As agencies, SaaS companies and B2B service businesses move into planning season, the temptation is to dive straight into tasks, numbers or a long wish-list of initiatives. But the most successful leadership teams take a different approach: they step back, reset and build a clear, shared understanding of what the next year needs to achieve, and why.

In the video below, Scaled founder Simon Penson walks through one of the methodologies he uses with scale-ups and founder-led businesses to create focused, high-impact annual plans.

1. Start With a Proper Baseline Reset

Before anything else, teams need a clear picture of how the previous year actually performed.

This includes reviewing:

  • Revenue, margin and cash
  • NRR, pipeline coverage and velocity
  • Proposition fit, ICP clarity and core market assumptions

This baseline review isn’t just reporting, it’s a strategic reset. Understanding what worked, what didn’t, and which pains you are really solving provides the context for everything that follows.

2. Define the 2026 North Star

With a baseline in place, the next step is establishing a clear North Star for 2026 – anchored not only in financial performance but in enterprise value.

Simon’s Exit Blueprint here explores the value levers in depth, but the core principle is simple:

Define where enterprise value needs to be, then build backwards.

That starts with building your first-pass budget:

  • Model revenue lines using historic performance and realistic pipeline forecasting
  • Consider top-down growth targets (e.g., 10%, 20%, 50%, 100%)
  • Feed in fixed and variable costs to create a V1 budget the senior team can interrogate and refine

The outcome: a grounded, directional view of what the business must achieve.

3. Cascade OKRs to Drive Alignment

Once the budget is agreed, it must translate into action.

We recommend using OKRs because they create clarity and measurable focus at every level.

This is where the North Star becomes operational:

  • Company-level objectives informed by the budget
  • Channel, service line and functional OKRs that ladder up
  • Individual clarity on contribution and ownership

When done properly, everyone understands what they’re accountable for – and how their work moves the business forward.

4. Prioritise the Strategic Levers

With clarity on where you’re going, the next step is identifying how you’ll get there.

Typical levers include:

  • Pricing strategy
  • Go-to-market changes
  • Product innovation
  • Leadership and organisational design

The critical question: Which few things matter most to move the business from A to B?

This becomes the core of your 2026 strategic plan.

5. Build the Strategic Planning Roadmap

This is the moment where strategy turns into sequence.

Scaled often works closely with founders, leadership teams and NEDs to build realistic roadmaps that define:

  • What needs to happen
  • In what order
  • With what resources
  • Against which success milestones

Without a roadmap, strategy becomes aspiration. With one, it becomes execution.

6. Strengthen Governance & Accountability

Annual plans fail without discipline.

External governance – whether from a chair, NED, mentor or advisor – provides:

  • Focus
  • Accountability
  • A rhythm for working on the business

This support ensures the strategic plan doesn’t drift once the year gets busy.

7. Communicate the Plan With Energy and Clarity

Finally, bring the whole thing together and communicate it to the full business.

A great all-hands launch should:

  • Explain the North Star
  • Show how the plan was built
  • Clarify why it matters
  • Highlight what’s in it for the team

When everyone understands the ambition, and their role in it, momentum builds fast.

Need Help Building Your 2026 Plan?

Annual planning is a big piece of work, but the right structure makes it far easier and far more impactful. If you’d like advice or support in building your plan, the Scaled team is always happy to help. Get in touch here.