The Big Reset: Monthly Round-Up
In case you missed it...everything you need to rethink Annual Planning.
Are you ready to turn your Annual Planning into a Big Reset?
As Spring has emerged around us, we’ve been focused on the process of renewal - how as people, teams and organisations we can rally around a new vision of the future.
And here is a quick summary of everything we’ve covered.
1. We explored the The Big Reset
Our first piece dug into the key issues around Annual Planning, with a particular focus on the importance of making the future feel real, focusing on levers not tactics, and taking your planning process deeper into the execution.
This post went far and wide, and was picked up by quite a few other Substacks…thanks everyone!
The Big Reset
“So, I’m about to start my annual planning process for the year. But I already know what the plan is going to be. Do absolutely everything we did this year, but better, with less resources…and add three or four slightly random new things on top.” CMO. Anonymous.
2. We helped you to Make Your Manifesto
We gave you a practical framework to getting Annual Planning started with a bang: a Manifesto.
Combining Vision-setting, identification of must-build Levers and the right Start Points, this is an exercise that you can execute on your own, or ideally with a facilitated cross-functional team, to make it happen.
We are looking forward to running some of these sessions over the Summer months!
The Big Reset: Make your Manifesto
How do you make the kickoff to your Annual Planning the start of something big…not the starting gun for an avalanche of disparate, misaligned tactics? It’s all too easy to take the inertia of the day-to-day into the process with us. The end result…a plan that means doing everything again, and more, with less.
3. We shared our new The LookUP List
We brought you a range of resources and reading lists to help you think differently about the future.
We know many of you went on to read quite a few of these books, we would love to know what you thought!
The LookUP List: The Big Reset
Are you looking to create a Big Reset? Well, you need to have your antennae out, looking for some fresh inspiration and new perspectives. And there’s a lot out there. In this month’s LookUP List, we’ll give you a diverse list of things to read, think about and do during the course of the month.
4. We talked to 4 Future-Making Experts
We brought you four different lenses on how to make the future…
Mel McVeigh, Chief Product Officer, helped us to think about how to make progress with product.
Meet a FutureMaker of Product
“In my experience, in terms of how people look at strategic planning, the good people, the people I’ve been most impressed with as leaders, are the ones where they hold the line. Even when there are headwinds, they know very clearly the direction what we need to go in”
Kian Bakhtiari, Founder of the People, reminded us of the importance of imagination.
Imagining the Future: Kian Bakhtiari
“As you grow up in life, whether you go to school, you go to work, you kind of grow up. People start pointing fingers at you and telling you that's not possible. That's a stupid idea. That will never work. And I think because of that a lot of people become scared to imagine and think about something that doesn't exist, which is both scary, uncertain, but also if you have that social pressure of you don't want to be the person that does something stupid. It prevents you from going all out, and imagining where you could go.”
Simeon Duckworth, Economist, championed the power of scenario planning.
The Future is Multiple: Simeon Duckworth
“I do think there is that idea that things are harder to predict. And that just means that you need to think about scenarios. I think the emphasis then becomes on these mechanisms, people understanding how things work, having a shared view of how you think things work, and how they are contingent.”
Lianre Robinson, AI pioneer and agency leader, urged us all the face the fear, and embrace the future.
Embrace the Unknown to Move Forward
Where does annual planning tend to fall down? It’s often the moment where organisations shift from aligning behind a big vision; and transition to ‘what do we actually do now’? The excitement and energy flows can dissipate; and business as usual behaviour creeps back in as people retreat to their silo’s and comfort zones.
5. We gave you a look behind the scenes at LookUP
We applied everything we’ve shared this month to our own business, earlier in the year, with some very positive results.
If you are interested in us, or interested in how to apply the learnings, this should give you some quick inspiration.
The Big Reset: An Annual Plan for LookUP
What do you do, when you are firmly on track, but maybe for the wrong destination? That’s the question we asked ourselves at LookUP in January this year. We were in the last few months of a first year that had been inspiring, a little exhausting, and had opened our minds to some massive opportunities.
That’s all for this month!
Next month we’ll be focusing on Trouble in Paradise - an exploration of some of the cultural struggles that organisations are wrestling with right now, and a new prescription for progress, that centres on effective community-building.
See you there…