From Q4 to Next Year: PART TWO
Strategy for One, Three and Five Years
Set the course with a strategic planning meeting with your board and management team: Plan your board’s one, three and five-year strategy. Align on goals, resources, and guardrails, then commit to the plan.
Effective boards anchor the future in a clear plan. I hold a simple belief I learned years ago: when we plan well, we create the conditions for success. Q4 is the moment to translate lessons into a durable strategy with milestones at one, three, and five years.
The Strategy Sprint (board + management)
Direction: Mission, where to play, how to win: crisp and testable
Value creation: Revenue, margin, cash: targets and levers that fund the journey.
Execution system: Quarterly operating rhythm, dashboards, and owner for each KPI
Risk & resilience: Top risks, thresholds, and pre-planned responses.
Talent & structure: Roles to add or eliminate, leadership development, and, if needed, board composition updates
Practical outputs for January 1 readiness
One-page plan with 3–5 enterprise priorities and metrics
Capex/opex map aligned to those priorities.
Hiring plan tied to growth and risk coverage.
Calendar of board touchpoints for the year, deep-dive topics, and decision gates
Board composition & capabilities
Refresh the skills matrix against next year’s strategy.
Identify committee needs (Audit, Comp, Risk/ESG, Strategy) and align director expertise.
Clarify if and where an outside facilitator accelerates alignment and protects productive debate.
Boardroom prompts:
“Which strengths create our unfair advantage next year?”
“Where do we need more capability, internally, externally, or at the board table?”
“What will success look like at one, three, and five years, and how will we know we’re on track each quarter?”
P.S. I am cheering for strong Q4 finishes and smart, future strategies.