Summer is upon us, and the current fiscal year is starting to come into focus. Now is not the time to pause. It\u2019s time to start planning for and thinking about developing your next annual plan.<\/p>\n
Typically, annual planning doesn\u2019t start until the fall, but by then, it\u2019s too late. You\u2019re deep into end-of-year activities, trying to work around holiday schedules, and already putting in extra hours to wrap up the little things that are easy to let slip.<\/p>\n
All of that last-minute scrambling prevents you from creating a successful annual plan<\/a>. Instead of waiting until September or October \u2013 or, worse, pushing annual planning even deeper into the winter or even into the new year \u2013 kick off your operational planning in the summer to set your next year up for success.<\/strong><\/p>\n Starting to prepare for your operational planning activities now will enable leaders from across the business to be much more thoughtful in their planning efforts. Most people hate creating their annual plan because planning around a budget feels restrictive.<\/p>\n If you start earlier, everyone will have enough time to create an operational plan that does more than achieve tactical results. You can plan for change supported by a budget and aligned with the areas you want to change or improve.<\/strong><\/p>\n Let\u2019s break down the annual planning tasks your team will need to do by season:<\/p>\n Now that you\u2019re headed toward creating a better annual plan, there are five steps you can take to ensure the success of that plan:<\/strong><\/p>\n Once you make this a pattern, you\u2019ll see increased engagement from people across your business. This will also allow you to continuously repeat the planning process and share it with the organization promptly.<\/p>\n As you begin your annual planning, selecting high-impact projects can become \u2013 to put it lightly \u2013 a bit of a headache. Read our guide, \u201cSelecting High-Impact Projects: Improve Demand Management Processes to Maximize ROI<\/a>,\u201d to gain access to strategies and best practices to make demand management less of a chore.<\/p>\n\n Thinking Ahead With Annual Planning<\/h2>\n
Summer<\/h3>\n
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Early Fall<\/h3>\n
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Late Fall<\/h3>\n
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End of Year<\/h3>\n
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Five Steps to Operational Annual Planning Success<\/h2>\n
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