Q4 Has Begun — Is Your Strategic Plan Ready?

The last quarter of the year has arrived. Before we know it, 2026 will be over and 2027 will be here.

Before you start thinking about next year, take a moment to evaluate where your business is today:

  • What did you plan to achieve this year?
  • What have you actually achieved?
  • What’s working? What isn’t? What needs to change before the year ends?

This is an excellent time to take stock. There’s no need to wait until January 1st to plan! In fact, waiting for the calendar to change can mean giving away valuable time that you will never get back. Change is occurring at an alarmingly furious pace; can you afford to wait?

No Plan Is a Plan to Fail

The familiar saying, “No plan is a plan to fail,” is very applicable for businesses. A well-crafted plan provides direction, sets up priorities, and creates guardrails for decision-making. It gives you and your team a roadmap for moving toward the outcomes you want.

Without a clear plan, it’s easy to become distracted by urgent matters, lose sight of what’s most important, waste resources, and/or miss opportunities. A plan does not have to be long or so exhaustive that it’s most likely to sit on a shelf and collect dust. Creating a plan is only the beginning!

Plan. Execute. Review. Adjust.

Even the best business plan won’t produce results if it sits on a shelf. It’s a living, breathing roadmap forward from your current state to your future desired one.

Planning without execution is just a document.

Execution means acting on your plan, and that action turns into results. It requires commitment, discipline, accountability, and a willingness to adapt when circumstances change. And circumstances will change. For example, you can reliably expect markets to shift, and customers will change. Employees come and go. Unexpected problems arise. New opportunities appear. What looked like the right strategy six months ago may not be the right strategy today.

That’s why your plan needs to be a living document.

Take time, step back and ask:

  • What is working?
  • What isn’t working?
  • What have you (we) learned?
  • Are we measuring the right things?
  • What needs to change?
  • What should we stop doing?
  • What should we start doing?

The goal isn’t to create a perfect plan, but to create a plan that can be adapted.

Measure Progress — Don’t Assume It

Progress is best when it’s measured, not assumed. Key performance indicators and other meaningful metrics will provide you with the information or feedback needed to figure out whether your plan and/or business is moving in the right direction. This information will help you find gaps, allocate resources, recognize opportunities, and make decisions based on what is actually happening, not what you think is happening.

Keep Your End in Mind

As the last quarter of 2026 begins, don’t let the year run out. Take stock, review the plan, measure results, identify the gaps, and make the adjustments. Finally, finish the year intentionally and  start thinking about 2027.

You don’t need to have the entire year figured out today, but you should have a clear idea of where you want your business to go, what needs to happen to get there, and how you’ll measure progress along the way.

A Business Coach Can Help

A business coach will provide an outside perspective, experience, accountability, and a structured process for turning ideas into action.

A good coach will help you find gaps, establish priorities, develop actionable plans, measure progress, and adjust when circumstances change.

David brings more than 45 years of business experience and perspective to his work as a business coach. He helps business owners close gaps, prioritize what matters, and achieve the success they want.

You don’t have to wait for January 1st. Now is the time to take stock, make a plan, achieve goals for 2026, and start moving toward 2027.

If you’re open to the idea of having a business coach, start with a conversation! It doesn’t take more than a brief phone call to figure out whether coaching might be a good fit for you and your business. Call David at 734-645-9406 today or contact him to start the conversation.

Your success is waiting.