2023 Business Planning For CEOs -

2023 Business Planning For CEOs

One of the most important parts of CEO coaching is the questions I ask my clients. Sometimes, it is not the answers but the questions we ask that get us to have the right mindset. The one that puts the CEO in a winning position. I constantly ask insightful questions that must be addressed in time. And it is ok to not have all the answers. But the conversation makes you aware and helps you recognize the company’s strengths, weaknesses, and what is keeping the CEO from being successful.

As we head into closing out 2022, which has been a difficult year for many businesses, your ability to make a difference in 2023 relies on doing the planning exercise for a successful 2023.

Take the first step in planning BHAG (big hairy audacious goals) for you and your company. Circulate them and get a solid alignment with your C-Suite. I am available to discuss these answers with you as your CEO coach.

1. How will the economic and geopolitical outlook affect your business?

Inflation is still rising and so are the COGS for your company. Europe’s recovery may take longer as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to drive up the price of energy. That affects consumer goods and hurts consumer sentiment. The increasing tension between China and India and the instability in Great Britain could impact how companies manage capital, outsource work, and source essential materials.

As a CEO, your first reaction may be just to cut spending. But that comes as a reaction without much thinking. You don’t know what corners you should cut. Increasing the prices via hikes to pass along higher input costs is no longer a good customer retention strategy. Reducing staff or lowering benefits will cause a talent drain that will cause your competitors to get ahead of you. Instead of doing that, take the approach of coming up with a list of the two biggest opportunities and two biggest vulnerabilities in the current economy.

Are there any distressed companies you can acquire? Can your cost of labor or manufacturing shrink by acquiring a competitor? Can you launch a new product as the customer acquisition cost is at an all-time low?

2. What is a formidable growth plan in light of your expected economic and geopolitical environment?

Smart CEOs create smart companies that identify and grow through their challenges. Uncertainty if not addressed head-on can stall weak companies. Rather than scaling back your goals, this is the time to bring your leadership team in alignment on the different paths the company can take. You can deploy and test new strategies. You can double down on the strategies which begin to show results and be very agile to pause the ones that do not. If you are aggressive, you will grab significant market share from your competitors. This is how large companies where I have worked got larger during these seismic economic shifts.

Having a solid insight into your competition may allow you to make big bets. As an example, if your competition is battered due to increasing costs, you may stay the course and accept lower margins. You will end up attracting your competitor’s customers and increasing your customer base while the acquisition cost is zero.

3. What’s your headcount plan?

Quiet quitting is still a big challenge. Keeping high-performing employees engaged and motivated is a priority for the executives. Building remote relationships have to be on the agenda for the CEO, CHRO, and the C-Suite. What this group demonstrates influences the remote culture in the company.

Employees who are performing and are engaged can be challenged in a good way with more responsibilities and a clear path toward career advancement. If they don’t run with it, replace them. If the economy worsens further before improving, these long-timers who may be hurting productivity for years will become more expensive to replace with time.

Making these staffing changes is never easy for the CEO, CHRO, and for the leaders involved.

Remember, top talent does not stick around when they become complacent. It is the CEO’s job to make the vision clear and inspiring. Hire and retain the top talent, pay them well, and show them where they belong in your renewed org chart.

4. What key changes are shaping your particular market?

Two years after COVID is over, it is now becoming clearer that the phase did not disrupt your business. It accelerated trends like digital commerce, on-demand services, and remote work which are all continuing to grow. The next big trend might come from the current problem of higher inflation and energy prices. Or it could simply be a shift in the consumer behavior in your target niche.

To stay ahead of the curve, CEOs have to be learners. All leaders are great readers. CEOs need to show up at industry conferences, read and understand data, and stay very close to evolving customer needs.

5. How are you addressing ESG and calls for greater diversity and inclusion?

Millennials want to relate to their company’s mission. They want to see their workplace as diverse, inclusive, and doing the right thing in the areas of social justice, and community outreach.

If they ever feel you are not being true to any one of these areas, you will be perceived as having a much bigger problem despite the company being solid financially.

Volunteering, employee groups, charitable giving, and matching, supporting powerful causes, and offering sabbatical – are all real ways to attract people who want to find meaning at a place they spend more waking hours of their day.

6. How can you further your digital strategy to improve customer experience and employee productivity?

Have you looked at your digital and technology vision in a way that can make the company be positioned as a leader? Have you spent the time to figure out where you need better talent, what can be outsourced, and what can be done differently to become productive?

Do you have access to your dashboard where the CEO, the C-Suite, and all the leaders are looking at metrics that matter?

Have you upgraded your data platform that allows for innovation to happen and AI models to be built?

Do you have communication rhythms such as Monthly and Quarterly Business Reviews with your decentralized teams which offer support and hold them accountable for their BHAG?

7. How can you enhance your Annual Planning process to ensure your initiatives are hit and team members are held accountable?

The 2023 annual plan will be one of the most important exercises you will do because there is a host of macro and micro issues that impact your business. You cannot afford to waste your time just pointing at targets. You have to lead from the front and drive your company closer to your goals.

The single most impactful improvement you can make to your annual planning process is to work with a third-party facilitator, like your CEO coach, who can run this planning session. As you prep, your coach can work with you and your C-Suite to clarify a vision that will inspire the whole company.

During the session, you will be able to participate, listen, and create clear next steps that will realize your vision. You will define what will be measured and when.

Your coach will hold you and your leadership team accountable for hitting the short-term benchmarks that will lead you week by week, month by month, and quarter by quarter, to your BHAG.

To have a footing and not be surprised by the many things 2023 may bring, answer these questions now. And take the first step towards making BHAG happen.