#416 Strategic Planning at Parabol: A Different Approach

This week, our leadership team cleared our schedules and gathered (virtually) for our T3 strategic planning session. About two years ago, we made the switch to trimester-based planning, and it’s proven to be a valuable shift for us.

I’ll admit, when I first joined Parabol in 2021, I found it tough to adjust to the way we handle strategic planning. Coming from a background rooted in quarterly and annual planning, I was used to a very different cadence. At Parabol, we don’t exactly follow the typical annual planning structure. Instead of locking in a yearly plan every December, each time we gather for trimester planning, we’re focused on both the upcoming trimester and looking further ahead—sometimes a year or more.

After a few cycles of this, I’ve come to appreciate how dynamic and flexible this system is. It allows us to stay on course with our long-term goals while giving us the agility to shift resources and refocus as new learnings come to light. We aren’t stuck pursuing a goal that no longer serves us just because it was set months ago.

One of my favorite parts of our planning process is the inclusion of “even over” statements. These help us set clear priorities. For example, some of our past statements have been:

The beauty of these statements lies in their simplicity. They distill complex decisions into straightforward choices, guiding us when we’re facing competing priorities. It’s an elegant way to ensure that big strategic goals filter down into everyday decisions on where to allocate time and resources.

Another key element of our process is hearing from everyone in the company. Before strategic planning, we host an async company-wide retrospective, inviting reflections from all team members. This feedback is invaluable—it helps identify blind spots that might be invisible from leadership’s vantage point.

And the plan we create during leadership sessions isn’t set in stone. We share it with the entire company, giving everyone a chance to ask questions and offer input through our governance process. This collaborative review almost always results in some tweaks or refinements, making the final plan stronger and more aligned with the entire team’s perspectives.

After this week’s planning, I’m feeling re-energized about our direction and can’t wait to hear thoughts from the broader team as we move forward.

While we continue to see lower web visits, we are maintaining a healthy number of new signups. This shows us we are attracting more relevant users to our website. We also saw a nice double digit jump in weekly meetings this week.

…concluded Shape Up Cycle 4.

…fixed an error if a user tries to join a meeting twice.

…continued final prep work for the defense-focused trade show, AFCEA TechNet Indo Pacific, our team is attending later this month.

…finalize governance of the T3 Strategic Plan.