Business Planning Season Is Here
Date: August 08, 2025
Five Tips to Help you Set a Clear Direction for the Year(s) Ahead
It’s August, and whether you realize it or not, this marks the beginning of business planning season.
For many organizations, the demands of day-to-day work leave little room for big-picture planning. But setting aside intentional time to plan for the year ahead isn’t just valuable, it’s essential.
The act of planning is just as powerful as the plan itself.
When done well, strategic planning becomes a force multiplier. It clarifies your direction, align teams around what matters and builds the momentum to get there. This isn’t just a strategy exercise, it’s a communications lever.
Whether you tackle internally, or bring in a partner like us, the goal is the same: carve out the time, create a structure that works for your organization and move with intention.
Not Sure Where to Start? Here Are Five Steps to Focus Your Thinking:
1. Start with the End in Mind
Are you preparing a package for board approval? A forward-looking plan for investors? A roadmap for executive decision-making?
Get clear on what your key stakeholders expect. Are they looking for a market-informed narrative? A tight set of financials? A story that links performance to long-term ambition? A budget alone is not a business plan. Knowing your end goal will shape your planning decisions.
2. Define Your Time Horizon
Is this a 12-month operational plan? A three-year strategic plan? A rolling five-year plan?
Your planning window should align both your stakeholder’s expectations and your organization’s pace of change. Keep it intentional and make it clear.
3. Gather the Right People
Planning should never happen in a vacuum.
Bring together a core team that reflects the reality of how work gets done: executives, functional leaders and when appropriate, frontline contributors. This becomes an incredible internal engagement tool and a way for your team to shape a strategy they’ll help to fulfill.
4. Set Clear Goals
What does success look like next year, or in the years ahead? This is the moment to define more than financial targets. Consider goals related to approvals, funding, market perception, asset management, capital improvements, brand evolution, project completions, signed leases and operational oversight. A strong plan reflects the full picture of your business, enabling you to allocate the necessary resources and support effectively.
5. Build the Work Plan
Once goals are defined, translate them into actionable objectives and tasks.
We often help clients structure this through functional working groups. The more clarity you build upfront, the more alignment and traction you’ll generate across teams.
Why This Work Matters
The process of planning jumpstarts internal clarity. It forces prioritization and uncovers what’s missing. In our experience, when teams take the time to design a planning process around what their stakeholders need, the internal alignment that follows is even more valuable.
The behind-the-scenes act of preparing the narrative unlocks deeper thinking, sharper focus and cross-functional buy-in.
Whether you’re building a business plan from scratch or refining an established process, now is the time to start. Done right, it can be one of the most important and energizing operational tactics your organization does.
Twice a month, we share reflections like these. If you're ready to make business planning a strength, not a scramble, reach out or follow along on LinkedIn.