Set the Stage for Growth: A Strategic Reflection Guide for Year-End

In our experience working with a diverse and varied group of clients across multiple industries, we’ve observed a notable trend that has emerged: the traditional practice of establishing a Strategic Plan that conveniently concludes on December 31st is becoming increasingly rare. While it is true that there are public sector initiatives that wrap up mid-year or private sector strategies that have varying end dates, the predominant factor influencing these shifting timelines is the relentless pressure organizations face to continually replan and adapt. Over the past 36 months, a staggering 22% of organizations have found themselves in a position where they needed to replan and reinvent their operational strategies on a sub-annual basis. This figure represents the highest velocity of strategic transformation ever documented, as reported by Forbes and aligns closely with what we are witnessing firsthand in various markets.

Embracing Reinvention and Stradaptability

What’s particularly intriguing is that nearly half of these organizational shifts can be classified as “radical reinventions.” This implies not just minor adjustments or updates to existing plans but rather profound transformations that may alter an organization’s core mission, financial plan, operational structure, or market positioning. Such radical changes underscore the dynamic nature of today’s business environment and highlight an urgent need for flexibility in strategic planning processes (known as “stradaptability”). Organizations must now embrace this agility and ‘bake it’ into their planning processes and culture if they hope to thrive amidst constant change and uncertainty.

Process for Reflection

However, whether your end-of-year is marked by Christmas or occurs in the middle of the year, this period presents us with an opportunity for strategic reflection and the potential for radical reinvention. This time allows us to pause and consider the path ahead regardless of your role in the organization. In our experience, a guided process for reflection can be incredibly beneficial. Such a structured approach provides a framework that helps organize your thoughts systematically. By taking the time to reflect thoughtfully and intentionally, we position ourselves better for future success while fostering a mindset geared toward continuous improvement.

  1. Measuring Success — Are we maintaining our laser focus on our ultimate outcome targets, the dependent indicators that represent our true and agreed-upon definition of long-term success?
  2. Affecting Success — Outcomes are often directly affected by independent driver metrics. Are we tracking toward the targets of those driver metrics? For example, an increase in revenue may be attributed to an increase in marketing expenditure, which drives an increase in website impressions and sales pipeline growth.
  3. Tracking Delivery — If we are not hitting those targets, perhaps we are failing to deliver the programs of work necessary to achieve them. But If we are on target but not achieving the desired outcome, perhaps we are not focusing on the correct drivers.
  4. Changing Behavior — However, if we are on target with our drivers, successfully delivering our programs of work, and still not achieving the desired outcome, we must conclude that we need to change our behavior by adding new projects or suspending others.
  5. Consider Threats — Finally, if we have had to alter what we do or what we measure, taking the time to consider potential threats to our programs of work is always prudent. It is important to consider what may affect organizational behavior. These threats could arise from internal failures to deliver or external factors.

Strategic Reflection

We are often so busy with business as usual that we fail to use downtime for strategic reflection. It’s too easy to get caught up in the daily rhythm of operations or focus on short-term fixes. However, businesses that take the time to step back, assess their outcomes, recalibrate their behavior and how it aligns with a vision are the ones that can “stradapt” to the constantly changing conditions.

With a short December heading into the holidays, this will be our last blog for the year. Always remember to keep strategizing, and have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.