Annual Planning season is upon us (and Fall here in the Midwest), which creates many opportunities and challenges. I thought I’d share a few things we’re thinking about as we consider 2024 and beyond.  

Being the geek that I am, I’ll start with Artificial Intelligence (AI). It goes without saying that there is a great deal of hype around this topic, but I would challenge you to think about this beyond the hype.  

First, I challenge you to think about putting a subject matter expert in place or building one specific to your business. AI is going to be available to the masses and in some cases will level the playing fields. However, for those businesses who take the time to really understand it, how to leverage it, and take it from the average production anyone can access to an outcome you would be proud of – that organization will be much further ahead.  

Next, using AI with your own data requires data health. This means the disparity that exists, those old contacts that need to be purged, that outdated information, etc., needs to be cleaned up. I encourage you to think about a data hygiene and management initiative to “clean up” the data so it can be used as the technology matures. Bad data results in an AI tool that feeds you bad information. 

Lastly, I recommend that your team spend some time and energy understanding how AI is going to impact your industry. The tech will move through different industries at different speeds and in different ways. Don’t wait for the annual seminar update to learn about what’s next. Make it a monthly priority for someone to provide a quick summary of emerging technologies and how they might be used to advance your organization.  

Beyond AI, we’re thinking about People and Leadership. It’s no surprise that the workforce is a hot topic for us all. However, the key to a successful and scalable culture that reduces turnover is having a leadership team that serves the organization (up, sideways, and down) in all the right ways. For us, this means more leadership training, more collaboration, more investments to help people know how to lead with a servant’s heart and intuitive mind.  

Finally, we are focused on agility and communications. We are going to have some turbulent times in the next year or two. From the economy to world-wide threats (digital and otherwise), to different weather conditions and even an election year… 2024 is shaping up to be a year of unique circumstances. As a result, we must watch for indicators, respond quickly, and be good at communication. This takes form in new dashboards, better data, better synergy around communications, and a solid methodology for quick decisions.  

As we look into 2024, what are you all thinking about? What are you excited about? What are you nervous about?