Post by Ethum

Before you promise the board a number, make sure you can keep it.   Every year the same thing happens. A target gets set. Everyone agrees to it in a meeting. Then the year plays out, and it turns out the number was never a real plan. It was a figure someone picked because it sounded right.   A quick way to check yours before you commit:   Look at what has to go right for it to land.   Are you counting on a close rate you’ve never hit before? Does the plan assume every big deal lands, and on time? Is the team expected to do more than ever, with the same setup as last year?   If a few of those are true, you don’t really have a plan. You have a number and a lot of hope.   You can run a rough version of this yourself this week. Sit with the target and be honest about what it’s leaning on.   Or we can do it properly, on your own numbers. That’s what our Stress Test is for. We go through the plan behind your target and show you where it holds and where it’s likely to give.   If you’re about to commit to a number, it’s worth knowing which kind you’ve got first.   → ethumgroup.com