January Business Planning for Founders: A Strategy Reset for Growth in 2026
- Laura Derbyshire
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
January has a reputation problem.
It’s treated like a gentle jog back into work. A month for inbox-clearing, goal-setting theatre, and vaguely optimistic plans that quietly unravel by March.
For many scaleups, January business planning for founders is the difference between a reactive year and one built around clear priorities, aligned teams and sustainable growth.
But for scaleup founders and CEOs, January is not about easing in. It’s about designing the conditions for growth, before the year designs them for you.
January Business Planning for Founders: Why This Month Sets the Tone for Growth
At OSER, we see the same pattern every year: Founders who take January seriously build momentum that compounds. Those who don’t spend the rest of the year reacting.
The difference? Strategic “join the dots” thinking.
Growth Stalls Because Teams Are Busy But Not Aligned; They Don't Have Clarity.
The common pain points we hear from scaleup founders sound like this:
“Everyone’s working hard, but it doesn’t feel joined up.”
“Marketing is busy, but I’m not convinced it’s building long-term value.”
“Our agencies are optimising channels, not outcomes.”
“Brand feels like a ‘nice to have’ when performance pressure kicks in.”
These aren’t execution problems. They are alignment problems. And January is the cleanest moment you’ll get all year to fix them.
The Strategic Reset: What Actually Needs Aligning
1. Your SLT (Senior Leadership Team)
Alignment isn’t just a casual agreement in a meeting. It’s a shared understanding when nobody’s in the room.
Your SLT should be crystal clear on:
What growth really means this year (revenue, margin, valuation, market position)
What you’re not prioritising (this matters more than most people think)
How brand, marketing, sales, product and ops support the same outcomes
If your leadership team can’t articulate the same story in their own words, you don’t have alignment, you have optimism.
2. Your North Star (Not Just Your Targets)
A North Star isn’t a slogan. It’s the strategic anchor that guides decisions when trade-offs appear (and they always do).
A strong North Star:
Connects short-term performance marketing to long-term brand building
Helps agencies, freelancers and internal teams understand why they’re doing the work
Stops strategy drifting when pressure hits
When teams know the North Star, they stop asking for permission and start making better decisions.
3. Performance Marketing and Brand (Not Either/Or)
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: You can optimise performance campaigns all year and still stall.
Short-term marketing drives action. Brand builds belief, preference, and pricing power.
The fastest-growing scaleups don’t separate the two - they engineer them to work together:
Performance data informs brand messaging
Brand strength improves performance efficiency
Both ladder up to long-term, sustainable profitability
This is where joined-up thinking pays dividends.
Flow Thinking: Why the Best Ideas Don’t Come From Dashboards
At scale, the problems holding you back aren’t obvious. They’re systemic. Messy and cross-functional, and that's why purely linear thinking stops working.
Divergent, flow-based thinking allows leaders to:
See patterns across teams, markets and data
Make unexpected connections
Solve problems they didn’t yet have language for
But flow doesn’t happen by accident. It needs space, structure, and the right kind of challenge.
That’s why the most effective January resets aren’t rushed planning sessions - they’re designed strategic moments.
The January “Join the Dots” Checklist
A Founder’s Reality Check for Growth Readiness
Use this as a working checklist with your leadership team:
Strategic Clarity
⬜ Can every SLT member articulate the same growth priorities for the year?
⬜ Is there a clearly defined North Star beyond revenue targets?
⬜ Do we know what we are not focusing on this year?
Brand & Marketing Alignment
⬜ Are short-term performance goals and long-term brand goals explicitly linked?
⬜ Do marketing activities ladder up to business outcomes, not just channel metrics?
⬜ Is brand treated as a growth lever, not a creative afterthought?
Team & Partner Alignment
⬜ Do agencies, freelancers and internal teams understand the same strategy?
⬜ Are expectations, roles and success metrics clearly defined?
⬜ Is accountability shared — or siloed?
Decision-Making & Flow
⬜ Have we created space for strategic, non-reactive thinking?
⬜ Are we encouraging challenge and divergent perspectives at leadership level?
⬜ Do we have a forum to step back and connect the dots — not just review numbers?
If you hesitated on more than a few of these, it's a sign that you could do with a strategy session to figure it out.
How OSER Helps Founders Start the Year Properly
OSER works with founders, CEOs and boards who want clarity without corporate fluff, and creativity without chaos.
We typically support January resets through:
OSER Strategic Retreats: A focused, high-impact session designed to align your SLT, define your North Star, and connect brand, marketing and growth strategy.
Half-Day Strategy Kick-Offs at Your Office: Practical, energising sessions that align leadership, marketing and growth teams - fast.
Board-Level Advisory & Fractional Strategy Support: Ongoing strategic thinking, challenge and perspective to help you navigate growth decisions with confidence.
We sit at the intersection of strategy, brand and execution, helping you join the dots between ambition and action - without slowing you down.
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