For benefits employees we all know what we’re going to collect on the day after our 20 years. I joined the Army reserve after putting myself through community college and after 20 years I wouldn’t have seen a dime until well into my 60s. For some they do that, for others not so much.

For business owners the same should be true. After a few years or even 20 years, we should be positioning our companies throughout to exit and sell the business and go onto our next chapter.

But backwards planning is a lot more difficult without a roadmap, one that builds momentum with our team.

Daily huddles, weekly management monthly accountability workshops, quarterly reviews, and annual strategic planning is the how.

The obvious one and often misunderstood is the annual. The annual is where business owners bunker down w/ key members of their team to update the annual business plan for the following year.

It can be as much as convening the entire company near a ski resort for the weekend, or somewhere in between where everyone on the team can contribute in person and provide valuable input.

Given the holiday season, business and life slowing down it’s a perfect time to update them, make any announcements, new promotions or hires, sharpen the axe, and prepare the entire ship to execute in that direction for the next year.

David Molina is an entrepreneur, strategist, and thinker–doer dedicated to exploring the full spectrum of human performance. Born to Mexican immigrant parents, he forged his path from farm fields to Captain in the U.S. Army, commissioner, and eventually to founding companies, nonprofits, and creative ventures. He shares more about health systems, business workflows, and intentional work on Instagram at @davidcmolina.