Business Velocity - The Five Facets of Business™ Podcast Case Study #4: “We Set Goals Every Year…But They Don’t Change Anything” with Hannah and Dave
Apr 6, 2026
A case study explores why yearly big-picture goals often stall and how vague ambition creates drift. They contrast building new initiatives vs fixing problems and explain the execution dip. Practical tactics include defining a strategic identity, three core pillars, and breaking yearly aims into 90- and 30-day actions. Planning for overload, MVP choices, and monthly reviews get highlighted.
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Annual Retreat Energy Dies Without Follow Through
- Northstar Health Co. runs an annual off-site planning retreat where leadership leaves motivated but the team drifts from the goals afterward.
- The company is a 4-year-old wellness DTC brand with 25 employees and $6M revenue, and the annual goals (grow to $10M, two product lines, +20% retention, brand) feel overwhelming.
Leaders Must Own The Planning Process
- Lead the planning and translate big ideas into specific plans; leaders must participate in creating actionable steps rather than just delegating.
- Hannah recommends the leader stay in planning sessions to answer team questions and align decisions as details surface.
Build Goals Fail In The Middle Without Infrastructure
- Goals split into "build" versus "fix" require different organization: building needs infrastructure and plans for the difficult middle phase.
- Dave highlights the middle translation from idea to execution as the place where goals commonly fail.