Down to the Wire…
Next week, we start November. A mere 8 Friday’s away from Christmas. Only 3 from Thanksgiving.
The amount of people and company’s that this time sneaks up on is mounting in today’s economy, and traditional planning timeframes are being pushed to the side in order to focus on short term needs and putting out immediate fires.
The challenge is, how are they setting themselves up for success in 2023 and beyond if, like most, haven’t begun to turn their attention and focus to the future? Yes, there are a plethora of things that need to be taken care of and managed now because of timeliness and needing to “carry on”, but if you constantly work with what is just in front of you, you will miss out on the opportunities coming down the pike!
Planning for the future is essential, so you can check your foundation, make sure your walls are still intact, and determine the type of décor you really need to please your target audience (references which, if you’ve read my other blogs will make sense). Once everything is planned out, you can go back to the immediate needs to keep things humming. You can even use the plans as fluid and pivot as needed, but at least you have built the proverbial “wall to throw the spaghetti at”, so when the shiny penny comes along, or the next fire looms, you know what you need to do and how to do it; thus remaining true to your brand, mission and goals.
Have you done your 2023 planning?
There’s still time. IF you start now! Here are some quick tips to get it going:
- Go off site. You and I both know you will be distracted if you are on premise.
- Set a succinct agenda, with bio breaks, to allow for focused conversation. This doesn’t have to take a ton of time if you are strategic and concentrated.
- Leverage a 3rd party resource. They can keep you on task, mediate any discussion and be neutral. They can also do the clean up work of capturing everything and writing the draft plan that no one else wants to or has time to write.
- Have a POA (plan of attack) after the discussions. Don’t let the time and planning go by the wayside.
- Start now. Holiday-itis is real and around the corner, get your people thinking strategically before the half day Fridays and cookie baking begins!
Stay tuned for more from TCS next month!
Sarah Heximer, Owner & Chief Visionary Officer