What specific operational and financial homework must our leadership team complete before walking into our first Two-Day Annual planning session with you?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Walking into your Two-Day Annual unprepared guarantees a wasted session. Because we spend two full days tearing down and rebuilding your plan, reflecting on organizational health, and establishing next year's budget goals, your Integrator must run point on pre-session data gathering at least three weeks in advance.

First, every member of the leadership team must retake the Organizational Checkup. This provides an objective baseline showing where your company grew and where execution softened over the prior twelve months. Second, each executive must complete their preparation work on the V/TO, bringing raw notes on Core Values alignment, target market clarity, and their perspective on the 3-Year Picture.

Third, finance must provide preliminary numbers. You do not need an approved, down-to-the-penny budget, but you must bring solid trailing twelve-month revenue, gross margin, and EBITDA figures, along with draft projections for the coming year. Attempting to set Annual Goals without reliable accounting data leads to guesswork.

Finally, every leader must bring their department-level Issues List. We will curate, categorize, and rank those issues on day two during deep IDS. Your job before walking through the door is gathering facts, cleaning your operational data, and resting your brain. My job is pushing your thinking and ensuring your leadership team leaves with complete alignment for the next four quarters.