Your Best Year Yet Create a Sharp, Focused AOP for FY2026

Your Best Year
Yet
Create a Sharp, Focused AOP
for FY2026
Online Workshop | June 2025
www.shifft.com.au

“ Without a plan, even the
most brilliant business can
get lost. You need to have
goals, create milestones
and have a strategy in
place to set yourself up for
success." – Yogi Berra

Agenda
• Key Concepts
• Build your AOP
• The NOW
• The WHERE
• The HOW
• Cascade to 90 Days
• BONUS: Leveraging AI to Improve Your
Planning
• Next Steps

Workbook
We have provided you with a workbook:
• A Workshop Manual – for you to work on
today – editable or printable. So, you will
need to work out how you can organise
your online workspace to allow that to
happen.
• You can also just make notes!

WHERE will we be
in the future?
HOW do we
get there?
Strategic
Planning
Business
Plan
Now –
Where –
How

Prework
We asked you to:
qComplete some Diagnostics
qDo a quick Assessment
q(OPTIONAL) - Review your Financials
qMagic Wand Exercise
Annual Operating Plan

EXERCISE:
NOW Summary
• Review your Prework
• Make some notes and summarise
the Top 5 issues that you need to
address in the coming 12
months.
• List them plus your current level
of Sales $
• How important is it that you
address these issues?
• What are the MUST DO’s?

DISCUSSION
In groups of 2 or 3:
• Briefly Introduce yourself and your
business (less than 1 minute)
• Discuss your key issues
• Highlight the Must Do’s and Why
they are important
• Take turns.
• Share only information that you are
comfortable sharing

The WHERE
Where are we headed?

Define your WHERE
• What Customers/Clients do you
want to serve?
• What Products and Services do
they demand from you?
• What Outcomes do you want to
achieve in the next 12 months?
• Sales $
• New Clients
• New Services/Products
launched
• Make notes in your Workbook

Add your
WHERE
notes to
the
template

Set some Big
Rocks
What is a Big Rock?
A Big Rock is a powerful metaphor, shaping the way individuals
and businesses approach their objectives. Coined by Stephen
Covey in his seminal work "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective
People," the term draws inspiration from a visual metaphor that
underscores the importance of prioritisation in achieving
meaningful goals.
In Covey's metaphor, a large container represents our time,
resources, and attention.
The 'Big Rocks' symbolise the most critical and strategic goals we
aim to achieve.
The metaphor gains depth as Covey introduces the notion of
adding smaller elements like gravel, sand, and water to the
container.
The key insight is that to ensure the Big Rocks fit, they must be
placed first—highlighting the significance of prioritising major goals
before addressing lesser, more routine tasks.

Typical Big Rock Areas
Potential Big Rock Categories:
1. Marketing & Sales
2. Operational Efficiency
3. People and Management
4. Finance and Infrastructure
Your Plan should include 2 additional elements:
• What are you going to do to improve yourself and/or your
Team? Add them as a Big Rock e.g. Build my Leadership
Skills

EXERCISE:
Develop Your Big
Rocks
Develop 2 to 4 Big Rocks - "large actions" required
to move you from NOW to WHERE and write a
short description of what the Big Rock means.
Use the potential categories as a Guide:
1. Marketing & Sales
2. Operational Efficiency
3. People and Management
4. Personal Growth and Development
5. OPTIONAL Finance and Infrastructure
EXAMPLES:
1. Grow our business in SEQ
2. Improve our productivity
3. Engage the Team
4. Grow my Leadership Skills
5. OPTIONAL: Upgrade our IT and Systems

Big Rocks and
Measures
• For each Big Rock, define a Goal, key measures and
an annual target
Example:
BIG ROCK: Grow our business in SEQ
Key Measures and Targets
• Sales - $1.2M
• New Clients – 10
• Sales Conversion% = 75%

What is your Strategy
to get from NOW to
WHERE?
• Definition: “Strategy is a medium
term Action that is large in scope
and decisive”
• ”Grow our sales” is not a strategy
- it is an aspiration.
• “Increase product X sales by
focusing on SEQ market” is a
strategy.

EXERCISE: Develop
Your Strategy
• Complete the statement in your Workbook
“We will <decisive action> in order to
<Objective>”
EXAMPLES:
• “We will secure the Hill in order to control the
battlefield”
• “We will increase Product X sales by focusing
on SEQ market in order to improve margins”

DISCUSSION
• Explain your Strategy and why its
important
• Give feedback on whether is an
“aspiration” or a “strategy”
• Take turns.
comfortable sharing

The HOW
Where the rubber hits the road

Copy your
Big Rocks
from above

EXERCISE: Develop
Your Strategies
For each Big Rock define the 2-3x Strategies
required to deliver the Big Rocks in the next 1-2
years
EXAMPLE:
Big Rock:
1. Grow our business in SEQ
Strategies:
1.1 Refine Product X Package
1.2 Improve our Sales Conversions
1.3 Develop a strong Marketing Plan

EXERCISE: Develop
the Strategic Actions
For each Strategy, develop 2-3 Actions to focus delivery of
this outcome in the next 12 months.
Define:
WHO? Who is responsible for ensuring the task is complete
WHEN? When will we start this task? Q1, Q2, Q3 or Q4?
EXAMPLE:
1.2 Improve our Sales Conversions
1.2.1 Update relevant Sales Collateral – Max Q1
1.2.2 Build a Sales Pipeline – Mary Q1
1.2.3 Improve our Sales Skills – Margaret Q2

EXERCISE: Stop,
Prop and Reflect
Take 3 minutes to reflect on your Plan
ASK:
• Is it achievable?
• Will the Actions enable us to meet 80% of
our Objectives?
• What is missing?
• What should be eliminated?
• What are the MUST DO’s?

DISCUSSION
• Explain your Big Rocks and why
they are important
• Give feedback on whether they are
“Operational” or a “Strategic”
• Take turns.
comfortable sharing

Cascade to
90 Days
Get the detail at the right level

Get the detail at the right level
Cascade
Your
Plans

SPECIAL OFFER!
90 Day Productivity
Journal
• Cascade your plans from 90 Days to
Daily Plans for the next 90 Days.
• Templates for each plan, structured
review pages, productivity resources
and articles, 25 supporting videos.
• 362 A5 pages, soft copy, undated
• Available on Amazon.com.au for
delivery to your office

BONUS
Focused Execution
Journal
• A detailed Guide to creating your
Annual Operating Plan.
• Templates for your plan, planning and
productivity resources and articles,
supporting videos.
• 75 A5 pages, soft copy
• Available on Amazon.com.au for
delivery to your office

Supercharge Your
Planning with AI
Give your planning a shot in the arm

The Perfect Prompt
Formula
1. Task - what do you want done
2. Context - limit the infinite
possibilities
3. Exemplar - give examples
4. Persona - what perspective do you
want
5. Format - how do you want it
presented
6. Tone - how do you want to convey the
information
Source:
“master the perfect ChatGPT Prompt formula” Jeff Su -
https://youtu.be/jC4v5AS4RIM?si=piu__LpEBZnPu2CU

The NOW
Start your AOP by getting clarity on your current position. Use these
prompts after completing your Industry issues, Diagnostic Results, Magic
Wand Exercise, and Quick Review of the Last 12 Months.
TIP: Upload images or copies of your notes, Industry Issues Report,
diagnostic reports, etc as PDFs to your ChatGPT prompt. You can only
upload 10 files at a time so you may have to do this in a couple of goes.
Prompt 1: Understand your Industry
“You are an Industry Analyst. Provide an overview of our industry [insert industry] in [insert location
e.g., region and country] highlighting key issues, challenges, opportunities and benchmarks. Summarise
into a concise Industry Issues Report. “
Prompt 2: Analyse Key Business Issues
“You are the world’s best business planner. Review the attached documents and summarise the key
insights. Provide a simple summary Key Issues Report including a list of the Top 5 key issues that we
need to address in our Annual Plan. Use a professional, concise and friendly tone.”
Prompt 3: Identify Strengths and Opportunities
“Based on the notes, other information, diagnostic results and Industry Issues Report, what are our
most valuable strengths and untapped opportunities? Provide the answers in a simple summary report”

The
WHERE
Once you’ve summarised your current state, it’s time to define where you’re
heading. These prompts support you in crafting a strategic future and
defining your Big Rocks. Now that you’ve defined your Big Rocks, this
prompt will help you develop Key Result Areas (KRAs), Key Measures, and
Annual Targets to track progress.
Prompt 4: Turn Vision Into Big Rocks
“You are a Business Strategist. Our business vision is to [insert vision]. Suggest 3 overarching Big Rocks
(or Strategic Priorities) that will help us move from our current state to that future state in the next 12
months. Give each Big Rock a short 2 to 4-word title. Summarise the Big Rocks and explain why they are
important.”
Prompt 5: Write Strong Big Rocks Statements
“For each Big Rock [insert Big Rocks]. Help me write a powerful ‘Big Rock’ Description that is broad in
direction, aligned with my strategy, and focused on impact. I want them to be inspiring and practical.”
Prompt 6: Generate KRAs and KPIs for Big Rocks
“Based on the Big Rock ‘[Insert Big Rock]’, what are 2–3 meaningful Key Result Areas and measurable
KPIs I can track to monitor progress?”

The HOW
Once you’ve defined your goals and success metrics, you need to
translate them into strategy and action. These prompts will help
break down your Big Rocks into logical steps.
Prompt 7: Break Down Big Rocks into Strategies
“Given this Big Rock: [insert Big Rock], what are 2–3 high-impact strategies I should take in the next 12
months?”
Prompt 8: Strategies to Actions
“Given these Strategies [insert Strategies for a specific Big Rock], what are 2-3 high impact actions that I
should take to ensure we execute on this strategy over the next 12 months?”
Prompt 9: Assign Accountability with Role Clarity
“You are an expert Resource Planner and Project Manager. We have these Actions: [insert actions]. For
each action, define who in a typical small business should own this responsibility, and what support roles
should be involved? Produce your answer as a simple table listed by action”

The HOW
Once you’ve defined your goals and success metrics, you need to
translate them into strategy and action. These prompts will help
break down your Big Rocks into logical steps.
Prompt 10: Create a Timeline With Realistic Buffers
“You are an expert Resource Planner and Project Manager. Help me build a timeline for this Strategy:
[insert strategy]. Review the actions under this strategy and determine for each action what are the logical
milestones, dependencies, and where should I add time buffers? You may need to take the following
constraints into consideration [insert constraints e.g., plant shutdowns, etc, if applicable]. Provide your
answers as a concise table.”
Prompt 11: Resource Planning Forecast
“Based on this initiative [insert Big Rock, strategy or action], what additional resources (capital, people, or
equipment) might I need to consider?”

Review and Refine
Before you finalise your AOP,
reflect and refine.
Prompt 12: Refine and Stress-Test Your Plan
“Here’s a summary of my AOP [upload an image or copy in the key sections]. Can you identify
any gaps, contradictions, or unrealistic assumptions?”
Bonus Prompt: Monthly AI Check-In
“Act as my Annual Planning Coach. Each month, ask me three questions about my progress
against our AOP, what’s working, and what needs adjusting.”

Tips for
Using AI
Tools
Effectively
Treat the AI as your thinking partner,
not a decision-maker.
Ask follow-up questions to dig
deeper or reframe responses.
Always adapt the outputs to suit
your specific business context.
Save your AI chats for review—
you’ll often find value in revisiting
them.

Need inspiration for
smarter prompts?
Explore our Range of AI Prompt Libraries with 3x Series: over 20
Books in a range of topics
Industry & Professions: Coach & Consultant, Accountant, Lawyer,
Manufacturing, NDIS
Roles and Positions – CEO, Manager, Partner, etc
Situations and Activities – Workforce Planning, Lean, Remote
Workforce
Available as ebooks or paperback on Amazon.com.au -
https://tinyurl.com/AIPromptBooks

How do you use them?
Use your copy of AI Prompts
• 750+ proven prompts to help you solve real
problems
HOW TO USE IT:
1. Think about the question you want to ask
2. Review the TOC and find the right Chapter
and/or Section
3. Pick a Prompt
4. Add Prompt to ChatGPT using the 6 Step
Prompt Building formula

Think of a Question
and select a Prompt

ChatGPT creates a
more powerful Prompt

Run the Prompt and
Review the Results

Need inspiration for
smarter prompts?
Explore our Range of AI Prompt Libraries with 3x Series: over
20 Books in a range of topics
Industry & Professions: Coach & Consultant, Accountant,
Lawyer, Manufacturing, NDIS
Roles and Positions – CEO, Manager, Partner, etc
Situations and Activities – Workforce Planning, Lean, Remote
Workforce
Available as ebooks or paperback on Amazon.com.au -
https://tinyurl.com/AIPromptBooks

DISCUSSION
• How can you make better use of AI
in planning your business
• Take turns.
comfortable sharing

Add to the AOP
Template
Take the elements of your Plan and
add them to the AOP template in
your Workbook or in the PDF version
in the resources.

Reflect
• In 3 days’ time, pull out your Plan and see if it still makes sense
• If not, refine, edit, delete, add and/or modify
• Send me a copy and I’ll give you some feedback

BONUS!
Focused Execution
• Built for business owners and leadership
teams, this journal provides a clear structure
for strategic planning, project selection, and
execution management.
• 50+ prompts and structured exercises to shape
your plan
• AOP planning templates and annual roadmap
tools, links to instructional videos, templates
and extra tools
• Available on Amazon.com.au, Kindle Edition

Resources
• We will post these resources on the Shifft
site and send you a link.
• Recording, PPT slides, Workbook links,
resources and videos and a link to the
Productivity Journal.
• There are lots of free resources on the
Shifft site (www.shifft.com.au)
• Contact me if you have any questions.

Coaching
Support
• I am also taking on new coaching clients in 2025 so if you want a safe
pair of hands to guide on your Growth Journey then book a call.
• I only work with dynamic businesses looking to grow
• My coaching support involves:
• 121 Coaching F2F or via Zoom - no group coaching calls
• Initial Planning Session to develop your Annual Plan and 90 Day
Plan -usually 2-3 hours duration
• Coaching Meetings: 1-2x meetings per month (1-2 hours duration)
• Weekly Accountability Calls: 1x 15 min call each week to set up
your week and to help you maintain momentum
• Adhoc meetings or calls, as required
• Resource Centre Access – 150 videos, 25 online Training Courses,
dedicated coaching platform
• All services are fixed price monthly retainers for a minimum of 12
months. No lock in contracts.
• I aim for a 10x ROI for you in working with me.
• If you are keen to take your business to the next level then contact me to
book a call and see if we are a good fit.

Next 90-Day Plan
Webinar –
September

Leveraging AI for
Professionals
Webinar –
Mid-July 2025

Thank You
Russell Cummings
Business Consultant
M: 0414 929 585
W: www.shifft.com.au
E: russell@shifft.com.au

Your Best Year Yet Create a Sharp, Focused AOP for FY2026

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