■ · Strategy & Growth
The one-page plan: where you're going and how you'll know
Good decisions need a direction to point at. Without a plan, every choice gets judged on its own and the business drifts. With one, you can ask a simple question about any decision: does this move us toward the plan or away from it?
Why one page
Long business plans get written once and never opened again. A plan that fits on one page gets read, shared and used. Several well-known operating systems for small companies, including Gino Wickman's Traction and Verne Harnish's Scaling Up, are built around the same idea: a short written vision, a few priorities at a time, and a handful of numbers checked every week.
The four layers
The plan works from far away to close up. Each layer is shorter-term and more specific than the one above it.
- 3–5 yrs
Vision
What the business will be, who it serves and roughly how big. A few sentences.
- 1 yr
Annual goals
Three to five measurable results for this year: revenue, profit, clients, capacity.
- 90 days
Priorities
No more than three to five projects that move the annual goals forward. Each has one owner and a due date.
- Weekly
Scorecard
Five to ten numbers, each with a target, checked every week. They show whether you're on track before the quarter ends.
Write the vision with the end in mind
Good vision statements are specific enough to say no to things. "Be the best bookkeeping firm" can't guide a decision. "Serve 40 small service businesses in our region on monthly plans, with a team of five, at a 25% profit margin" can. It also tells you what the business is not: not tax-only, not national, not cheap.
Pick fewer priorities than you want
Every owner wants ten priorities. Teams that try ten finish few of them. Choose the three to five that matter most this quarter and put the rest on a written "not now" list, so they aren't forgotten and also aren't distracting.
Build a scorecard of leading numbers
Revenue and profit tell you what already happened. Leading numbers warn you earlier: new inquiries, proposals sent, close rate, client hours delivered, invoices overdue, cash on hand. Pick the five to ten that best predict your results, give each a weekly target, and review them in your weekly meeting. See Meetings & Reviews.
Run the plan on a rhythm
- Weekly: review the scorecard and priorities. Is each one on track or off track?
- Quarterly: grade the last 90 days, set the next three to five priorities.
- Yearly: revisit the vision and set new annual goals.
Plan like a consultant, commit like an owner
Write the first draft in the third person during your monthly engagement: "In three years, Dana's firm should…" It's easier to be ambitious and honest about someone else's business.
Every annual goal gets the Dollar Test. If you can't say how it shows up in the bottom line, it's a wish, not a goal.
The scorecard is your weekly radar. When a number misses its target two weeks in a row, that's a drift to investigate, not a mood.
At each quarterly review, ask what the evidence says about the plan itself. Plans are theories. Keep the ones the numbers support.
■ Tool
One-Page Plan builder
Fill it in, then copy the finished plan into a document or print it. Your entries stay in this browser.