5 VITAL Questions to Be Ready for Annual Planning

Fall is a season of transition - leaves change color, pumpkin spice is everywhere and kids are back to school. 

But it’s also a season where some of your hardest business challenges emerge, competition for budget gets fierce, and the most difficult questions should be asked. It’s planning season.

VITAL works with executive teams to drive value and to help companies grow right. We help to transform how companies activate ESG, impact, and sustainability as a competitive advantage and a growth lever - something we call Impact Led Growth (ILG). As we work with our VITAL clients to prepare for the coming year, we frequently review the progress of the year to date - similar to many teams - but we also ask serious questions about what could or should have happened with the right resources, and what it will take to shift momentum.

Perhaps the most important questions, however, are focused on how teams can improve and grow their impact in the year ahead, and how some of those challenges can then be turned to strengths and success in the coming year. After all, that’s what planning is all about.

1. What were some opportunities you missed this year? We’re all very busy making the case for the great work that we accomplished, the milestones met or exceeded, and the reasons for investment in your great execution. But failures or missed opportunities are a critical part of the story, as well. Where did you fall short because your team - or your company - didn’t allocate sufficient resources to execute?

2. What do we need to stop, start or scale in the coming year? We all get distracted - by “shiny objects” or things that seem important - but planning season is great for revisiting your priorities and critical path to your objectives. 

• Stop: What are the things that your team will need to stop doing to ensure your effectiveness and impact? 

• Start: What are the new things that you and your team will need to do in the coming year to better align and integrate across key departments and your organization overall? What direct and shared resourcing will you need to make those happen successfully? What might be obstacles to anticipate or prepare for?

• Scale: What are the successes that you should build on and continue to grow? Think about those projects, initiatives, or engagements that are driving real value across your organization, and what it will take to supercharge their impact. What resources are needed to realize that potential? Would automation make scale ever more efficient?

3. Who are the three stakeholders in our company that can supercharge our business outcomes? With some clarity about your priorities, who do you need to engage to succeed, and what do they need to know about your work? What commitments will you need from them and what can you offer in terms of value? How can you help them win as a champion of your success?

4. What metrics can we share with our key internal stakeholders? We all tend to focus on the metrics and initiatives within our direct control, but we also know that those need to ladder up and connect with the core corporate objectives of your company. How can your budget align with the metrics and goals of your top internal partners and the company overall?

5. How can we share resources to maximize ROI? Every department in today’s world is budget constrained (especially in ESG, social impact and sustainability), and finding ways to share resources is critical to success. For example, securing a shared marketing headcount that commits 20 percent of their time (one day per week) to craft, ship, and amplify inspiring stories can drive ROI unattainable for departments without their own communications resource. The same can be said for sharing of legal, finance, data analytics, as well as those with sales or vertical industry expertise.

The Results

Proactive preparation and engagement can make all the difference. Something as simple as a workshop can help you and your team to get focused and ready. In fact, we have helped many clients bring together go to market leaders with owners of ESG, social impact, government relations and sustainability for Impact Led Growth planning workshops that engage teams to better align departmental objectives with overall business goals, objectives, and budgets. 

The ROI on these efforts can be powerful: 

• Go to market teams elevate their work and drive revenue with nonprofit and public sector teams, and across industries, positively impacting brand, pipeline and revenue

• Progress on sustainability helps to boost ESG ratings, but more importantly it helps sales teams to more quickly and effectively meet the ESG compliance needs and expectations of key enterprise prospects  

• Deeper engagement of senior executives and board members to evolve their approach to sustainability so that not only gives them license to operate (especially in Europe), but enables them to differentiate with prospects and investors

• Employees are connected and engaged with sentiment scores moving up and to the right, even during periods of immense change, helping to attract and retain top talent  

We help companies drive Impact Led Growth. VITAL can get started with a workshop to help you and your team get focused and ready. Sign up to get started now.