The document outlines 17 things to consider when planning for the year 2017. It recommends building an annual strategic plan by including leadership and key staff to define strategies in key areas like guest experience and brand optimization. It also suggests thinking about how to be disruptive and identifying needed changes. Additional recommendations include reviewing feedback, talent, service approach, marketing touchpoints and developing a concise one-page sales and marketing plan. The goal is to strengthen the brand, market position and customer retention through thorough planning and preparation.

1. 17 Things to Consider
When Planning for 2017
BY: RENIE CAVALLARI

2. 17 Things to Consider When Planning for
2017
1. BUILD YOUR ANNUAL STRATEGIC PLAN
 Include as many of your leaders, supervisors and up-and-comers as possible in your
planning process.
 Don’t worry about tactics until you have the strategic direction defined. Many
people think tactically. Tactics are only effective if you have the right strategies.
Strategies answer the question “what will we do?"
 First, think about "what" (the key strategies).
 Then ask, "how can we be disruptive?"
 The strategic direction should be defined by your entire senior leadership and key
department heads team. Take a strategic look at these 7 places:
 Guest experience

3. 17 Things to Consider When Planning for
2017
1. BUILD YOUR ANNUAL STRATEGIC PLAN
 Associate / Team Member journey
 Retention strategy
 Brand optimization
 Customer development targets
 Ownership expectations and alignment.
 Business Practices: Process improvement & productivity optimization

4. 17 Things to Consider When
Planning for 2017
 2. THINK TOGETHER. Meet offsite with your leadership team to
discuss current results and indicators. Open with the question: “If we
could do anything to quantum leap our market share, revenues
and/or profitability, what would we do?”
 3. THINK OPENLY. Begin your plan with a concentrated review of
your Vision, Mission and Brand Strategy. Ask how to expand your
imprint and strengthen your point(s) of differentiation. It leads to
innovation.
 4. BE A CHANGE INSTIGATOR. Identify what must change, what
needs to change and what obstacles you need to remove in order
to make those changes effective.

5. 17 Things to Consider When
Planning for 2017
 5. CANI (Constant and Never-Ending Improvement). Review your
meetings, meeting agendas and outcomes. Look for redundancy.
Tie meetings into improve-ing processes, optimizing time and
maximizing productivity.
 6. ASK. What are your operational improvement areas?
 7. REVIEW FEEDBACK. What does your social media tell you about
your operation that you need to change, enhance or leverage?

6. 17 Things to Consider When
Planning for 2017
 8. WHO ARE YOUR BEST CUSTOMERS? How do they think? How do
they prefer to buy? Who else thinks and acts like them?
 9. REFLECT. What does distribution look like today? What is the
optimal distribution approach? How can you improve margins
through shifting your channels?
 10. FINISH THIS SENTENCE: “People love hanging with us because...”
What is the narrative you want to create and be known for?

7. 17 Things to Consider When
Planning for 2017
 11. HOW ENGAGED ARE YOUR PEOPLE? Are they “all in”? How competent are
they? What training needs refreshing (minimum every 2 years) and what
training needs to be developed? You should have something new every year
to keep your people learning and your guest experience evolving.
 12. GRADE YOUR TALENT ON A SCALE OF 1-10. Everyone. Where are you
strong? Where are you weak? What are you going to do about it? Look at
the 3 indicators of high performance:
 Head in the game – How is their attitude? Attitude has a 68% impact on
performance
 Skill levels – Do they know how to do the job functions?
 Process capabilities – Do they use the processes in place to ensure consistency
and sustainability around their work product?

8. 17 Things to Consider When
Planning for 2017
 13. HOW CAN YOU REFRESH YOUR SERVICE? What is special about the
experience? Find your signature.
 14. EXAMINE. What are your opportunities to leverage pre-arrival wallet
share capture?
 15. REVIEW YOUR FIRST IMPRESSION TOUCH POINTS. What
enhancements do you need to make? Consider your arrival
experience, website, front door, parking lots, hallways, elevators, etc.
 16. WHAT IS YOUR DEPARTURE EXPERIENCE LIKE? Ensure it makes every
customer say, “I really love this place!”

9. 17 Things to Consider When
Planning for 2017
17. BUILD YOUR SALES & MARKETING PLAN
 Ask the team to explore: “How will we stand out from the clutter as a
brand?” Your entire leadership team should spend 4 hours on how to
strengthen your brand, market position and customer retention. Every
leader/discipline manager should participate in your sales and marketing
plan if you want everyone to be a “sales person”.
 Do not click [file/save as] when building your sales and marketing plan.
Rethink your entire plan approach. Make it into one page. Then…

10. 17 Things to Consider When
Planning for 2017
17. BUILD YOUR SALES & MARKETING PLAN
 Develop a one page sales/marketing plan for:
 Each sales person
 Each revenue department
 Each marketing key focus area
 Think and prepare before you move. Planning is a thinking process. It requires
quiet space and time — as many as 50 to 100 hours — to develop a truly well
designed plan. We call the process TPM™…Think. Prepare. Move. If you think
and prepare first, when it is time to Move, you move better, smarter and faster.