Don’t Make These 5 Critical Mistakes as You Plan for Next Year

A staggering 90% of organizations fail to execute their strategies successfully. Let that sink in — nine out of ten businesses struggle to turn their big plans into tangible results. Why does this happen? Imagine this scenario: you’ve crafted a bold vision, set ambitious goals and rallied your team around a common purpose. Yet, somewhere along the way, things go off track. Deadlines are missed, priorities shift, and the outcomes you envisioned feel increasingly out of reach.

In this article, I’ll explore five critical mistakes to avoid when planning and executing your business strategy for 2025. By understanding these common errors and learning how to address them, you can set your organization up for success and ensure your strategies don’t just exist on paper but come to life in meaningful and measurable ways.

Related: How to Create a Winning Strategic Plan for 2025

1. Misidentification of growth factors

One of the most common mistakes businesses make when planning their growth strategy is the incorrect definition of growth drivers. The best thing that can be done is to set goals based on the key focus areas that will move your business forward. These focus areas should reflect strategic directions, such as increasing customer base, building brand recognition, strengthening current relationships, optimizing operational processes, expanding product range and entering new markets. Each direction should have clear, measurable objectives. Such an analysis allows businesses to focus on the most promising aspects and ensure steady growth.

Starbucks is a great example of a company that’s really nailed its growth strategy with its focus on product innovations, digitalization of customer experience and global expansion. For example, it streamlined its cold coffee process with a Cold Pressed Cold Brew system, boosting efficiency and allowing for a greater focus on personalized customer service.

Related: How to Strategically Plan for 2025 as a Business Owner

2. Imbalance in the marketing budget

When planning your marketing budget, it’s crucial to always remember the balance between performance and brand channels. Lack of investments in brand building can decrease customer loyalty, while performance costs drive immediate financial growth.

For example, Nike recently faced challenges when shifting their focus away from brand marketing. This led to a decline in the brand’s emotional connection with its audience: consumer preference for Nike decreased from 39% to 33%, and purchase intent dropped from 79% to 73%.

3. Lack of transparency within the team

One of the most common critical mistakes in strategic planning is a lack of transparency within the organization. A focus group study by Harvard Business Review found that 50% of managers couldn’t identify their company’s top five strategic objectives. Driving strategic success is always about feeling secure about the company’s future. This highlights the importance of effective communication and transparency within the team.

To ensure that your team understands the company’s direction and strategy, it’s essential to regularly share goals and how they relate to individual roles, encourage employees to share their feedback and lead by example, demonstrating transparency in your own actions.

I thought of Patagonia’s open attitude toward employees. The company shares information about its financial performance, operations and future plans. For example, during crises, it openly discusses how these difficulties affect its strategy and operations, ensuring employees understand the reasons behind changes in production shifts.

Related: These 4 Business Risks Lie Ahead in 2025 — Here’s How You Can Prepare

4. Failure to track the implementation process

Leaders often neglect to spend enough time on strategy. Without focus, even the best-laid plans can falter. Establish a clear system for tracking the implementation of your strategy. Hold regular meetings to ensure that progress is regularly reviewed and that any issues are identified and addressed in a timely manner. Consistently monitor KPKPIs to always keep track of what you’re currently dealing with.

Amazon uses a highly structured system for tracking performance across various metrics for each department, including customer satisfaction, delivery times and product availability. By using real-time data and analytics, Amazon can quickly identify issues and make necessary adjustments. They also have regular strategy review meetings to ensure the company stays on track and adapts to changing market conditions.

5. Wrong budget allocation

56% of data leaders said they increased their budget for data and analytics in 2023. However, it’s equally important to ensure that these investments are aligned with your business strategy. Another point to consider is aligning your business plan with the capabilities of your team — both in terms of their skills and available resources. Burnouts, unrealistic expectations, inefficiencies and an inability to achieve tangible outcomes can appear when overestimating the skills and resources your team has.

A recent example of the consequences of overhiring and misallocation of resources can be seen in the tech industry. Many tech giants, including Meta, overestimated the long-term impact of the pandemic-driven digital boom and hired aggressively. As the world began to turn to normal, there was no longer a need to keep such a huge stuff. Meta nearly doubled its employee head count. In March 2020, Meta reported 48,268 staffers and more than 80,000 by September 2022. In November 2022, the company announced it was laying off 11,000 employees. This highlights the importance of careful planning and budgeting, as well as the risks of overinvesting in areas that may not be sustainable in the long term.

Avoiding these common pitfalls can increase the likelihood of your 2025 strategy succeeding. Remember to clearly define your growth drivers, allocate resources wisely and ensure effective communication.