Creating your nine step action plan

It’s that time of year when our minds are split.

We are rushing to complete all of those tasks that have got to be done before Christmas (even though some have sat around for much of the year!) but we’re also very conscious of 2023 being just around the corner and the need to put some plans in place.

In previous articles I’ve written about clarifying your vision, understanding your influence as a leader and recognising the value and importance of having a plan. Let’s now kick that plan into place.

To be clear, this isn’t a business plan. This is an action plan. Both have their place but, having gone through the steps I’ve already covered, and making the assumption that, as an accountant, you are already on top of the numbers (!), in my experience, many people’s attention in December is drawn towards “What are we going to DO next year to fix or improve things?”

 Here is my nine step guide to building your 2023 action plan:

 1.   Focus the mind

 Creating your plan needs dedicated mental space so isolate time in your diary for an uninterrupted planning session. When it’s time, turn off your phone and emails, get out of the office if possible and avoid any distractions. Make sure you are fresh too, this is not a midnight task after a hard day at your desk.

2.   Remind yourself of your ultimate goal

 Vision is not the realm of the already successful but critical in your planning and decision making. Know your ultimate goal and you have a critical guide for your actions. However short term, they should still be steps toward your ultimate goal. Make it clear and write it down.

  3.   2023 – months 1-12

 You may want to consider having your senior team, or indeed your whole team, in on this step.

 List what you want to achieve or tackle in 2023, both big and small. Don’t worry about ‘how’, this is about identifying ‘what’. From buying a new kettle and tidying up that junk room to your sales targets and team numbers, list out what you want to fix and achieve. Now do two things:

·     Pull out the low hanging fruit, (that new kettle) and simply get it done!

 ·     Prioritise the rest and pull out those you consider to be your top priorities, the things that must happen in 2023. The rest will get done as you re-visit late in the year but let’s focus on the key ones first.

 4.   2024 – months 13-24

 Now repeat step 3 for 2024. We want to make sure that the two are consistent and that your future priorities are lined up as part of the plan. We focus on 2023 but, as the year progresses, the priorities of 2024 becoming increasingly relevant. Doing this helps you to keep focus and manage your priorities.

 5.   Select your facilitators

You’ve identified your key priorities. You now need someone to focus on their delivery so that they remain a priority. This person is not responsible necessarily for coming up with the solutions or with doing the work themselves but they are responsible for reporting and delivery. It is their responsibility, with others if they choose, to come up with the plan for the particular priority and to track its progress. They may chair a working group for instance or coordinate with an outsourced resource, or they could have the skill sets to actually run the delivery.

6.   Set your timetable

 Agree your timetable for progression, delivery and reporting. Get it into the diaries so that it’s not nudged to one side as the workload mounts.

7.   Check your resources

 Do you have what you need in order to deliver on your priorities? Before you go shopping, check that you are making the best use of what you already have available: your people, systems and funds. If you identify any deficits that will delay or prevent progression, either plan to address the deficit or recognise that you’re going to need to reset your plan. Don’t defeat yourself by trying to achieve what is unrealistic.

 8.   Agree your measurements

 You can’t manage what you can’t measure. For each priority, identify your KPI’s. Understand how you are going to track progress.

 9.   Build your review process

 Plans evolve, they don’t tend to be fixed, especially in the volatile and rapidly changing world we live in today. Reviews should be regular and set close enough to the activity that the response is meaningful. Regular reviews means regular progression.

 These nine steps are one way to build an effective action plan. They are neither unique nor the only solution but they are steps proven to work. Hopefully they will provide you with a useful guide to your 2023 success.

 Good luck!

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