Before You Change the Business Plan, Ask These Two Questions
How do you know when it’s time to change your business strategy? Many leadership teams struggle to decide whether to stay the course or adjust their strategic plan as conditions evolve. This article offers two practical questions from Bill Fournet that every leader should ask before changing direction, helping you distinguish between necessary adaptation and unnecessary disruption.
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Every leadership team eventually faces the same question:
Should we change the plan?
It’s not always an easy decision.
Some organizations stay the course long after reality has changed. They become so committed to the strategy they developed months—or even years—ago that they miss opportunities, overlook emerging risks, or continue investing in initiatives that no longer fit the terrain.
Others fall into the opposite trap. New customer feedback, a conference presentation, a market trend, or a competitor’s announcement quickly becomes the next organizational priority. Before long, employees are left wondering whether this initiative will last any longer than the last one.
Neither approach builds confidence: One creates rigidity. The other creates constant reprioritization.
Time and time again, I see that the strongest leaders avoid both those scenarios. They remain unwavering about the destination while remaining flexible about the route.
What Two Questions Should You Ask Before Changing Your Business Strategy?
One lesson I’ve always appreciated from military planning is that a plan is never considered complete. As the situation unfolds, commanders continually assess whether the assumptions behind the plan still hold and whether conditions have changed enough to warrant an adjustment. Over the years, I’ve adapted that mindset into two simple questions I now use with executive teams.
Before changing priorities, launching another initiative, or asking your organization to pivot, ask:
1. Have our assumptions been proven false?
Every strategy rests on assumptions. We make assumptions about customer expectations, market conditions, technology, regulations, available resources, organizational capabilities, and countless other factors.
At the time the strategy is developed, those assumptions are usually reasonable. But assumptions require continual validation as conditions evolve. Recently, I worked with an organization that had invested significant time developing its strategic priorities. As stakeholder conversations unfolded, it became clear that several assumptions about future needs no longer reflected reality.
The organization’s mission remained the same, as did its long-term outcomes. What needed to be updated were some of the initiatives designed to achieve them. The strategy itself was still sound. It’s just that one of the assumptions behind it had been proven false. That’s an important distinction.
2. Have external conditions changed in a way that materially affects our ability to achieve the outcome?
Notice the emphasis in this question isn’t simply on whether conditions have changed. Conditions are always changing: Markets shift, technology advances, economic indicators fluctuate, competitors make announcements, and customers discover new expectations.
If leaders reacted to every change, organizations would spend more time pivoting than executing. The real question is whether something has changed enough to alter the path forward.
Over the past several months, I’ve seen this challenge surface across organizations of every type—from statewide agencies and national nonprofits to credit unions and volunteer organizations.
For example, one leadership team recognized that stakeholder expectations had evolved enough to rethink how they would pursue their strategic outcomes.
Another realized that the rapid adoption of AI wasn’t changing their mission, but it was changing the capabilities their people would need to succeed.
And in conversations with credit union leaders, one theme continues to emerge: member expectations are evolving faster than many annual planning cycles. The destination remains the same—serving members exceptionally well—but the route to doing so is changing.
None of these organizations needed to abandon their strategy. They needed to adjust it with discipline. That’s what effective leadership looks like.
Can a Good Business Strategy Still Need to Change?
Too often, leaders equate changing course with admitting the original strategy was wrong.
I see it differently: Adjusting a strategy is evidence that leadership is paying attention. The discipline lies in knowing when to make that adjustment—and resisting the temptation to change direction simply because something new captures your attention.
As we move into the second half of the year, I encourage your leadership team to put these two questions on the agenda of your next strategy discussion:
- Have any of our assumptions been proven false?
- Have external conditions changed in a way that materially affects our ability to achieve our desired outcomes?
If the answer to both questions is no, keep executing. Stay focused and avoid the temptation to create new work simply because progress feels slower than you’d like.
If the answer to either question is yes, you’ve earned the opportunity—and perhaps the responsibility—to reconsider the route you’re taking.
Ready to Lead Beyond the Map? My New Book, The Map Vs. the Terrain: A Leader’s Field Guide to Navigating Uncertainty, Is Available for Pre-Order.
One of the central ideas behind my new book, The Map vs. the Terrain, A Leader’s Field Guide to Navigating Uncertainty, is that leadership doesn’t happen on the map. It happens in the terrain, where the destination may stay the same even when the route must change. The strongest leaders know the difference.
The Map vs. the Terrain is now available for pre-order. Learn more and reserve your copy here.
If you are interested in a bulk purchase for your team, contact Jill Nickerson.
This Month’s PowerPlay™: Known Knowns
This month’s PowerPlay™, Known Knowns, offers a practical way for leadership teams to examine the assumptions behind their strategy. It helps distinguish between what you still know, what you’ve learned, and what uncertainties deserve additional attention before making strategic adjustments.
The best strategy discussions don’t begin with, “What should we change?”
They begin with, “What has changed?”
Download the Known Knowns PowerPlay™ and peruse other leadership strategies and tools in Bill Fournet’s PowerPlay™ Library.
FAQs
When should you change your business strategy?
You should consider changing your business strategy only after asking two questions: “Have your assumptions been proven false?” And “Have external conditions changed in a way that materially affects your ability to achieve your desired outcomes?” If the answer to both questions is no, continue executing your strategy. If the answer to either is yes, it may be time to adjust your approach.
What are the two questions leaders should ask before changing a strategic plan?
Before changing a strategic plan, leadership teams should ask:
- Have our assumptions been proven false?
- Have external conditions changed in a way that materially affects our ability to achieve the outcome?
These questions help leaders determine whether strategic adjustments are necessary or whether they should stay focused on executing the current plan.
How often should a business strategy be reviewed?
Business strategy should be reviewed regularly because assumptions and external conditions are constantly evolving. Rather than changing direction every time something new emerges, leadership teams should continually assess whether their assumptions remain valid and whether changing conditions materially affect their ability to achieve strategic outcomes.
How can leadership teams avoid changing priorities too often?
Leadership teams can avoid constant reprioritization by evaluating whether new information actually changes the assumptions behind their strategy or materially affects their ability to achieve desired outcomes. Rather than reacting to every market trend, competitor announcement, or new idea, effective leaders make disciplined adjustments only when meaningful changes occur.
Why partner with Bill Fournet for strategy development and leadership advisory?
Bill Fournet helps leadership teams build the discipline of seeing what others miss—translating weak signals into clear strategic direction. Through his strategy development services, he equips teams to challenge assumptions, prepare for multiple outcomes, and act earlier with greater confidence in rapidly changing environments.
