Are you starting to think about what 2026 will look like for your business and noticing that it feels harder than usual to map out the year ahead?
With slower buying cycles, evolving client expectations, and more unpredictable conversion patterns, the traditional approach of planning every detail for the entire year creates far more waste than clarity.
This season requires a different approach to planning, and this is something we teach as part of our certification programs in the Lean Strategic Planning System™.
It is a proven, adaptive framework that gives you clarity and direction while keeping you flexible in a time when flexibility is essential.
It involves learning the following:
- Why detailed annual plans backfire right now
- How to plan when your offers or conversion rates are shifting
- What adaptive planning looks like in practice
- The three planning types I rely on every year
- The number that simplifies everything you prioritize
- Why Q1 should be clearer than the rest of the year
I also unpack this in episode 256 of the Simplify to Scale Show.
Tune into Episode 256 of the Simplify to Scale Show or keep reading below.
Why Traditional Planning Fails in Unpredictable Seasons
Every year around this time, founders feel the pressure to map out all their launches, projects, and initiatives for the year ahead.
But in the current landscape, those highly detailed annual plans often break down within weeks.
We are in a broad cycle of experimentation.
What worked two years ago stopped working last year and continues to shift today.
Offers, conversion events, messaging, and even buyer behavior are all moving targets.
When you do not have predictability, you cannot:
- Forecast with confidence
- Rely on past performance
- Lock in conversion plans far in advance
- Set up your team for success with rigid schedules
Trying to plan everything a year in advance becomes a recipe for rework and frustration.
Instead of mapping out every task and detail for all twelve months, I take an approach that gives me clarity without locking me into decisions that may not hold true a few months from now.
The Three Types of Planning I Use in My Business
Inside my Lean Strategic Planning framework, I use three different modes of planning.
Each has a purpose and a specific place within the planning rhythm.
The three planning modes are:
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Visionary Planning
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Strategic Planning
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Just In Time Planning
When you understand what each mode is for, planning becomes much simpler and far more effective.
Visionary Planning: Setting the Long-Term Direction
Visionary planning is my role as the founder.
It is not about tactics or timing.
It is about direction, impact, and the kind of life I want to create through my business.
Visionary planning includes:
My bold vision for the future
- The impact I want the business to make
- The profit I want to generate
- The role I want to play in the business
- How I want to spend my time
- What a rich and fulfilled life looks like for me
I often ask clients to picture us meeting for coffee on January 1, 2027... If we were talking about how 2026 was your most successful year yet, what would have made that true?
I ask myself this exact same question.
This vision becomes the foundation for everything that follows.
I do not involve my team in visioning too early.
I own the vision. They help bring it to life.
Strategic Planning: Turning Vision into a High-Level Roadmap
Once I am clear on what I want the future to look like, my strategic planning begins.
This is where I build a high-level roadmap for the year.
It is not a fully detailed plan because that kind of detail is not realistic in a season like this.
My strategic planning typically includes:
- A directional roadmap for the year
- Revenue targets
- Key initiatives like launches, rebrands, or major projects
- Capacity and hiring considerations
- A high-level sense of what each quarter might hold
I create significantly more clarity for Q1, then allow future quarters to stay flexible.
As I learn and adapt, I refine the plan.
This approach saves time, reduces waste, and keeps me focused on what I can predict.
The One Number That Simplifies Everything
There is a single number I look at every quarter that simplifies planning in a significant way.
Once I know this number, I can quickly identify:
- When I need to launch
- How much I need to sell
- How many sales calls or webinar attendees I need
- What experiments I should run to gain traction faster
This number removes the guesswork from planning and helps me make decisions with clarity.
Just-In-Time Planning: Staying Aligned and Agile All Year Long
This is one of the most important planning layers, and it is the one most businesses either skip or overcomplicate.
Just-in-Time planning prevents the waste that comes from planning too much too early.
It keeps you aligned while still giving you space to pivot as the market shifts.
Here is how I structure it:
- Monthly planning to integrate marketing, sales, delivery, and operations
- Weekly planning to align the team on priorities and ensure no one is overloaded
- Daily check-ins so small blockers do not turn into week-long delays
My team does simple daily touch points in Slack.
This makes sure nothing stalls and everyone stays on the same page.
This rhythm is what keeps us responsive, focused, and moving forward with consistency.
How I Set Myself Up for a Strong and Successful 2026
When I combine visionary planning, strategic planning, and Just-In-Time planning, I get a structure that gives me both clarity and adaptability.
Going into 2026, here is what I want in place:
- A clear vision for what I want the year to look and feel like
- A high-level roadmap that is directional and realistic
- An adaptive monthly and weekly planning rhythm
- Daily visibility to prevent surprises
- The single number that simplifies everything
- A work structure that supports my goals without creating overwhelm
This is the system I use in my own business and teach in my certifications.
It is the same system thousands of founders use to scale simply and sustainably.
Your Path to a Clear and Confident 2026
If you’re ready to plan for a wildly successful 2026 and want ongoing support, I invite you to join my 1-Day Strategic Planning Retreat on December 16th.
During this live working session, we will map out your strategic roadmap for the entire year and get crystal clear on what Q1 needs to look like.
For ongoing support, I also invite you to join our SOL Collective community, where forward-thinking fractionals, consultants, founders, and right-hand leaders sharpen their strategic leadership skills, stay ahead of shifting expectations and apply AI with purpose, and elevate their positioning to stand out in an ever-evolving market.
Let’s make next year your best one yet!
by Crista Grasso
Crista Grasso is the go-to strategic planning expert for leading global businesses and online entrepreneurs when they want to scale. Known as the "Business Optimizer", Crista has the ability to quickly cut through noise and focus on optimizing the core things that will make the biggest impact to scale a business simply and sustainably. She specializes in helping businesses gain clarity on the most important things that will drive maximum value for their clients and maximum profits for their business. She is the creator of the Lean Out Method, 90 Day Lean Out Planner, and host of the Lean Out Your Business Podcast.
