Ask Better Questions

Planning isn’t about the Plan; it’s about the Questions!  

The true power behind a Planning Process is not the answers you eventually use to write the plan. It is about identifying the right questions at the beginning of the process.  

Recently, as I was working with a client on their 2026 plan, it became very obvious that the questions I was asked to think about, were the same ones from last year. What worked? What didn’t? How can we achieve more with same resources?  

All good questions, BUT their industry has changed. Their business has grown substantially. There is new legislation to navigate. They have new people in key positions. The questions from last year were out of date and no longer relevant. I rewrote the questions that needed to be asked for their business for 2026 and replied. The questions where future focused. They were about the current situation. They were challenging the current thinking and situation, not waiting for it to happen to them.  

When we get stuck in the same loop and are just focusing on what we can do with the existing resources or model, opportunities and insights can get missed. We need to Ask Better Questions of ourselves, our team and our clients. Perhaps we need to explore answers in our industry associations and networks, to ensure we stay ahead of the competition.   

Do you turn to your same questions as you enter into planning mode? If you do, I’d love you to challenge yourself this year and start outside your normal way of looking at your business. Ask the impossible questions and explore the answers.  

• What if cashflow wasn’t an issue? What would we do differently? Why? 

• What if there was an abundance of amazing candidates to fill our positions? Which positions would we hire first? Why?  

• What if we could automate that key process? What difference would it make to our success? Why? 

When we start with big solutions and then move towards solving the how we do it, there is a different level of creativity and problem solving unleashed.  You and your business will benefit from it.  

We’d love to help you plan different for 2026. If you’d like our help with the process, please reach out and book a meeting or call us on 1300 474 672.