Planning Annually and Thinking Quarterly
by John Gross
Annual planning creates a strategic roadmap for your business by outlining the goals and objectives needed to achieve your long term vision. This high-level view helps you focus on your vision to make informed decisions about people, products and capital.
However, annual planning and execution can fail because of:
- Poor execution and follow-through due to lack of accountability. Without clear accountability for specific tasks and deadlines, progress can stall.
- Insufficient Monitoring and Evaluation due to lack of progress tracking. Without regular monitoring, it’s difficult to identify issues and make necessary adjustments. Also, if plans aren’t monitored properly, then they are not being evaluated and valuable lessons may be missed.
Quarterly planning allows you to translate your annual goals into actionable steps and track progress on a more frequent basis. By dividing the year into four distinct quarters, you can set specific targets, allocate resources, and monitor performance more closely. This approach enables you to adapt to change more proactively.
Once you have created an annual plan that helps you move toward your long-term vision and have made sure you have the right organization structure and the necessary resources, then quarterly planning can begin:
1. Break down annual goals into smaller, achievable quarterly objectives.
2. Develop detailed action plans for each quarter.
3. Set specific deadlines and milestones for each quarter.
4. Monitor performance regularly and adjust as needed.
By combining annual and quarterly planning, you improve focus, enhance accountability, increase adaptability, and can address issues earlier. Planning annually and thinking in quarters will drive your business toward sustainable growth and success.
John Gross is an EOS Implementer who helps businesses achieve Vision, Traction, and Healthy. You can contact John at John@ DrivingChangeInc.com or call 636.667.0579.