My 5 Favorite Strategic Planning Questions
As we begin a fresh year, it’s an excellent time to start thinking about strategic planning for your business. As a consultant, I often work with clients to help them develop effective strategies that can lead to growth and success. Over the years, I have found that asking the right questions is essential to creating a comprehensive and actionable plan. As such, I wanted to share some of my go-to questions that can help you think deeply about your business and its future. By considering these questions, you can gain valuable insights into your company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and develop a roadmap for success in the years ahead.
Question 1: Why?
This one word is my favorite question, and I use it often. You have unique ideas of what you want to accomplish - why? It’s so easy to jump straight into “Let’s do this thing” with every idea... but is it the right thing to do? Why is this important? Why now? How is this going to take us closer to our vision?
Question 2: How will we know if we are successful?
When we aren’t clear on what success looks like, we will never be successful. Having goals like “more money” or “more clients” is not enough. Or to “work less”. Exactly how much money? How many clients? How many hours do you want to be working? Specifics are measurable; we can build your plan to work towards them.
Question 3: What do I want my role to be in all this?
If you are anything like most of my clients, you may default to doing way too much yourself. When we are planning, it’s important to also plan for what we want YOUR role to be. What do you want to do…not want to do? What should come off your plate? (Even though you could be doing it.) As a Certified OBM, one of my favorite things to do is help my clients clear their plates and let go of the things they no longer enjoy and shouldn’t be involved in anymore.
Question 4: Who can do this better than me?
This goes along with the previous question - as we clear your plate, we will want to look for team members who can step in and bring their brilliance to the table. I like to look through the lens of “Who can do this better than me?” vs. & “Who can I hire to do this?” as it brings a different flavor/expectation to the table (and I promise you, there are always people out there who are better than we are at the things we should no longer be doing.)
Question 5: What if this doesn’t work out?
Yes, I’m all for big goals and having a positive attitude about it all. But I’m also a realist and like to consider the options if it doesn’t work out. What if we don’t reach our goals? What impact does that have on the business? On revenue? On you as a leader? What is our backup plan if we don’t reach our goals?
Are you feeling overwhelmed with the task of planning for the upcoming year? I’m here to help. As an experienced Certified Online Business Manager (OBM), I can provide you with expert guidance and support to ensure that you’re fully prepared to tackle the challenges of the future.
Let’s chat. Schedule a Discovery Call to get started.