Action Plan Formulation

Bad goal setting can cripple your business (I know from firsthand experience). Here's how to set goals that propel your business forward. Step 1: Analyze last year’s performance. You can’t set the right goals without the correct information. So, take some time to gather data from the previous year to find areas of strength and weakness. Look at your: Revenue streams — what are your most profitable areas? Your biggest cost centers? Sales & marketing — can you spot trends in customer acquisition or marketing ROI? Operations — where is your business bottlenecked? Where might you be overstaffed? Employee performance — look at productivity and churn. Which direction are things going? — Step 2: Brainstorm areas for improvement. Write down all the possible things you could work on. This is a great group activity for your leadership team or even the whole company (depending on your size). The data you’ve collected in step 1 should give you some idea of opportunity areas. One tip: don’t discount an idea just because it’s hard. Often the biggest impact things are hard to do. But you should be realistic about the effort required to get something done, and its chances of success. — Step 3: Set SMART goals Specific: Define clear and precise goals. Instead of saying "increase sales," say "increase sales by 12% in the next 6 months." Measurable: Ensure each goal has quantifiable metrics. E.g. "Reduce customer acquisition costs by 15% by the end of the year." Achievable: Set realistic goals based on your resources, budget and other constraints. E.g. if you have limited cash, avoid goals that would severely impact your monthly cash flow. Relevant: Align goals with your overall business objectives. Ensure they address the key areas for improvement identified earlier. Time-bound: Set deadlines for each goal. E.g. "launch a new service by Q3." — Step 4: Develop an Action Plan For each goal, create an action plan that outlines: Steps and Milestones: Break down each goal into smaller, manageable tasks. Set milestones to track progress. Resources: Identify the resources needed (time, money, personnel) and ensure they are available. Responsibilities: Assign tasks to specific employees. Ensure everyone understands their role and what is expected of them. Timeline: Establish a timeline with deadlines for each task and milestone. Doubling down on one point there: always assign tasks to a single person. They can still bring in other people to contribute, but it’s one person’s responsibility to get it across the finish line. — Step 5: Monitor and Adjust Goals are not static. Regularly check your progress, and adjust based on new insights or changing circumstances. Schedule monthly and/or quarterly reviews to keep everything on track. Having a simple KPI tracker is a good way to keep tabs on things. Make sure you’re regularly checking in, and ask people to flag any roadblocks or necessary adjustments as soon as they identify them.

Spent time early last month helping a network of schools get out of an adult culture funk. The result? They went from 41% favorable on their priority org health questions to 83% in under 6 weeks. Here's the exact 7-step process we planned in hopes it's helpful for others: 1. Look back at your priorities for the year. Pick no more than 2 questions that align with those priorities that you'll regularly ask staff.* 2. Set a goal around those two questions, such as 80% of staff will respond agree / strongly agree. 3. Design a 3-question survey that you can give every other week at a staff meeting. In that survey, use those questions plus one open-ended question that gives staff an opportunity to expand on their responses. 4. Get as close to 100% of staff to take the survey. 5. After each survey administration, sit down as a leadership team and action plan around the data using these 4 steps: - Did we meet our goal (in step 2)? - What are 1-2 strengths in the data? What did we do as leaders to contribute to those strengths? - What's the top gap to close in the data? What are we doing or not doing as leaders that's contributing to that gap? - What's the most critical leader action we could take to close that gap? 6. Share out the action plan to start the next week and ask staff to hold you accountable for your critical leader action. 7. Repeat steps 4,5, and 6 until goal is met. Not rocket science, but what you measure gets managed. And sometimes in running schools, there's so much to manage, it's hard to focus on what matters most. Which is when it's time to create a plan that helps everyone focus on what's most important right now. *The 2 priority questions we chose were: "I am learning and developing in my position," and "I feel positive about working at my school." Staff could respond with: Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Neutral, Agree, and Strongly Agree.

AI needs a lot less conversation and more action. Most businesses don’t have an AI Action Plan, so they’re stuck in endless planning cycles and proof of concept purgatory. An AI Action Plan details: Opportunities the business is working on. These are use cases that align with the business and operating models. I recommend a 1:1 ratio of productivity/efficiency to revenue growth initiatives. Most internal efficiency AI should be bought vs. built. AI costs are dropping, and vendors serve internal use cases for less than the business can. Customer-facing products generate much higher returns. Monetization strategy. Define the critical pieces of AI go-to-market: Pricing, customer adoption, design, scaling, and optimization. Set the expectation that costs and returns must be estimated upfront. Break the “we won’t know until we build it” cycle that leads to proof of concept purgatory. Data and basic analytics make accurate, upfront opportunity size, cost, and return estimation feasible. Product roadmap. Break big initiatives into features that can be delivered quarterly. The one good thing about PoCs is rapid delivery and feedback cycles. Build products with that approach, and returns show up rapidly, too. Align feature delivery to develop cohesive products that support a use case, workflow, process of work, or customer need. I wrote a how-to guide for building AI Action Plans with a template you can use here: https://lnkd.in/gmJZ63Cf

Do you ever feel like you are just running in place? As in working hard but getting nowhere (fast)? Creating a simple, practical action plan is the bridge between dreaming and doing for many leaders. Transforming your vision into concrete steps, navigating obstacles, and achieving your goals is easier than you might think. My Simplified 5-Step Leadership Action Plan Method👇 1️⃣  Clarify Your Vision 👉🏼 Go beyond just stating your goals. Visualize your ideal life when you achieve those goals. What does your day look like? How do you feel? This is the WHY that fuels your motivation. 2️⃣  Identify Obstacles 👉🏼 What challenges stand between you and your vision? Be honest and thorough.  Solving smaller problems builds the capacity to solve bigger, more complex problems. 3️⃣  Create Actionable Steps 👉🏼 Break your big goals into smaller, doable tasks. Focus on what you can do today, this week, and this month. Turn your overwhelming vision into a series of achievable actions. 4️⃣  Schedule Your Actions 👉🏼 Treat your action items like essential appointments. Block out time in your calendar to ensure you dedicate focused effort to your goals. 5️⃣  Seek Support 👉🏼 Don't go it alone. Surround yourself with a supportive network of friends, mentors, or coaches. They'll offer encouragement, accountability, and valuable guidance along the way. Follow these steps to create a clear, actionable, and motivating plan. Your plan is a roadmap, a toolkit, and a testament to your commitment to achieving your goals. 👉🏼 The journey itself is valuable.  Embrace it, learn from it, and let it shape you into the person who achieves those dreams. 📌 Every week, I write about strategies for achieving sustainable high performance in all areas of life (health, wealth, and relationships) without burnout so you can live on your terms. ♻️ Repost, like, and comment to learn and support each other's journey.

Bridging the gap between strategy formulation and execution is a challenge many organisations face. To effectively translate strategic plans into actionable results, consider the following steps: ☑ Articulate Clear Objectives ↳ Define specific, measurable goals that align with your overarching strategy. ↳ Ensure all team members understand these objectives and their roles in achieving them. ☑ Foster Open Communication ↳ Encourage transparency across all levels of the organization. ↳ Regularly share progress updates and solicit feedback to identify potential obstacles early. ☑ Align Resources with Priorities ↳ Allocate necessary resources—time, budget, personnel—to strategic initiatives. ↳ Regularly assess and adjust allocations to respond to changing needs. ☑ Monitor Progress and Adapt ↳ Implement key performance indicators (KPIs) to track advancement toward goals. ↳ Be prepared to pivot strategies based on performance data and external factors. By diligently applying these practices, organizations can enhance their ability to execute strategies effectively, leading to sustained success. Ps. If you like content like this, please follow me 🙏

You don’t need a 50-page marketing plan to succeed. You just need to take action. Here’s how to get started today. Marketing can feel overwhelming, especially when you’re juggling a million other responsibilities as a small business owner. But the truth is that you don’t need a complicated plan to see results. What you need is clearly defined action items. Here’s a straightforward framework to help you get started: 1- Know Your Audience Who are you trying to reach? Take the time to create detailed buyer personas. Understand their needs, challenges, and preferences. The better you know your audience, the more effectively you can speak to them. 2-  Choose Your Channels Where does your audience spend their time? Focus on the platforms that matter most; whether it’s social media, email, SEO, or a combination. Don’t spread yourself too thin; start with one or two channels and master them. 3- Set a Realistic Budget Here’s a hard truth: what got you from A to B won’t necessarily take you from B to C. Invest in tools, ads, or expertise that align with your goals. A well-planned budget ensures you’re not just spinning your wheels. 4- List Your Action Items What needs to be done, by when, and by whom? Break your plan into actionable tasks. Whether you’re handling them yourself or outsourcing, clarity is key to staying on track. 5- Track and Adjust Marketing isn’t a “set it and forget it” process. Monitor your results, analyze what’s working (and what’s not), and make adjustments as needed. Flexibility is your superpower. The beauty of this action plan is its simplicity. You don’t need to overcomplicate things, you just need to start. I’ve seen small businesses transform their results by following these steps. A coaching client of mine went from inconsistent leads to a fully booked calendar in just 3 months by focusing on these fundamentals. What’s one step you’ll take today to simplify your marketing plan? Share your thoughts below. I’d love to hear from you! #MarketingStrategy #MarketingPlan #ActionPlan #AskQueJay #MarketingMentor

If you believe coming up with a new product will solve your retail problems, I've got bad news for you! Most brands don’t lack product innovation IDEAS. They struggle with effective EXECUTION. You have access to untapped opportunities. - Consumer feedback and market research - Competitive insights and industry trends - Concepts from brainstorming sessions But, without a structured approach, these ideas remain ideas. The fix? → A 3-step innovation process tailored for consumer products. Here’s how to transform raw ideas into successful products: Step 1: Gather and prioritize ideas Hold a dedicated session with your team. Ask: → What consumer needs are currently unmet? → What category trends are emerging? → What innovations can enhance our packaging? List at least 15 promising ideas and rank them based on impact and feasibility. Step 2: Develop a clear action plan An idea needs a roadmap. A plan turns it into a reality. Instead of “Launch a new snack flavor” → “Introduce a spicy snack variant targeting millennials to increase market share by 15%” Instead of “Revamp packaging” → “Redesign packaging to be eco-friendly and reduce material costs by 20%” A clear plan removes ambiguity. When it’s time to execute, you know exactly what steps to take. Step 3: Test, iterate, and implement With that plan, move quickly into consumer testing and market testing. No endless deliberation. Just action. Why this works: - Strategic execution → clear goals and measurable outcomes - Faster innovation → from concept to shelf in record time - No idea overload → focus on what truly matters Successful brands don’t wait for innovation to happen. They gather insights, plan strategically, and execute relentlessly. Bookmark this. Then initiate your first 3-step innovation process this quarter. __________________________________________ Hi! I’m Jenica…former head of innovation turned strategic partner to growth-stage consumer product executives. Connect with me to help accelerate your retail growth plan.