There’s an old saying that the early bird gets the worm. When it comes to strategic planning for your organization, the early bird gets something even better: clarity, focus and a competitive advantage.
Most organizations schedule their strategic planning sessions in Q3 or Q4, squeezed between budget cycles, year-end reporting and holiday rushes. But what if you flipped the script? What if you tackled strategic planning in Q1 or early Q2 instead?
Here are five compelling reasons why early-year planning might be the smartest strategic move you make for your next session.
1. Fresher Minds After the Holidays
Let’s be honest – by October and November, your leadership team is exhausted. They’ve been grinding through audits, budget preparations, regulatory updates and the daily demands of serving consumers. Their mental reserves are depleted.
Early in the year, however, your team returns from the holidays refreshed and recharged. They had time to step away, reflect and return with renewed energy and perspective. This isn’t just anecdotal…it’s psychology. Fresh minds generate better ideas and are more willing to challenge old assumptions. When you schedule strategic planning early, you’re investing in quality thinking…not just checking a box on the calendar.
2. Distance from Budget Season
Budget season and strategic planning sound like natural bedfellows, but they can be more like oil and water. When your team is deep in spreadsheets, defending line items and negotiating departmental allocations, strategic thinking takes a backseat. The focus shifts from “where should we go?” to “how much can we spend?”
By scheduling strategic planning early in the year, you create healthy separation from budget season. Your team can think expansively about the future without immediately worrying about the financial constraints of the current year. This distance allows for bolder ideas and more creative solutions. The budget conversation can then follow the strategic conversation – as it should.
3. Facilitators Have More Availability
Here’s a practical reality: business, bank and credit union strategic planning facilitators get booked quickly (especially during the traditional fall planning season). If you’re trying to secure an experienced facilitator in September or October, you might be competing with dozens of other organizations for their time.
Schedule your planning early in the year, and you’ll have your pick of the best facilitators. You can choose someone who truly understands the industry. Someone who brings fresh exercises and provocative questions. Someone who will challenge your team rather than simply run through a tired SWOT analysis. Better facilitators lead to better outcomes. It’s that simple.
4. Planning Takes the Front Seat…Not the Back
When strategic planning happens late in the year, it often feels like an obligation – something you squeeze in before year-end. But when you schedule it early, planning becomes a priority that sets the tone for everything else.
Early-year planning sends a powerful message to your organization: strategy matters. You’re leading with intention. You’re not reacting to the year; you’re creating it. This positioning elevates the importance of the planning session itself and increases buy-in from participants. When planning takes the front seat, your team treats it with the seriousness and energy it deserves.
5. You Finish Last Year’s Projects Before Planning New Ones
Nothing derails a strategic plan faster than unfinished business from the previous year. When you plan late in the year, there’s often an awkward overlap. You’re charting new initiatives while still executing (or abandoning) last year’s priorities.
Early-year planning gives you time to close the books on the previous year’s strategic initiatives. What worked? What didn’t? What did you learn? This reflection creates a cleaner slate for new planning. You’re not layering new strategies on top of old, incomplete ones. No…you’re building on a foundation of completed work and documented lessons learned.
The Bottom Line
Strategic planning is often done in fall, but it doesn’t have to be that way. As you can see, there are plenty of benefits to changing how you usually do things and performing planning early in the year.
So, what are you waiting for? Start planning your planning now.
Book a free consultation with On The Mark Strategies and get experienced business, bank and credit union strategic planning facilitators for your next session.
