One year from today, where will your company be?

As the CEO or owner, you probably have an idea of what you’d like to accomplish in a year. You might even have written it down.

People who write down their goals are 40% more likely to succeed than those who do not.

BUT people who write down their goals weekly with accountability are 76% more likely to succeed than those who don’t!

Does everyone on your leadership team know those priorities, initiatives, and goals for the year ahead? Have you discussed it with them? If we asked everyone on your leadership team what are the TOP FIVE priorities your company has for this year, would everyone say the same five things?

That’s the challenge we pose to our clients in our Annual Planning Sessions. And the thing is, by the end of two days with us, they can answer YES to that question. They all write down the same five things. They are all on the same page. Literally.

We call that page the One Page Strategic Plan, or OPSP.

Here’s the page we get them on by the end of day two. It isn’t a walk in the park to get this kind of clarity. But when you leave the room, sleep on it, and show up for work the next day feeling invigorated with clarity and purpose – it’s worth it. Download it, then tell your team to fill it in. If you need help, schedule a time to meet and we’ll walk you through it.

Our priorities for 2021 are bursting off our page, our OPSP. We can’t wait to make them a reality. And to help with our accountability, we wanted to share them with you.

In 2021, Apex North will…

• Grow to serve 8 Core Clients, empowering those CEOs and their leadership teams to gain clarity on their vision for the future, and set a path to achieve their success.
• Diligently and continuously deliver a seamless client experience from onboarding to regular session cadence, increasing buy-in, engagement, and value for the business leaders we work with.
• Create the foundation for The Apex North Strategy Studio Experience: the only business coaching experience in our market offering strategic business coaching, premium service touches, exclusive networking and happy hour events, and one life-changing retreat each year for those “in the studio.”
• Add three roundtable series to augment our current CEO / Business Owner monthly series
• Outline & begin developing content for The North Star Way Book, to be published in 2022!

You can do this too. Start by downloading the One Page Plan template from our website here.

Then, ask yourself these questions:

What is the “ending of your movie”?

If the story of your business was made into an inspiring, award-winning, happy-tear-jerking movie, what would the final scene look like? What are you accomplishing? How is your team celebrating? Which customers are a part of it? The more specific you can get, the better. This moment is what we like to call your North Star Moment – and it holds the key to your vision.

To make that moment a reality, what specifically do you need to build, improve, or implement in order to achieve it?

If your North Star is the island across the bay, what bridges will you build to get there? Chances are, your answers here will include crucial scaling up elements like assembling the right team, creating seamless systems, and refining your strategy for growth. We call these initiatives your Key Moves for growth.

What does your business look like in three years?

This is a more manageable timeline for our brains to understand. It is still far enough away for us to set audacious goals, but close enough for them to remain realistic. The first time you answer this question, DON’T WRITE DOWN ANY NUMBERS. Look at the picture you’ve painted, then ask yourself: what number(s) do I absolutely need to track to understand my progress?

How do I break those three year goals down into smaller chunks?

Do this first by imagining the end of this year (the way you did with the three year time range), then create specific goals for each quarter to help you achieve your vision by the end of 2021.

If you’d like us to help get you started, we’re happy to offer a complimentary session with you and your team to kick-off the process. Click here to contact us.

So our year-long goal:

Doesn’t end up with our team rushing to build, market, and start three new offerings in November, we would break it out into quarterly goals like this:

The beauty of working in this way is that each goal can be clearly linked to both the “bigger picture” (your North Star Vision) AND the smaller, more manageable chunks beneath it. Once they are clearly defined, leadership must communicate them, and the rest of the team has visibility on how their role will specifically help the business cross the finish line.

So that this time next year, we’ll be looking back on a 2021 full of clarity, growth, and success – and looking towards our ever-nearing North Stars.