By Ernest De-Graft Egyir
Insight.
Strategic planning for 2027 should begin before the current year closes. CEOs who wait until December risk making important decisions under time pressure, relying on incomplete analysis, or carrying existing priorities into the new year without sufficient review.
Starting early gives the executive team time to examine current performance, understand market developments, reassess strategic assumptions, and determine what the organization must do differently to achieve its next set of objectives.
Key Strategies:
- Review current-year financial and operational performance.
- Assess changes in customer expectations, competition, technology, and the broader business environment.
- Identify strategic assumptions that need to be reconsidered.
- Consult executives and relevant stakeholders on emerging priorities.
- Establish a realistic planning timetable with clear responsibilities and milestones.
CEO Leadership Actions.
Initiate the 2027 strategic planning process with the executive team.
Require evidence-based assessments of current performance and future opportunities.
Identify the major strategic questions that leadership must resolve before approving the 2027 plan.
Actionable Tip.
- Ask your executive team: “What have we learned in 2026 that should fundamentally influence our strategy for 2027?”
Why This Matters?
Early planning creates room for better analysis, meaningful discussion, and deliberate resource allocation. It allows the CEO to enter 2027 with a clearer direction rather than spending the first quarter correcting decisions that should have been made earlier.
About the Author.
Ernest De-Graft Egyir, CEO advisor, Thought Leader and Founding CEO of Chief Executives Network Ghana, convenes the Ghana CEO Summit and served on Ghana’s Economic Dialogue Planning Committee