As we head into a new year, we business owners have the urge to start planning. Planning for the economy, for more sales, and to acquire more customers. But planning isn’t strategy, says Roger Martin, former dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, and one of the world’s leading thinkers on strategy. Here’s what I’ve learned from him.
Planning vs. Strategy
A strategy delineates how a company will succeed. Most organizations mistakenly equate planning with strategy because planning feels safer, more concrete, has action items, and is fully controllable. Strategy, on the other hand, is a set of choices about your market and how to succeed within an environment you do not fully control, which makes business owners a bit uncomfortable! Once you have a solid strategy, you can then make plans based on it.
Start With a Solid Strategy
Real strategy arises from a theory: a hypothesis about customers, markets, competition, and how your company’s specific choices will give it an advantage. How are you different? What types of customers do you want to attract? How do you want your brand to be perceived? By brainstorming a more high-level “wish list” for your business, you can then make solid commitments and avoid the false comfort of long checklists.
Why Planning Fails as Strategy
Companies fall into planning because it feels safe: you can schedule initiatives, allocate budgets, and measure execution. But “planning” tends to repeat patterns, rather than execute actions to achieve a goal. Once you have a solid strategy, your plans fall easily into place. Every plan—and the action items within—should support and refer back to the ultimate business goals in your strategy.
Case Study: Southwest Airlines ✈️
Southwest succeeded by choosing a distinct playing field (budget travel) and making trade-offs. Their strategy was to serve the customers who wanted a lower price-point on travel. How they achieved this was to create a plan based on the strategy: they focused on short-trips, used one single aircraft type, rejected frills, and positioned their brand as “fun, new, modern travel.” This created a model that grew a small newbie airline into a true competitor!
How to Create a Strategy for 2026
First, articulate clear choices: in what area will your company compete, how will it succeed, what you want for your brand, your employees, and your clients. Then create systems that support that strategy. It should be simple enough to state on a single page yet robust enough to guide decision-making throughout the year.
👉 To follow my own advice, I have created my own strategy for 2026. Feel free to use it as a roadmap to brainstorm with your team and create your own.
And of course, your website should reflect your strategy and business initiatives for the year to come. So let’s talk and make 2026 a success for you and your business!
~ Jennifer
No AI was used to write this article.