As 2025 approaches, many business leaders we are working wtih are finalising their strategic planning process for the coming year. Setting a strategy and goals that fire up the whole organisation to commit to with passion, proactivity and speed is one the most difficult and important part of a CEO’s job.

Annual strategic planning provides the opportunity to identify the end goal, define the metrics that will measure success, and outline the actions required to achieve these objectives. The end result provides a plan that unifies the team around the goals and drives results.

So how do we do this well?

While there are many different ways to create an annual strategic plan, effective plans include a few common elements. Define clearly.

1. Where do we want the firm to go and be in next 12 months?

2. How do we get there?

3 What worked and did not work well in the previous year

4. The opportunities for the following year as they look out of their crystal ball and make calcuated forecasts and decisions.

The leadership team commit to decisions which are actionable, measurable, and concise enough that the team can frequently review them to ensure they’re aligned and passed on to the front lines.

Strategic plans are not meant to just sit on the shelf until they get dusted off the following year during the next strategic planning process. We use them as very dynamic tools to drive action and results quarter in quarter out.

We start by laser focusing on exactly where we want to be in 12 months - the end goal: What are we trying to accomplish?

The most comprehensive strategic planning processes include a deep review of the previous year. This involves listening to the team about what specifically worked and did not work. Hearing from employees at all levels allows a leader to understand challenges and opportunities from those who are closest to customers, with the benefit of various perspectives.

These in depth reviews provide a crucial opportunity to press pause and analyze what needs to change for the following year to be more successful.

Encouraging and implementing an open and collaborative process helps identify precise and relevant goals. After seeking input across the organization, CEOs gain the necessary perspective to set the direction. Great leaders balance their team’s feedback with their own judgment to ensure the goals for the following year are challenging yet achievable.

While setting goals is an important first step, just writing them down will not bring them to life. To ensure that goals are being followed through with execution, each team aligns their individual plans to the company goals once they are established.

Good CEOs puttime and effort to ensuring different departmental goals don’t unintentionally conflict with one another. To set the company up for success, a critical step in any strategic plan is ensuring that appropriate resources are invested toward realizing the goals.

Once the above phase is nailed, he next phase is about measurement .

What are going to be the Key Performance Indicators: What will we measure?

A well-designed strategic plan focuses on 3 to 5 key performance indicators (KPIs) that have the most significant impact on the business. These metrics are priorities that require continuous tracking to ensure accountability and keep the strategy on course.

Tracking metrics with the team regularly creates complete transparency. Having a real-time pulse on performance also allows the team to make timely and proactive changes.

When teams lack measurable metrics for success — or use metrics with inconsistent definitions across departments — performance can be compromised. Transparency encourages accountability, helps set precise and actionable objectives for the future, and ensures continuous improvement within the organization.

Once the KPIs are met we move on the action part. How will we execute?

An effective strategic plan spells out the specific actions needed to achieve the goals. It is the bible that drives ACTION and RESULTS. Organizations all too often create strategic plans that are overly complex, making them difficult to manage and do not lead to action. This complexity can lead to the plan being neglected or abandoned midyear, ultimately leaving the goals unfulfilled.

On the other hand, a concise strategic plan can easily be repeated throughout the year, ensuring it is consistently top of mind for employees as they approach their daily work. This helps employees focus on what’s most important year round — not just for the first weeks after the strategy is set. Great strategic plans are also flexible by design and allow companies to adapt as unexpected challenges or opportunities arise.

When leaders feel like they have a good strategy, but aren’t hitting their goals, it can be helpful to seek out diverse perspectives. Hearing from CEO coaches like us or CEO peers who can poke holes or offer new insights helps to refine the strategy, ensuring it remains dynamic and effective. Those outside the company can offer a fresh, unbiased perspective and share candid feedback that isn’t always possible from internal stakeholders.

Each company’s mission, vision, and purpose offer its long-term strategic plan, helping leaders decide what path to take when critical questions arise.

A thoughtful annual strategic plan offers leaders a near-term, practical way to cascade that strategy through every level of their organization. Focusing on goals, metrics, and execution provides clarity across teams and strengthens an organization’s ability to turn long-term goals into tangible results. When preparing for 2025 and all the unknowns the future inevitably holds, a thorough strategic plan is critical to driving meaningful outcomes for any business.

If you want to create a world class actionable strategic plan that will lead to outstanding results this year, give us a call to make it happen.

We have excelled at this for the last 30 years and every year add outstanding business owners to exponentially grow their business much faster with less pain by working with us.

Come join the fast lane with the pros. Book a call here to discuss you exponential growth in business value for 2025.