Why You Should Ditch Traditional Planning

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In 2024, traditional annual planning could seriously hinder a company’s sustainable development. That’s why in their book “The 12 Week Year: How to Get More Done in 12 Weeks Than Others Can Do in 12 Months,” authors Brian Moran and Michael Lennington suggest abandoning the outdated approach and implementing the concept of quarterly planning cycles.

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In this article, we'll look at the book's key ideas and tips. You'll learn why annual ivory coast phone number list planning isn't the best solution, and how the 12-week sprint system will help your team achieve unprecedented results.


Although the practice of annual planning is widespread, it has several significant drawbacks that seriously limit the effectiveness of your team. First, there is a psychological trap - the work will last as long as the time allotted for it. In other words, with extended time frames, employees tend to postpone tasks and reschedule deadlines. This leads to decreased productivity and significant delays in project completion.

Secondly, annual planning creates an excessive number of steps and subtasks to achieve the main goal. The more points in the plan, the higher the probability of deviating from the initial strategy or overlooking important points. If such a deviation occurs, it may not be noticed in time, which will lead to serious errors, loss of resources and, possibly, even failure of the entire project.


In addition, as Moran and Lennington note, long-term planning makes it difficult to assess intermediate results in a timely manner and adjust strategy in accordance with changing conditions. When a lot of time passes between milestones, it is difficult to make necessary changes in a timely manner, which can lead to serious miscalculations and failures.