or the team do to help you get it back on track?" Do you see how important it is to get their buy-in at the beginning of the year? It provides you leverage to politely and respectfully challenge lack of progress when needed.
For my solopreneurs without a team, I recommend you follow the same approach for 3 to 4 major initiatives per quarter, and create a milestone timeline for each project. Every Monday, pause and spend a few minutes looking at those initiatives and make sure you are on track, if not figure out what you need to do to get the initiative back on track and do it.
In closing today... Do you have a plan for 2025? If not I can help!
Join my Strategic Planning Academy, a four-module, 16-course academy that will guide you in assembling a strategic plan for growth in your business in 2025. It contains everything you need to create a plan and, more importantly, to help you accomplish its most essential component—executing it!
Invest just 2 -3 hours per week, and by month-end, you will have a Strategic Plan. A roadmap to success. I personally host a Strategic Planning Workshop session every Thursday to answer questions and guide you through the process of creating a Strategic Business Plan for your company.
Live Classes start this Thursday, January 9.
A special Introductory Rate of $95 to create a Strategic Business Plan for your company with Marc.
(Regularly $595, Now just $95 for an entire years access)
Click to join the Strategic Planning Academy
Wishing you a Successful New Year, Marc
Marc L Daniels
The Billion Dollar Coach
