How To Hit The Business Gym Before January 1st
“Strategy is choice. If everything is important, nothing is.” — Roger Martin
The “business gym” is empty right now. This is because most companies treat January 1st as if the clock magically resets. As a result, they wait. And wait some more.
Last month guided you on how to test, track, and improve your business with AI without ending up in an experimental loop. You have drawn up a business strategy that reflects these changes for clarity, and you felt good about it at the time. But take a look one more time to see if you can fit your entire business strategy on one napkin.
Put off your check-in for too long, and the holidays end up arriving before you are ready. Between family visits and year-end obligations, 2026 shows up whether you have prepared for it or not.
Yes, time flies. But you do not have to wait for the New Year to start “working out”. Step into 2026 right now with a little more oomph, and see why fitting your strategy on a single napkin helps you avoid abandoning your business plans by spring.
The One-Page Napkin Strategy That Can Strengthen Your 2026
As soon as you draft your plans for 2026, you may notice that you already have one too many priorities listed. Before you narrow down to what matters most, identify the single constraint that can transform your results.
1. Making The Hard Choices + Disciplined Focus = A Real Strategy
15 priorities and 43 action items do not a strategy make. One too many priorities is more of a wish list. There is nothing wrong with keeping these items on hand to turn to whenever you need.
However, many mid-market companies fail not from lack of ideas, but from tackling too many of them at once. When operations lack structure, you juggle multiple priorities without the capacity to execute any of them well.
Push past any potential exhaustion and burnout ahead of time by checking your own list twice to answer, “What is the one thing that I must focus on first?”
2. Diagnose Your “One Thing” With The GPS Framework
Target Growth, Performance, and Strategy as 3 areas for possible constraints, and ask yourself, “If we could meaningfully move the needle on only ONE dimension in 2026, which would change everything else?”
Constraints in these 3 areas look like:
Growth: Strong operations, weak pipeline
Performance: Demand is there, but delivery breaks under volume
Strategy: The market is shifting, and your model must shift with it
Let's examine each constraint to understand how focused execution works.
If Growth is your constraint, focus on customer acquisition or market expansion. Not operations and not technology. Choose this if you have:
Operational capacity, but cannot fill it
Strong unit economics, but cannot scale customer acquisition
Too much dependence on a concentrated customer base
If Performance is your constraint, hone in on building operational systems that allow you to grow easily. This way, you are not chasing new customers while also exploring new markets. Prioritize performance if you have:
Work you turn down due to inconsistent delivery
Quality that suffers under volume
No way to predict project profitability until completion
If Strategy is your constraint, commit to fundamental repositioning for where your market is headed. Avoid optimizing operations and pursuing marginal growth. Center your attention here if you have:
A core market that is contracting structurally
Competitive advantages that are eroding
A business model that will not work in the next 5 years
3. Utilize December's Forcing Mechanism: The One-Page Strategy
December creates natural urgency that clarifies what truly matters. Use it to your advantage by forcing brutal simplicity into your planning process.
Pick the one constraint that changes everything else.
Write your one constraint on one page with specific actions and outcomes (these are the details that we love).
If your strategy does not fit on a napkin, it is not a strategy…yet.
From A Collection Of Competing Ideas To One Clear Priority
The discipline of condensing your entire 2026 focus into a single page eliminates ambiguity and creates accountability. When everyone can hold your strategy in their hand and understand it in minutes, execution becomes possible.
Before January arrives, choose the single constraint that will shape your 2026. Create your own starting line and close out what needs to be closed sooner rather than later. Need help identifying your “one thing”? Walk through your wish list with Tamika Tyson to turn your 2026 into your most successful strategic move yet.
At SCALE, we make the improbable possible – Strategically Cultivating Acceleration Leveraging Expertise using our GPS Framework. Expect to break through barriers, scale your company, and maximize value so you can successfully exit or transition on your terms.