We have about 6 weeks left between now and the end of 2019.

This is the time to begin strategic planning for 2020. In my decades of experience as a business owner and mentor, I can tell you that the business leaders who achieve the greatest success are those who plan ahead and then regularly pause to make sure they are on track to reach their goals.

You might think that strategic planning is an activity reserved for those at the top of an organization. And for many companies, it is. But a pitfall to success is lack of buy-in from employees. With a national average of 85% of employees feeling disengaged or not fully engaged at work, according to Gallup, the huge disconnect between management and employees is alarming.

Have you ever been told to do something by a superior that you don’t have the resources to support? Most of us have at one point or another.

Perhaps you resisted, explaining the additional hours it would take to complete such a task. Or perhaps you let the new initiative fall down the ranks of your to do list, never quite getting to it, even though it was deemed important to management.

What if, instead, you had been brought in and consulted when the new initiative was being developed?

Perhaps if you had been part of the planning process, you would have felt respected, valued, and integral to the success of the project. You would have been more likely to contribute innovative ideas unique to your perspective. And not only would the overall plan have been better because of your contributions, but also you would have been more likely to carry out your tasks related to the initiative with enthusiasm and inspiration.

As a manager, business owner, or leader, you have the power to decide which of those two scenarios you want to create within your company or team.

If you want to plan for the new year with enthusiasm and an eye toward success, seize the day and put my 4 steps for planning with buy-in from employees in place. 

1. Review the company’s mission, vision, and values with everyone.

Get all team members on the same page because this is the starting point. If you don’t currently have a mission, vision, and values – or they need updating – you can engage employees in that process as well. As a leader, write several versions of each, and take the temperature of team members about which one most accurately represents the company. Then decide, incorporating team feedback.

2. Create goals for the year.

Now that everyone is clear on your mission, vision, and values, you can use them to determine top-line goals for 2020. As a leader, create a list of 3 times the number of goals you want to end up with. So in other words, if 3 major goals for the year seems appropriate, come up with 9 or 10 options. If you would like 5 major goals, create a list of 15. Get everyone’s feedback on the choices, let them choose their favorites, and determine which you’ll select using their feedback.

3. Decide on action steps and benchmarks.

Share the goals you selected with team members. Then involve them in determining the appropriate actions to take to achieve the goals and how success will be measured. Based on their feedback, write up a strategic plan for the year and include suggested deadlines, point people, and milestones toward achievement. Then share it to see if anything needs to change.

4. Build excitement.

As a leader, part of your role is cheerleader and part of it is coach. As cheerleader, you might want to create incentives for meeting milestones, give your goals titles that boost excitement, and plan ways to celebrate when you review throughout the year. In your role as coach, plan regular check ins to gauge progress and help team members navigate difficult scenarios if things fall off track.

If you want to succeed in 2020, now is the time to get started, putting a plan together that is measurable, realistic, actionable, and engages every employee.

At Celeste Giordano Coaching, I coach my clients in the most important strategies for success in business, as well as getting more satisfaction out of life in general, so that all of your hard work will truly pay off in making your life better. If you want to become a master at sales or management, and improve your quality of life in the process, contact me today.

Celeste Giordano’s mission is to help business owners develop the skills, knowledge and attitude necessary to “DoublePlus^TM” their income and become effective and inspirational leaders in their fields. Whether it’s taking your successful business to the next level or starting a new venture, she will teach you the exact skills and strategies you need to enroll more quality prospects, build a rock-solid team, and break through obstacles to achieve real profit and lasting success. Celeste is a professional business growth specialist, a master sales strategist, and dynamic speaker with 40 years experience in direct sales and managing high-performing teams.

To learn more about Celeste, click here.

Want to use this article? Please feel free to use this content as long as you keep it in its original format and include a link to the original post and Celeste Giordano’s brief bio.

At Celeste Giordano Coaching, I work with each client to implement the strategies they’ve been missing that will enable them to break through barriers preventing them from the success they know they are capable of. Contact me today to find your future clients who just don’t know what they’re missing.