Improve your business planning timeline with one small change
If you’re like most CEOs and leaders, your business planning timeline probably looks like this: Plan for 2026 in January → start implementing your plans mid-February → adjust your plans in March → Finally feel on track toward your goals in early Q2
Strategic planning can make a massive difference in your productivity and success, but when you plan matters more than you may think.
Today, we’re sharing all about the #1 mistake CEOs and leaders make in planning and sharing some of the key areas to focus on before the new year starts.
What your business planning timeline should look like
Your best 2026 starts with planning for Q1 now. Not on January 5 when you make it back into the office to kick off the new year!
So many leaders wait for the energy boost and “clean slate” of the new year before they start planning. But when you wait until January to get your goals mapped out and your action plans in place, you've actually lost almost 10% (or more) of the year.
Here’s the business planning timeline we follow internally and recommend to our partners:
October – November: Plan for Q1 and the new year
December: Clean up loose ends, refine plans based on final numbers and data, and have everything ready to go for January before you leave for the holidays
January: Start Day 1 of the new year on track for your new goals
February: Assess goals, make sure you’re tracking the right KPIs, and make Q1 adjustments
March: Plan for Q2
Shifting your planning process for the new year to before the new year starts gives you months of a head start compared to what most of your competition is doing!
What should I be planning?
End-of-year planning is a bit tricky because you have to plan for Q1 and a whole new year! That’s another reason to get started early.
At Elevate, we specialize in all things Operations, so that’s the focus of our planning guidance and strategies. When you’re planning for your Q1 and new year, make sure you take a comprehensive look at every area of your business.
Strategic Priorities
Financials
Operations
Marketing
Offers/Services
Team Performance + Wellness
For each of those areas, make sure you have clearly defined goals, an action plan to reach those goals, and the KPIs and metrics in place to measure your progress throughout the quarter and year.
Make your plans more effective
Moving up your planning timeline will give you the momentum and head start you need to get ahead. But if your planning process isn’t effective… your plans won’t be either.
The key to effective planning is to start with reflection. You have to look back at what you did, what worked, and what didn’t, so you can avoid planning to fall into the same traps and face the same challenges in the next year.
And when you really want to take your planning to the next level, we highly recommend engaging in the Strategic Mapping process with Elevate.
A Strategic Mapping Session is the best way to invest in your vision and map out a clear roadmap for success.
Strategic Mapping includes:
Two 90-minute strategy calls
Clearly defined mission, vision, and value statements
Explicit goals and a plan to reach them
Guidance through the 7 Pillars of your business
A goal-oriented action plan for the next four quarters
Personalized Trello board to keep track of next steps and monitor progress to your goals
If planning isn’t your zone of genius, Strategic Mapping should become a non-negotiable. This is the difference between wandering your way through the year, hoping things work out, and having a super clear, easy-to-follow action plan that takes you exactly where you want to be at the end of 2026.
Your business planning timeline should include space for more than profit goals
Do you know what is actively serving your business right now?
Which of the actual tools, software, programs, and technology you are paying for are you actually using?
These are smart questions to ask as you begin to plan for next quarter and next year.
The truth is that so many of us get so caught up in the day-to-day tasks of leading a team and growing a business that we often forget to pause and see what's still working for us.
Annual and quarterly planning is the perfect time to assess, audit, and get rid of anything that is no longer serving you, your team, and your customers.
Platform and subscription audit
If what you're currently subscribing to, paying for, or using doesn't actively serve you and your business… it's time to get it off the books!
Use these questions to see what stays and what goes for a more streamlined 2026:
Have you used this tool in the last month? Quarter? Year?
Do you have a tool that has been upgraded with a feature that does the same thing as a separate tool you're paying for? (Ex: Does the Google Work Space updated calendar scheduling mean you can cancel your Calendly subscription?)
What are you using that's adding to your workload or taking more time than it should?
Where do you need more or different support than a current platform or tool is offering?
Do you have multiple subscriptions or overlapping accounts?
What can you get rid of?
Remember: The tech + tools you use are meant to work for your business. If that's not happening, you can let them go!
Contract + hiring review
You don't have to keep doing things a certain way or using certain tools just because that's what you've always done.
You don't have to hold onto something that's comfortable if it's not working.
Everyone and everything changes over time. This is the beauty of long-term growth!
Use your annual planning to audit your existing contracts and team needs.
Start by creating a Master List for contracts you have with vendors or contractors.
Vendor or contractor's business name and name of contact
Length of the partnership
Cancellation period or requirements
Date you're billed
How much you're billed
Next, conduct a Contract Review for the contracts your business uses.
Look through your existing contracts and ask:
Is this still in line with our business needs?
Have any details (address, contact hours, etc) changed?
What challenges have we faced that could be prevented with different contract terms or conditions?
Where are we opening ourselves up to potential risk?
How could we make these terms more clear or easy to understand?
Finally, look at where you need to hire, outsource, or network.
Is this role better suited for hiring a team member or outsourcing?
What could we do if we freed up time by adding support?
Is the time I'm putting into networking tied to a goal or just “visibility” in general?
What am I getting out of the podcast episodes, mastermind, or networking events I'm participating in? How are they specifically working toward my goals?
Taking the time to plan for these often overlooked areas in your business operations can make a huge difference in your results!
Don’t forget the SOPs
As you're wrapping up your auditing, reflecting, and planning for Q1 and 2026, there's one area you don't want to skip: SOPs.
SOPs = Standard Operating Procedures
These are the detailed maps of how every repeatable task in your business should be completed.
SOPs are a bit of a love language around here because they truly are the best way to simplify things, avoid answering a million questions, empower your team, and increase productivity.
When you're ready to evaluate (or start writing!) your SOPs, here are the key questions we recommend asking to guide the process:
Where are your SOPs saved? Are they organized?
Are they written so a college intern from outside your business could step in and successfully complete the SOP without asking questions?
Do you have SOPs for internal operations?
Do you have SOPs for client-facing communication and systems?
Does everyone on the team have easy access to the SOPs?
The real value of SOPs? They save you so much time and provide automated quality control checks without interrupting your busy day.
And don’t worry! If writing or auditing SOPs isn’t something you feel confident doing, our team of experts can create a custom SOP Library for you.
Key takeaways
The most important thing to remember? Annual planning needs to start before the new year is rolling.
Waiting until January to plan means losing out on weeks or months of valuable time that you could be using to work toward your goals, increase profit, and scale your business.
Annual planning should cover every facet of your business, including an audit of your:
Tech stack and subscriptions
Contracts
Hiring or outsourcing needs
SOPs
A solid plan leads directly to better results. If you want to make your 2026 the best year yet, start with a Strategic Mapping session with our founder, Ashley. It’s your chance to sit down, CEO to CEO, and work with a Certified Director of Operations to work through our proven planning framework.
You don’t have to plan alone! Let our team of Ops pros set you up for maximum success.
