1. 1. DO BUSINESS WITH THE PAST
1.1. IS THIS "YOUR BEST YEAR EVER"
1.1.1. 1. How did you see the past year going?
1.1.2. 2. What goals (if any) did you set at the start of the year?
1.1.3. 3. What disappointments or regrets did you experience this past year?
1.1.4. 4. What did you feel you should have been acknowledged for but weren't?
1.1.5. 5. What did you accomplish this past year that you were most proud of?
1.1.6. 6. What were two or three specific themes that kept recurring?
1.1.7. 7. What were the major life lessons learned this past year?
1.2. 12-MONTH LOOK-BACK
1.2.1. 1. PAST 12 MONTHS
1.2.1.1. I'm proud of...
1.2.1.2. I regret...
1.2.2. 2. RECURRING THEMES
1.2.2.1. describe:
1.2.3. 3. BIGGEST OPPORTUNITIES
1.2.3.1. describe:
1.2.4. 4. NEXT 12 MONTHS
1.2.4.1. I'm excited about...
1.2.4.2. I worry about...
1.3. Life Lessons
1.3.1. What are some major lessons you learned over the last 12 months that you plan to take into the next 12 months?
1.3.1.1. 1. ______
1.3.1.2. 2. ______
1.3.1.3. 3. ______
1.3.1.4. 4. ______
1.3.1.5. 5. ______
2. 2. SET A GROWTH GOAL
2.1. WHAT are you trying to grow (variable), and HOW MUCH do you want it to grow (target)?
2.1.1. GROWTH VARIABLE
2.1.1.1. Unit (Customers, Sales, Members, Contracts, Trials)
2.1.1.2. Revenue (Sales, Net Sales, Average Contract Value)
2.1.1.3. Subscription (MRR or ARR)
2.1.2. GROWTH TARGET
2.1.2.1. HYPER GROWTH
2.1.2.1.1. 3X, 3X, 2X, 75% per year (7 years = $100mm company... true disruption... usually VC-funded)
2.1.2.2. RAPID GROWTH
2.1.2.2.1. 2X, 2X, 75%, 50% (Very fast growth... usually difficult to achieve without some kind of outside funding, or in VERY fast-growth markets)
2.1.2.3. STEADY GROWTH
2.1.2.3.1. 50 - 75% YOY (Great growth goal for bootstrapped companies)
2.1.2.4. MATURE GROWTH
2.1.2.4.1. 10 - 25 (Fine as long as margins are strong... just make sure you aren't lagging behind the market - if market is flat, 10% growth is fine. If market is growing at 10%, then you are falling behind.)
2.2. STRUCTURE FOR WRITING YOUR GOAL
2.2.1. Increase [variable] from [benchmark] to [target] (a __% increase) by December 31st.
3. 3. BENCHMARK RESULTS BY CHANNEL
3.1. PRODUCT CHANNEL GRID
3.1.1. Make a list of your products/services
3.1.1.1. list categories
3.1.1.2. sku
3.1.2. Make a list of all the channels you sell your products/services
3.1.2.1. Email List Facebook Google YouTube LinkedIn Instagram Organic Social Podcast Referrals/Affiliate Sales Team Events Messenger
3.1.3. Make a list of all the channels you should/could be leveraging...but aren’t. What your competitors are using?
3.1.3.1. 1. ______
3.1.3.2. 2. ______
3.1.3.3. 3. ______
3.1.3.4. 4. ______
3.1.3.5. 5. ______
3.1.4. List the RESULTS by product/by channel (Guess, it's a good exercise and will show opportunity. What goes in the PRODUCT CHANNEL GRID)
3.1.4.1. GROWTH VARIABLE
3.1.4.1.1. UNIT
3.1.4.1.2. REVENUE
3.1.4.1.3. SUBSCRIPTION
3.1.5. List known assumptions (Don't forget to say you're guessing when you're guessing so you know to verify later)
3.1.5.1. Total results from all channels
3.1.5.1.1. Increase [variable] from [benchmark] to [target] (a __% increase) by December 31st.
3.1.5.1.2. [GOAL]-[BENCHMARK] = THE GAP
4. "Failure is simply an opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently."
5. 4. CLOSE THE GAP
5.1. QUESTION Which one of these four levers will have the [GREATEST] [IMPACT] on your business… [TODAY]?
5.1.1. 1) ACQUISITION
5.1.1.1. These ideas focus around driving [AWARENESS] and generating more [LEADS]
5.1.2. 2) ACTIVATION
5.1.2.1. These ideas focus on turning [LEADS] into customers and/or further [QUALIFYING] the leads
5.1.3. 3) MONETIZATION
5.1.3.1. These ideas focus on turning [SINGLE-PURCHASE] buyers into [REPEAT] customers and... Can [EXPAND] revenue from current [CUSTOMERS]
5.1.4. 4) RETENTION
5.1.4.1. These ideas focus on keeping [CUSTOMERS] buyers and reducing [CHURN]
5.2. ANALYZE STAGE: QUESTIONS TO ASK
5.2.1. What's currently working [BEST] your [BUSINESS]?
5.2.2. What [PAGES] are getting the most [VISIBILITY] on your site?
5.2.3. Where are the biggest [DROPS] in your [FUNNEL] or [CUSTOMER] [VALUE] [JOURNEY]
5.2.4. Have you scaled out your [CONTROLS] across all [CAMPAIGNS]?
5.3. THE BIG GOAL
5.3.1. Identify the strategies and actions that will have the biggest impact on growth, catalog the ones you can't (or shouldn't) do right now and quickly implement the ones you should.
5.3.1.1. GROWTH IDEA SHEET
5.3.1.1.1. I
5.3.1.1.2. C
5.3.1.1.3. E
5.4. FINAL QUESTIONS
5.4.1. 1. Can we expand or optimize existing channels? (i.e. increase spend, improve conversion rates, etc.)
5.4.2. 2. Can we add new channels?
5.4.3. 3. Can we add new levels to existing products or services?
5.4.4. 4. Can we create completely new profit centers? (WARNING: Last Resort)
5.4.5. 5. Can we add a new PREDICTABLE SELLING SYSTEM? (a.k.a. Sell what we, in the channels that are already working, but in a new way.) HIGHEST LEVERAGE!
5.5. 10-DAY EXECUTION CYCLE
6. 5. ESTABLISH METRICS AND KPIs
6.1. PROBLEMS
6.1.1. TIME & MISALIGNMENT
6.1.2. SOLUTIONS
6.1.2.1. EVERYONE KEEP SCORE + CONSISTENT COMMUNICATION
6.2. MODEL: TEAM COMMUNICATION CANVAS
6.2.1. GOAL
6.2.1.1. 1. quarterly strategic planning
6.2.2. PROJECTIONS
6.2.2.1. 2. monthly projections & projects
6.2.3. SCORECARD & GAP
6.2.3.1. 3. weekly scorecard & gap
6.2.4. DIRECT REPORT 1:1s
6.2.4.1. 4. direct report 1:1s
6.2.5. TEAM & ALL HANDS
6.2.5.1. 5. weekly team & all hands
6.3. QUESTIONS TO ANSWER
6.3.1. 1. What are the 3 - 5 KPls that "should" move us closer to our goal?
6.3.2. 2. What would they be if we did NOTHING?
6.3.3. 3. What do they need to be to see growth?
6.3.4. 4. What's the GAP?
6.3.5. 5. What are 3 - 5 ideas to close the GAP?
6.3.6. 6. Can we complete them all this month?
6.3.7. 7. Which one(s) CAN be completed this month?
6.3.8. 8. Will we benefit from any of them this month?
6.3.9. 9. Which one should we do first?
6.4. WEEKLY SCORECARD & GAP: BASIC AGENDA
6.4.1. SECTION #1: Financial Update
6.4.2. SECTION #2: Goal & Key Initiative Update
6.4.3. SECTION #3: Scorecard By Team/Individual
6.4.4. SECTION #4: Color Status & Details
6.4.5. SECTION #5: The Gap
6.4.6. SECTION #6: Big 3 For The Week
6.5. WEEKLY SCORECARD & GAP: COLOR DEFINITIONS
6.5.1. GREEN = On track or ahead (AKA everything is great)
6.5.1.1. IF GREEN: "Does it make sense to double down of its working?"
6.5.2. LIME GREEN = The KPIs show behind but we're ok (It's seasonal or known and the current plan will result in GREEN by next week)
6.5.2.1. IF LIME GREEN: "What's your confidence level that it will be green by the next meeting?" (Scale of 1 - 10)
6.5.3. YELLOW = Behind with a path to getting back on track. (We going to need to do something different but we know what we're doing. No discussion needed.)
6.5.3.1. IF YELLOW: "How confident are you that the new plan will get you to green by the next meeting?" (Scale of 1 - 10)
6.5.4. ORANGE = Behind, but not so far behind that we can't catch-up, but we're not exactly sure how or can't do it alone. (We need to figure out a new strategy, leverage outside resources or receive additional support from internal resources.)
6.5.4.1. IF ORANGE: "What specifically isn't working and what ideas or theories do you have?"
6.5.5. RED = Behind and no hope of getting back on track.
6.5.5.1. IF RED: "Have we stopped the bleeding and what does this mean for the future (WIG, revenue or next months goals)?"
6.5.6. BIG 3 QUESTIONS TO ANSWER: 1. Did we close or widen the gap this week? 2. Where is our biggest opportunity 3. Should we change our plans?
6.5.6.1. MY BIG THREE FOR THE WEEK ARE: #1 ____ #2 ____ #3 ____
6.6. DIRECT & TEAM MEETINGS
6.6.1. [THE GOAL OF 1:1 MEETINGS] GOAL #1: Strengthen Relationships GOAL #2: Proactively Discover Issues GOAL #3: Recognize Contributions GOAL #4: Checkin On Company Goals GOAL #5: Align Company & Team Member Goals GOAL #6: Identify Growth Opportunities GOAL #7: Address Performance Issues
6.6.2. [ALL-HANDS MEETING STRUCTURE] 2-10 Team Members: Goal & Objective Update, Leading Indicator Scoreboard & Accountability 11-20 Team Members Goal Update (monthly), Leading Indicator Scoreboard & Accountability 21-50+ Team Members Goal Update (monthly), Leading Indicator Scoreboard Plus Show & Tell
6.6.3. [OVERALL ACTION ITEMS] 1. Finalize your growth goal (with your team) 2. Benchmark your results or validate your assumptions (and calculate THE GAP) 3. Brainstorm Key Initiatives & Projects to close the GAP 4. Finalize your scorecard (Daily, Weekly, Monthly) 5. Add due dates to your Key Initiatives 6. Breakdown your Annual Plan to Quarterly Plans 7. Schedule Quarterly check-ins to reevaluate
6.7. YOUR KPIs (What numbers should you look at...)
6.7.1. DAILY: ___
6.7.1.1. Your KPIs & leading indicators
6.7.2. WEEKLY: ___
6.7.2.1. Your TEAM'S KPIs & leading indicators
6.7.3. MONTHLY: ___
6.7.3.1. Company KPIs, lagging indicators & Keep, start, stop
6.7.4. ACTION ITEM Choose your Daily, Weekly and Monthly KPIs and write them in your Annual Growth Plan.