Setting Aside the Quarterly Roadmap
How many people have opened their new planners for next year to see a quarterly goals or projects roadmap all nice and neat on the page? A traditional strategy roadmap has a place. It's organized, structured, and straightforward to read and know what to do next. It's easier to communicate down to an organization and is critical for resource planning or hiring. I encourage a full-year outlook for budgeting and defining any investments in your business.
But if you're the type that is currently in a cycle of transition, dreaming, wonder, or early in your business....
…this quarterly model may not be right for you.
And you may be resistant to planning out 4 quarters right now.
Detailed roadmaps often don't acknowledge seasonality or cyclicality. They don't always leave space for possibility, for ideas to breathe, to honor inklings of intuition or follow the seeds that are planted. To follow pleasure and joy.
Let's dream of new models for our strategy planning!
Listen to what natural element, medium, or archetypes is calling to you at this time.
In this group we have some fire starters, some deep-blue mermaids, some seeds and plant whisperers, and some lunar lovers. We also have those who are birthing a mission and others who are luxuriating in a conception phase (h/t Sister.is) Or we have leaders who might be transitioning from maiden to mother in this season.
Understand your season and your high-level intention.
In the seasons of our businesses, we can flow from conception/gestation, to birthing, all the way to death and rebirth. (h/t Lindsay Mack). Each season has a different quality to it, a different expectation. Where are you in your business?
Correlate your season/intention to your element, and set commitments that resonate.
Go beyond the traditional roadmap and create your own language so we can set intentions that align to your needs. Set commitments that honor the element and the season you’re in, while also laying the foundation for potential futures.
Each season, we refine the longer-term arcs for your business based on these seasonal learnings.
Consider the arc of your seasons and your aspirations - in human-centered strategy, we play the long game. We take action now that might not pay off for a few seasons, but we are always learning from our experiences.
Do any of these examples resonate?
Are you searching for joy or pleasure in your business in that conception or pivot phase? Let's build a pleasure treasure hunt map and go explore, while we begin to hone in on potential arcs for your business.
Are you an athlete preparing for that next goal in your business? Are you in off-season maintenance (consistent efforts to keep your base up), training mode (scheduled and planned efforts that stretch you), in the post-marathon celebration (taking time to reflect, integrate, and recover from the effort)?
Are you about to harvest your winter garden while and preparing to plant this spring? Let's define commitments about how to tend to your current clients (and cash flow) while dedicating time for preparing a new plot of land for seeding.
Are you in the high tide season of creation and launching something new? Let's set supportive practices in place so that you don't crash into low tide.
We can define the ebbs and flows, the seasons of planting and harvesting, to generate more predictable and regenerative growth in your business.