You’ve put real work into preparing for 2027.
You reviewed this year’s results, looked at the numbers, considered opportunities, and talked through what comes next. Now you’re sitting with your manager, bringing that work into a direction for the year ahead.
“In 2027, we’re going to grow by 10%.”
Your manager nods. It feels like agreement.
This is the moment to stop and ask: What did we just agree to?
A number can sound clearer than it is
Ten percent gives the goal a sense of precision. But what does it represent?
Revenue? Profit? Customers served? More work from existing customers? A new service?
Even if you both mean revenue, the picture may still be different. You may be imagining growth through the services you already offer. Your manager may be picturing an expansion that requires hiring, new equipment, or a different way of working.
Neither picture has been discussed. Each of you has supplied your own meaning.
The nod was real. The shared understanding may not have been.
This is where the work begins
When an owner states a goal or a vision, the people hearing it begin interpreting what it means. They draw on their experience, what they know about the business, and what they believe the owner expects.
Those interpretations can start shaping decisions immediately.
Before that happens, stay with the intent long enough to clarify it. Ask your manager to describe what they heard. Explain what you have in mind. Explore the differences and the questions they raise.
What are we trying to accomplish? Why does it matter? What would the business look like if we achieved it?
Paint the picture together.
That conversation may bring you back to the work you did preparing the strategic plan. What did the 2026 results tell you? Which opportunities did you consider? What assumptions sit behind the target? What does your manager see in the daily work that needs to be part of this discussion?
The preparation gives you something to examine together. It doesn’t guarantee that you’ve reached the same understanding.
Give the goal meaning before giving it momentum
As the picture becomes clearer, the details begin to take shape.
If the intention is to increase revenue, how do you expect that increase to happen? Through more volume, a different mix of services, better use of existing capacity, or something else?
What would that ask of the business? Where would the work fall? What needs further investigation before you can decide?
You don’t need to design every workflow in this conversation. You do need enough shared understanding to know what you’re preparing to design.
Exploring these questions is the work of establishing direction. It is how an intention becomes something you can make decisions around.
Start 2027 planning with this conversation
As you assess 2026 and prepare for 2027, pay attention to the moment a goal is stated.
Before the conversation moves to assignments and deadlines, ask:
“Can we each describe what we mean by this?”
Listen to the answers. Make room for questions. Clarify what is still uncertain.
Shared understanding takes a conversation designed to create it. Talk through the intent. Ask questions. Shape it into a picture you can both describe.
Then let that shared picture guide you as you shape the work to build what you just agreed to.
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