How to Run Your Annual Wealth Planning
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Plans are useless but planning is irreplaceable.
Read that again. It reads like a contradiction at first, but as it sits with you it becomes clear - through planning we gain situational awareness and optimize our chances of organizing our lines of effort in an effective formation to achieve our ends.
The enemy gets a vote. The weather gets a vote. That’s why plans themselves rarely synchronize with reality. Put differently; things happen.
The enemy can be competitors, confused prospects/clients, suppliers, ecosystem partners, your life partner.. anyone who introduces randomness into your life.
The weather is true randomness… and it can massively impact your life. It can be your only uninsured building burning down from an electrical fire, or your largest stock holding getting caught up in a SEC investigation, or any number of other “rolls of the dice” that result in diminished returns… perhaps even outright losses.
So why plan at all?
Planning, whether for a complex family office or simply your day, offers a multitude of benefits that contribute to effectiveness, efficiency, and overall success.
Planning forces you to define your objectives and prioritize what's truly important. This clarity of purpose keeps you focused on the essential tasks and avoids getting sidetracked by less critical activities. By breaking down large goals into smaller, manageable steps, planning makes them less daunting and more achievable.
It creates a roadmap for progress.
Systematic planning significantly increases the likelihood of achieving desired outcomes. You're proactively working towards your goals rather than just reacting to circumstances. Seeing progress being made according to a plan can be highly motivating and help maintain momentum. Your start stacking small wins, each a strategic step toward your ultimate aims.
Planning helps you allocate resources (time, money, personnel) effectively and efficiently. You can prioritize where to invest your efforts and avoid wasting resources on unproductive activities.
A well-defined plan allows you to track your progress and measure your success against predefined metrics. This provides valuable feedback and allows for course correction.
Planning often involves analyzing existing processes and identifying areas for improvement and streamlining, leading to greater efficiency.
Planning is great for defense, too. It’s not just an offensive exercise. Proactive planning anticipates potential problems and allows you to implement preventative measures, reducing the need to constantly react to crises.
Planning helps you allocate your time more effectively, ensuring that you dedicate sufficient effort to high-priority tasks. A plan brings structure and organization to your activities, making it easier to manage complex projects and tasks.
For organizations, planning facilitates clear delegation of responsibilities and fosters better collaboration among team members.
By carefully outlining steps and responsibilities, planning helps reduce errors and avoid duplication of effort.
The best part about planning is the direct relationship to reducing your risk.
Planning encourages you to think ahead and identify potential risks and challenges that could hinder your progress.
A good plan often includes contingency plans to address potential setbacks or unexpected events. This allows you to react quickly and minimize negative impacts.
Planning involves gathering information and analyzing different options, leading to more informed and strategic decision-making.
While you can't eliminate all uncertainty, planning helps you understand and prepare for potential scenarios, reducing anxiety and increasing confidence.
Now let’s dig into what an annual review and planning process looks like for an investor in 2025.