Strategic Planning That Survives March

60-90% of strategic plans fail before execution begins. Not because the strategy was wrong, but because the planning process is broken: annual retreats produce binders that nobody opens, spreadsheets that drift within weeks, and goals that disconnect from daily work by March. This white paper diagnoses the five fatal mistakes, exposes the annual planning theater trap, and provides the complete 7 Questions Framework — a living strategic planning system that stays aligned as reality changes.

What's inside

• The 5 Fatal Mistakes — the specific errors that kill 90% of strategic plans before execution begins
• The Annual Planning Trap — why your strategy is out of date by March and what replaces the annual retreat
• The 7 Questions Framework — a complete strategic planning system with clarity statements, canvases, and living alignment
• From Static Plans to Continuous Alignment — how to keep strategy connected to daily work as reality changes
• The 2026 Strategic Planning Template — ready-to-use canvases and worksheets for each of the 7 Questions