What Your Next 90 Day Plan Should Really Focus On (And Why It’s Rarely What You Think)

by Sean Foster | November 17, 2025 | Business Coaching

If you're running a business, you've probably sat down at the start of a quarter and mapped out a 90-day plan. You may have walked away thinking, "Right, now we’re finally being strategic." But as the weeks roll on, things fall off. Urgencies crop up. The clarity fades. And despite the plan, you're still stuck in the weeds.

So what’s going wrong?

Often, it’s not that the plan was bad. It’s that the plan was built around what you thought your business needed. More leads. More sales. A new offer. But what if that wasn’t the right focus at all?

The Real Purpose of a 90 Day Plan

A 90-day plan is more than a to-do list with deadlines. It’s a window into how you lead your business. A tool to reconnect with your direction, your team, and your capacity. But for it to work, the plan must focus on the right problems.

That means you need to:

• Slow down enough to ask: "What is truly holding us back?"
• Separate symptoms from causes
• Avoid jumping to the "quick win" trap

This is where most 90-day plans miss the mark. They assume what needs to change, rather than uncover it.

Structured 90-day planning cycles have been shown to improve strategic execution by up to 30%, according to Harvard Business Review. This suggests that when done correctly, short-term planning can significantly improve outcomes.

Common Misplaced Focuses

Here are three common areas where 90-day plans go wrong:

1. Chasing revenue without fixing profit leaks

You might plan to boost revenue, but if your margins are off or your delivery costs are creeping up, you’re fuelling growth on a leaky bucket.

2. New marketing initiatives while internal chaos brews

Marketing brings in leads, but if your operations, systems or culture aren’t ready, it just amplifies the mess.

3. Stacking tasks without clarifying the goal

You tick things off a list, but nothing really shifts. That’s because activity doesn’t equal impact.

To see how this thinking compares with more traditional approaches, read our article on Why 90-Day Plans Trump Traditional Strategies in Business Success. It breaks down the advantages of shorter cycles over long-range plans and why this rhythm can lead to stronger results.

A Better Way to Plan the Next 90 Days

Here’s what to do differently:

1. Start with constraints, not opportunities

Instead of asking, "What do we want to do?" ask, "What’s in our way right now?". This approach helps you fix the bottlenecks first.

2. Include the team in shaping the plan

As the business owner, you’re not always the one closest to the friction. Talk to your team. Listen to where they’re hitting walls.

3. Think in terms of systems, not just tasks

Rather than listing actions, identify systems that need stabilising. It could be how you onboard clients, how you make decisions, or how you lead meetings.

This lines up with findings from McKinsey & Company, who reported that leaders who focus on identifying root causes of performance issues, rather than just top-level goals, outperform their peers by 45% in sustainable business outcomes.

If you want a more practical breakdown of how to build a strong plan, check out our article on the 6 fundamental steps to 90-day planning. It’s designed to walk you through a clear structure so your plan doesn’t just look good, but actually drives change in your business.

How Business Coaching Helps You Build the Right Plan

A good business coach won’t just help you write a prettier plan. They help you uncover what matters most before you start planning.

They bring an outside lens to ask:

• Are you chasing outcomes that actually serve your goals?
• Are you avoiding the tough but necessary work?
• Are your priorities aligned with the real needs of your business?

Coaching helps shift your mindset from doing more to doing what matters.

If you’re curious about what it actually looks like to work with a coach during this process, our article on What to Expect in Your First 90 Days with a Business Coach in Auckland gives you a behind-the-scenes look. It outlines the journey, what you’ll explore, and how that initial phase can spark long-term clarity and momentum.

Final Thoughts

If your 90-day plan keeps feeling off, don’t blame your execution. It may be time to reframe how you're deciding what matters.

Instead of asking, "What can I do in 90 days?" ask, "What does my business really need in the next 90 days?"
That shift could make all the difference.

Ready to get clarity on your next 90 days? Schedule a free 30-minute session with Sean and take the first step towards a plan that actually works for you and your business.

FAQ

Q: How do I know if my 90-day plan is focused on the wrong thing? If you're ticking things off but seeing little progress where it matters, or you're overwhelmed despite planning, chances are you’re solving the wrong problem.

Q: Can a business coach help me make a better plan? Yes. A business coach can help you uncover what's really needed, challenge your assumptions, and bring clarity to your planning process.

Q: What should I do before starting my next 90-day plan? Reflect on what held you back last quarter. Talk to your team. Get external input if possible. Don’t assume. Investigate.