Draft a one-page annual strategic plan
advancedClaude OpusExecutiveStrategystrategyannual-planningceoleadershipone-pager
Use case
Use this at the start of the planning cycle when you have a draft of priorities, financial targets, and constraints but need a forcing function to compress it into a single page. Long strategy decks rarely get re-read; a one-pager does. This prompt produces something a CEO can show the board on Monday and the company on Friday.
The prompt
You are a former McKinsey partner turned operating CEO. Draft a one-page annual strategic plan for{{company_name}}for{{plan_year}}. Inputs: - Company stage and size:{{stage_and_size}}- Last year's revenue and growth rate:{{last_year_results}}- Target revenue and growth for{{plan_year}}:{{target_results}}- Top 3 things that worked last year:{{what_worked}}- Top 3 things that did not work:{{what_did_not_work}}- Market or competitive shifts to plan against:{{market_shifts}}- Known constraints (cash, headcount, tech debt):{{constraints}}- The CEO's gut on the single most important bet:{{ceo_bet}}Produce a one-page plan with exactly these sections, in this order: ## Where We Are Three sentences. Honest assessment of the starting position — not a victory lap, not a doom narrative. ## Where We Are Going One sentence stating the destination for{{plan_year}}. Concrete, measurable, and ambitious enough to require trade-offs. ## The Three Bets Exactly three strategic bets for the year. Each bet has: - A name (3–5 words) - One sentence on what it is - One sentence on why it matters now - The single owner accountable for it ## What We Are Not Doing Three to five things we are explicitly de-prioritizing. This is the section most plans skip and the one that creates the most clarity. ## How We Will Know It Worked Five metrics, with the{{plan_year}}target for each. Mix of leading and lagging. ## The Risks We Are Watching Three risks, each with the early-warning signal we will track. Constraints: - The full output fits on a single printed page. Be ruthless. - No buzzwords. No "world-class." No "best-in-class." - Every sentence must survive the question "would I bet money on this?"
Variables
{{{{company_name}}}}Replace with your {{company name}}{{{{plan_year}}}}Replace with your {{plan year}}{{{{stage_and_size}}}}Replace with your {{stage and size}}{{{{last_year_results}}}}Replace with your {{last year results}}{{{{target_results}}}}Replace with your {{target results}}{{{{what_worked}}}}Replace with your {{what worked}}{{{{what_did_not_work}}}}Replace with your {{what did not work}}{{{{market_shifts}}}}Replace with your {{market shifts}}{{{{constraints}}}}Replace with your {{constraints}}{{{{ceo_bet}}}}Replace with your {{ceo bet}}
Example
Input
company_name: Vantage Systems plan_year: 2027 stage_and_size: Series B SaaS, 180 employees, $24M ARR last_year_results: $24M ARR, grew 38%, missed plan of $28M target_results: $42M ARR, 75% growth, breakeven by Q4 what_worked: enterprise upmarket motion, partner channel for healthcare vertical, customer expansion (NRR 124%) what_did_not_work: SMB self-serve experiment burned $4M with no traction, two failed exec hires, AI roadmap slipped two quarters market_shifts: two competitors raised mega-rounds; healthcare AI compliance rules tightening; macro buyer scrutiny constraints: $18M cash, board wants breakeven plan, eng capacity flat YoY ceo_bet: double down on healthcare vertical and ship the AI compliance module
Output
# Vantage Systems — 2027 Plan ## Where We Are We hit $24M ARR on 38% growth — short of plan, but the enterprise and healthcare motions are working. SMB self-serve was a costly distraction and the AI roadmap is behind. We have $18M of cash and a board that expects breakeven by year-end. ## Where We Are Going $42M ARR and breakeven in Q4 2027, won by becoming the default analytics platform for mid-market healthcare. ## The Three Bets **Bet 1: Own Mid-Market Healthcare** Concentrate sales, marketing, and partnerships on healthcare ($5M–$50M revenue providers and payers). It matters now because two competitors just raised mega-rounds and will fragment the general market — depth wins where breadth cannot. *Owner: CRO* **Bet 2: Ship the AI Compliance Module** Deliver the HIPAA/HITRUST-aware AI module by end of Q2. It matters now because tightening compliance rules turn a feature gap into a buying blocker for our exact ICP. *Owner: CPO* **Bet 3: Get to Default-Alive** Drive to breakeven by Q4 through gross margin expansion and disciplined hiring (net +18 heads, not +60). It matters now because the next round, if we choose to raise, should be from strength, not need. *Owner: CFO* ## What We Are Not Doing - No further investment in SMB self-serve. The experiment is closed. - No new vertical expansion (financial services, retail) until healthcare is undisputed. - No platform/marketplace work in 2027. - No more than two new exec hires this year. - No international expansion. ## How We Will Know It Worked - ARR: $42M (from $24M) - Healthcare share of new ARR: 60%+ (from 35%) - Gross margin: 78% (from 71%) - NRR: 130% (from 124%) - Cash burn: breakeven by Q4 ## The Risks We Are Watching - Competitor mega-round fallout — signal: pricing pressure on renewals over $100K - AI module slippage — signal: any miss on the April internal beta milestone - Healthcare compliance rule changes — signal: HHS guidance updates, tracked monthly
Tips for best results
- 1Run this prompt twice — once with the CEO's draft inputs, once with the COO's. Compare. The differences are where the leadership team isn't actually aligned.
- 2The 'What We Are Not Doing' section is the highest-leverage one. If yours is empty, your plan is a wish list, not a strategy.
- 3Pressure-test by asking Claude to argue the opposite case for each of the three bets. If a bet survives the counter-argument, it is real.
- 4Avoid putting more than three bets on the page. Five bets means zero focus.
- 5Date the document and version it. The plan you wrote in October is not the plan the team will be executing in March.
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