As you approach the fourth quarter of the year, you might be starting to think about annual planning and your business’s year-end review. This is a great time to reflect and begin planning for 2023.
Annual planning is done best when you think about the past year, learn from what you’ve done, and apply it to what you hope to do. Use these strategies to complete your year-end review and create an annual plan that will set your business up for a year of success.
Asking the Right Questions in Your Year-End Review
As you reflect on the highs and lows of your business last year, be sure to ask yourself some questions. Asking the right questions in your year-end review will greatly help you through the annual planning process for the upcoming year.
Here are some questions to consider during your year-end review:
- What did you accomplish?
- Think about any big achievements that your business experienced over the past year. What did you and your employees celebrate? These milestones should help you form some ideas about what your goals should be for the next year.
- What did you do to see success?
- After you have reviewed your major accomplishments, try to determine how you were able to hit these targets. What were the circumstances that allowed you to reach these goals? Which internal and external factors were involved? If you can figure out your “recipe for success,” you can use this knowledge to create your annual plan.
- What did you do well? What didn’t you do well?
- It is so important to recognize the strengths of your business and your employees. When you identify these strengths, it typically leads to growth, because it’s easy to build on something that you are already good at. Use your strengths to propel you into the upcoming year.
- Similarly, you also want to focus on areas where your business can improve. Think about areas where you may have come up short over the past year or which situations caused you stress. Then, try to find ways to combat these weaknesses.
- Did you uphold your mission and values?
- Your business’s mission and values should act as your foundation. Each decision you make (how to expand the business, who to hire, etc.) should revolve around these ideals. Ask yourself if your choices from the last year were aligned with your mission and values. If they were, take a moment to celebrate this success. Then, make a plan for how you will remain in alignment. If your business has strayed from your mission and values, you may need to make some changes.
- What do you want to do more of? What do you want to do less of?
- Another way to state this question would be, how do you want to spend your time? Reflect on what energizes you and what leaves you feeling depleted. There may be some possible changes that you could implement that would make you happier and your business more successful.
Create Annual Planning Goals for the Year Ahead
After you answer these questions and calculate some financial projections, you should be able to piece together goals for the upcoming year. You’ll want to set goals to improve the areas that didn’t do well, and expand your goals around the areas that did do well.
Set goals for the year first. Then, break those goals down into quarterly goals and monthly goals. This practice will make your goals seem more attainable, and it will help you monitor your progress.
For example, if your annual goal is to increase revenue by 25%, you might set a quarterly goal of increasing revenue by 6.25%. If you achieve these smaller goals in the beginning of the year, they will help you build momentum and execute all of the other aspects of your annual plan.
Create a Plan for Reaching Those Goals
Once you set your goals for the year, you will need to create actionable steps for reaching your goals. Will you implement a new system? Improve marketing? Focus more on customers? Adjust your product? Think about how you will bring these goals to fruition.
For example, your goal might be to improve your marketing, but how will you improve your marketing? After some careful thought, you may decide to run targeted ad campaigns. This plan is very actionable, and it should allow you to work towards your goal.
Identify How You Will Measure Progress in Annual Planning
The goals that you set need to be measurable. What KPIs will you track and when will you check your progress? Consider how you tracked your KPIs in the previous year. If this worked for you, will you use these same methods again? If it did not work, how will you change your approach?
Use this time to set benchmarks, as well. These progress checks are what will keep you on track and drive success at the end of the year. Throughout the year, if you are too far off-track or the goals no longer seem attainable, change them. Remember the purpose of a goal is to reach it. It should be challenging but attainable, so make adjustments if need be.
Leverage Your Year-End Review to Plan for 2023
The best annual planning starts by learning from your past experiences, so be sure to use your year-end review as a key resource for 2023 annual planning. You’ll be more successful if you do.
If you need assistance with these tasks, Pasquesi Partners can help you conduct a year-end review and build a plan for next year. Contact Pasquesi Partners today!