I have seen more than one organization head into a new year with a comprehensive targeted annual plan but then – once the first quarter starts – forget it completely and just start reacting to whatever’s right in front of them.
It’s like one of those amnesia movies where the protagonist wakes up and fails to recognize their own family, so they act naively and impulsively.
The most frustrating part of watching this (the companies, not the movies)? Knowing that the abandoned plan would have addressed the issues they ended up just reacting to, and in a much more global, comprehensive, once-and-for-all way.
What a waste.
At this time of year my best clients think about what they want to achieve in 2024 and how they will do it.
Here Comes 2024
We don’t know what revenue and guest count will look like next year.
And the world news on our devices gives us an uneasy feeling that there could be plenty of change in 2024.
Oh yeah, and 2024 remains an election year, which makes some people freeze in place until they know the outcome.
But none of that deters the best restaurateurs. They know to focus on what they control and to take action – accelerating and winning more than their fair share of business while others are immobilized in uncertainty.
Start the Process Now
Focus on next year and create what you want to happen with your people and in your restaurants.
Top companies establish clear goals, strategy, and action steps in each area of their business.
Clients turn to me to add my experience to their internal prospective through my Roadmap process.
The Roadmap process starts by looking at improving operations and guest experience, culture, growth, branding, marketing, infrastructure, and information.
By the time we complete the Roadmap process, we have chosen exciting targets to achieve and realistic plans of action for the entire year – a guide to company-wide improvement that includes increased revenue, profit, and net worth.
Then we assign and spread those expected actions and results over four quarters, creating more manageable time periods to evaluate and adjust as the year goes by.
Did It, Changed It, or Forgot It?
The people who did this last year update plans, celebrate victories, and accept that some initiatives that initially looked like 2023 achievements will move into the first part of 2024.
The people who have never planned have squandered opportunity, jumped from one thing to another, or never experienced any traction. If they pay attention, they change those self-defeating habits now to significantly improve in 2024.
And the person who forgot their plan and just reacted? The best thing I can say about them is that they have a chance to try again in 2024.
