Collaborative Planning Strategies for Business Growth

Great strategy needs stars. But it only works when the whole team runs the system. This is Phil. Before he arrived, one part of the team dominated the rest of the team and the team had modest success. Then he instituted the triangle offense. It forced the sharing of the ball, putting the skillsets of the players around their best player in the best position to succeed, and integration over self-reliance (the one-on-one mentality) in order to win championships. Phil won 11 championships. When Finance, Ops, and RevOps aren’t truly part of the planning process, strategy becomes siloed, and execution gets political. People follow plans they help create. Here’s how you can get collaboration to show up in the planning cadence in practice: Weekly: Ground-Level Insights Each department logs weekly learnings - what’s working, what’s bottlenecked, what’s forecasted. These mini feedback loops feed the broader plan over time. Planning is no longer an annual fire drill. It’s iterative. Monthly: Rolling Planning Updates Monthly working sessions keep the plan alive. Pipeline changes. Delivery capacity shifts. CAC jumps or drops. Every department shares what’s changing in their world so the plan flexes with reality, not fantasy. Quarterly: Strategic Recalibration This is where leadership + department heads evaluate risk, investment areas, and team capacity. Finance brings cash modeling. RevOps brings revenue forecasts. Ops brings fulfillment feasibility. Everyone has a seat, and everyone speaks up. Annual: Joint Planning Workshops Budgeting. Hiring. Pricing strategy. Tooling. All on the table. But here’s the catch: planning doesn’t start in Finance. It starts cross-functionally. Each function informs the plan from their vantage point. No hidden agendas. Just shared direction. Strategic planning doesn’t live in a spreadsheet. It lives in the conversations you have before the spreadsheet is built.

Too often, I’ve been in a meeting where everyone agreed collaboration was essential—yet when it came to execution, things stalled. Silos persisted, friction rose, and progress felt painfully slow. A recent Harvard Business Review article highlights a frustrating truth: even the best-intentioned leaders struggle to work across functions. Why? Because traditional leadership development focuses on vertical leadership (managing teams) rather than lateral leadership (influencing peers across the business). The best cross-functional leaders operate differently. They don’t just lead their teams—they master LATERAL AGILITY: the ability to move side to side, collaborate effectively, and drive results without authority. The article suggests three strategies on how to do this: (1) Think Enterprise-First. Instead of fighting for their department, top leaders prioritize company-wide success. They ask: “What does the business need from our collaboration?” rather than “How does this benefit my team?” (2) Use "Paradoxical Questions" to Avoid Stalemates. Instead of arguing over priorities, they find a way to win together by asking: “How can we achieve my objective AND help you meet yours?” This shifts the conversation from turf battles to solutions. (3) “Make Purple” Instead of Pushing a Plan. One leader in the article put it best: “I bring red, you bring blue, and together we create purple.” The best collaborators don’t show up with a fully baked plan—they co-create with others to build trust and alignment. In my research, I’ve found that curiosity is so helpful in breaking down silos. Leaders who ask more questions—genuinely, not just performatively—build deeper trust, uncover hidden constraints, and unlock creative solutions. - Instead of assuming resistance, ask: “What constraints are you facing?” - Instead of pushing a plan, ask: “How might we build this together?” - Instead of guarding your function’s priorities, ask: “What’s the bigger picture we’re missing?” Great collaboration isn’t about power—it’s about perspective. And the leaders who master it create workplaces where innovation thrives. Which of these strategies resonates with you most? #collaboration #leadership #learning #skills https://lnkd.in/esC4cfjS

𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁; 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀. Leaders are faced with multiple issues regarding the future of their business. They often seek an expert with the answers but need a process. The process is simple: facilitate, collaborate, and implement. 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. Experts have solutions, but often, those solutions do not fit your culture and desires. My best example is a consulting group that believed centralization was the only solution for the success of a bank holding company. The leaders of the holding company and its affiliates disagreed.  The consultants were fired. Their expert solution did not fit the culture and was unacceptable to the organization. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿. In facilitating strategic planning projects, I found the management team knew the challenges for their future. Facilitation is a process for identifying those issues. 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. Collaboratively develop plans to resolve issues. The solutions developed by the team through collaboration match the organization's existing culture and capabilities.  𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. The issues have been identified, and resolutions have been created. Now, the team generates implementation plans. They have a shared responsibility for implementing the necessary steps. If the plans fail to produce the desired results, the same team will modify and implement the plans. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽.  The team may research the experts' opinions but modify them to meet the unique needs of their organization and its capabilities. The team is growing while meeting the needs of their organization.  It is an amazing process of growth and teamwork.  

Instead of simply acquiring competitor technology or competing directly, Procter & Gamble (P&G) forged a licensing agreement that allowed them and their competitor-turned-partner to thrive. P&G rapidly gained market traction with its Swiffer product, while Unicharm benefited financially from the partnership. This illustrates a fundamental principle of the Vested methodology: collaboration can create value beyond what either party could achieve alone. When organizations identify complementary strengths and foster a culture of trust, they can develop solutions that drive mutual success. Thinking long-term is also essential. Approaching partnerships with a vision for the future enables companies to invest in collaboration today that will yield significant returns later. Creative partnership models, such as licensing and joint ventures, can allow for shared benefits while maintaining each party's unique advantages. In business, the most fruitful relationships stem from a “What’s in it for we?” mindset rather than a transactional “What’s in it for me?” approach. This shift in perspective will unlock incredible collaboration and lead to innovative solutions in your organization. #VestedWay #Collaboration #Partnerships #BusinessStrategy #Innovation #Culture #Keynote

During Halloween, “Make Good Choices” was the advice a good friend shared with the trick or treaters.  That same advice is important for us to consider this week and in the weeks ahead as we work through the annual planning process.  While there are many choices to confront, two important ones to consider if your objective is EFFICIENT GROWTH are your planning approach (a Joint GTM Plan vs Siloed Approach) and how you define your target audience (Data-driven vs reusing last year’s).  Lets dig in: 1: GTM Planning vs Siloed Approach Significant change has occurred within Sales and Marketing over the last year as companies have shifted toward a joint GTM focus where planning occurs collaboratively versus in siloed spreadsheets. With greater collaboration during planning, these companies are achieving alignment sooner resulting in more effective execution. Improved alignment helps teams stay focused on the same objectives (and audiences) which is proven to increase efficiency as they are spending less time chasing the wrong prospects/customers. For those already choosing joint GTM planning, expanding that collaboration deeper into the organizations or further into the multiple revenue streams - net new, upsells, and renewals – will accelerate your results. Organizations that make their first attempt at a joint GTM plan will experience challenges around timing and coordination of inputs.  That may yield a longer planning cycle, but the end result is preferred over siloed plans that guarantee misalignment at some point during the year.  2: Your Target Audience: Using a Data Driven Approach vs Reusing last year’s A key factor in Joint GMT planning is ensuring all teams focus on the same audience segments within the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). Many companies will simply use last year’s ICP and confirm their programs and campaigns are targeting those audiences.  Any performance improvements will rely on HOPING that audience responds better. A more strategic approach is to review your recent (18-24 months) GTM performance and identify best performing segments across a variety of metrics and attributes. This yields a richer understanding of your true ideal customer (using win rates, long term profitability, etc) and where it is wise to invest your resources. When done well, this approach greatly improves the efficiency gains as you engage more of the audience that buys (and expands) more easily. This reduces time wasted chasing prospects/deals outside of the best performing segments, and improves the quality of programming through increased concentration on the top segments.  See more on “Focus and Prioritization” here.  https://lnkd.in/gbHbUwYU The joint GTM planning paired with detailed ICP analysis will take additional time up front, and that is a worthy investment that will enable you to achieve your efficient growth objective! So what choices will you make?