Planning or Strategizing for 2025?

This time of the year I'm refining my 2025 plan, a process I started earlier this quarter.

And I lead my clients through the same journey.

Although I call it a plan, it's really about strategy. That's because a plan gets you from point A to point B, but strategy is about positioning yourself to achieve your desired outcome.

The topic of strategy is especially poignant for me because I had an experience in my business this year that taught me an important lesson: I made assumptions based on my prior years' successes and neglected to anticipate shifts in the market.

To succeed in today's economy requires me to be more vigilant than ever about what YOU want and need.

And my promise to you is to deliver outstanding content that is useful to you as a successful, high-achieving leader.  I want to support you to be the most exceptional version of yourself.

This requires me to be thoughtul and strategic in anticipating what you want and need, and to push myself to be better.

Recently, I heard author Seth Godin say, "Figuring out where the prevaling winds are, before we start racing around with all the tactics [...] is so important and yet people skip it. Billionaires I know skip it, non-profit leaders I know skip it, seven-year olds skip it." (1)

Where do you start?

Here's the seven step process through which I guide myself and my clients. It is part of an immersive, six-month personal growth process through which I guide my clients called the BLISS Accelerator:

Step 1: Clarify your goals:

- What is your 3 year vision?

- What is your 12 month "Keystone" goal - one personal and one professional

(A keystone goal is something you deeply desire but is beyond your current reach. It stretches you to grow and moves you closer to your vision.)

Step 2: Build the right habits and beliefs:

- List five productive habits you want to develop in the new year.

- List five non-productive habits you want to release.

- What new skills do you need to develop in the new year?

Step 3: Describe your future self (2):

- Who must you be NOW to achieve your 12 month goals?

Step 4: Create strategies:

- Describe up to four strategies to achieve your goals in the new year, keeping in mind the "prevailing winds"

- List action steps for each strategy

Step 5: Take Action:

- Proactively manage your calendar and take daily action aligned with your goals and strategies

Step 6: Invest in Yourself Daily

- Take time daily to re-affirm your deepest aspirations and ensure you're aligned with Steps 1-5

Step 7: Be consistent

- Remember: small steps taken daily lead to significant changes over time.

While the overall planning process is crucial at this time of the year, ensure you are clarifying your vision and goals. Reflect carefully on strategies that are aligned with a winning outcome in today’s economy.

"Strategy says, it doesn't matter how fast you're going if you're going in the wrong direction," explains Seth Godin (1).

What about you? What strategies are you using to ensure your 2025 goals become a reality? I’d love to hear your thoughts or questions—feel free to email me at [email protected]

(1) Chase Jarvis (2024). Why Strategy Always Beats Talent (w/Seth Godin). Chase Jarvis YouTube Channel. Accessed on December 22, 2024: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZeCxY5yHUY&t=36s

(2) To learn more about Future Self, see my free 3-part Masterclass: Your High-Performing Self-Image.