Planning for next financial year doesn’t have to be guesswork. Start with these three simple questions to pressure-test your plans, align your customers, teams, + results, + set yourself up for your best year yet.

Planning for 2026/27 doesn’t have to be guesswork.

Some of us love planning – coffee, whiteboards, big sheets of paper, coloured pens, big thinking, big ideas… (or is that just me?)

Others dread it, desperate to get it over with as quickly as possible.

Here’s the truth: most leaders are juggling two years at the same time – smashing this year’s goals while plotting how to make next year even better.

Are you busy planning your next financial year, whilst still trying to smash the goals of the current one?

Wrapping up projects, spending the last bits of budget, tracking figures against the annual plan, preparing board reports – while also figuring out what’s going to take you #nextlevel next year – it’s a lot.

For some, it may feel like smooth sailing – overachievers! Just kidding. Most people assume that if a business or business leader seems to have things under control, they must be lucky.

It’s not luck. Or rarely is it.

So, what is it? What makes some business leaders glide through this time of year while others struggle to get their teams, priorities, plans + efforts aligned (herding cats, anyone?)?

It’s not luck. It’s intent. Commitment. Focus. Determination. Clarity.

If you want to do things differently this year, the place to start is simple: ask the right questions.

THREE SIMPLE QUESTIONS

So, where do you start? Begin with these three key questions from our Customer Strategy Framework. These questions help you pinpoint where to focus, so your plans aren’t just busy work – they actually move your business forward.

Grab a pen, gather your leadership team + answer these questions honestly. That’s where the real insights – + magic – happen.

KNOW

Do you truly know who your customers are + what’s important to them? Not what you think is important, but what their needs truly are.

TRACK

Do you track your performance from your customer’s perspective? We’re not talking about your P+L or your sales forecasts – it’s about measuring what’s important to them + how you’re performing in their eyes.

ALIGN

Do you align your business to your customer’s needs? Is ‘customer’ just a service function, or is it truly in the DNA of your business?

YOU’RE BUSY – WHY BOTHER?

By answering these three simple questions, you’ll gain clarity on your strengths + growth areas+ align your plans with what will make the biggest difference to your business in three areas:

• YOUR CUSTOMERS – delivering what they want, how they want it.
• YOUR TEAMS – giving them focus + the opportunity to make a difference where it truly matters.
• YOUR BOTTOM LINE – aligning your efforts with the things that drive more sales, higher revenue, better customer satisfaction, stronger advocacy, greater loyalty + happier teams.

Align these three, + everything else falls into place.

If you’re questioning whether you have the time, ask yourself: how intentional will you be this year in your planning? Are you really asking the hard questions – or just doing the same thing you’ve always done?

Are you really asking the hard questions or are you just doing the same thing you’ve always done?

It doesn’t matter if you’re a busy, successful business, just starting out, or somewhere in between – it pays to stop + ask questions that reframe the way you see your business + your customers.

Don’t leave it to accident.

WHAT’S HOLDING YOU BACK

As a leader, you may want things to change, to be different, to be better – but you could be coming up against a few common issues:

• INDIFFERENT CUSTOMERS who could leave at the drop of a hat (or a dollar!), requiring constant effort + marketing spend to keep them.
• DISENGAGED TEAMS who do the basics but are disconnected from your purpose, values + goals.
• FRAGMENTED LEADERSHIP TEAM who row in different directions, sometimes to the detriment of the business.

There is a better way.

By understanding what’s happening in your business today, you can reveal the specific things holding you back from the success you desire – hidden realities that might not be obvious internally but show up externally in your customer experience, connections + competitive position.

How are you going to show up differently in your planning this year, to make next year your best year yet?

PRESSURE TEST YOUR PLAN TODAY

Want to take a deeper dive? Check out our recent webinar on Pressure Testing Your Planning (Inside-Out + Outside-In).You’ll get an in-depth view plus practical (free) tools to pressure-test your plan – before it’s too late.

Pressure-test your plan, focus on what matters, + make next year your best year yet.

Pressure-Test Your Strategy: 10 Questions. 5 Minutes.

Your 2026/27 plans may look great on paper – but are they grounded in reality, or just nice ideas?

This dual diagnostic will show you in under 5 minutes:

• Your personalised inside-out + outside-in scores
• Where your plan might hit bumps – internally + with customers
• Your biggest blindspots, revealed

Because guessing is expensive. Knowing is power. Start Your FREE Strategy Pressure Test Now.