As the year winds down, we invite you to step into a more empowering, easeful approach to strategic planning—one rooted in surplus thinking rather than deficit-driven problem-solving. Here are two essential steps to guide your team into the next chapter with clarity, pride, and momentum.

#1 Complete and Celebrate

Before you look ahead, it’s vital to pause and truly complete the year—not rush past it. Give your team time to reflect, contemplate, and write down their own lists of everything they accomplished this year. Big wins, small victories, moments of growth, projects finished, hurdles cleared—get it all down.

Then come together and build a master list of “all the things.”
(If you’ve been doing monthly celebrations, bring forward the highlights and fold them in here.)

Completion also means acknowledging the whole picture: the heartbreaks, the unexpected detours, the challenges you pushed through, and the resilience it required. Honor your people for both what they achieved and what they weathered.

Mark the moment. Do the wave. Toss confetti. Read a poem. Play the song that always lifts spirits. Give the year the ceremonial close it deserves.

If you want a fun and meaningful way to bring this to life, check out our Celebrate Completion Ceremony—it’s a team favorite.

#2 Surplus Thinking

Most strategic planning starts with questions like:
“What do we need to fix?”
“Where are we falling short?”

These questions have their place—but not at the beginning. They come from a deficit mindset, one that scans for what’s wrong. Surplus thinking, however, aligns with appreciative inquiry: it starts by looking for the best of what was, what is, and what could be.

Use these three lenses to guide your team’s surplus-oriented planning:

Was – Capture Moments of Excellence

When were you most proud to be part of your organization?
Gather these stories. They reveal your team's strengths, values, and identity at their best. (Want a structured way to do this? Email us for the step-by-step Team Story Jam—it’s a joyful experience and a powerful source for stories to use in your onboarding process.)

Is – Honor Your Core Identity

What qualities do you want to protect, preserve, or celebrate no matter how you grow or evolve?
These are your continuity anchors—your through-lines of pride and identity.

Could Be – Envision Your Future Image

Imagine it’s three years from now and you feel deeply proud of your organization.
What’s happening?
What have you accomplished that fills you with meaning, fulfillment, and momentum?

Let this vision inform your strategic direction.

Surplus Thinking in Action

Just last week, a newer client shared that one of their departments is facing 70% voluntary turnover—oof. The instinctive move would be to ask, “Why are so many people leaving?”

Important question, yes—but starting there centers the deficit.

Instead, I encouraged him to begin with surplus thinking:

• Look at the 30% who are staying, especially the high-character, high-competency fits.
  Ask: “What makes them such a great match for this role? What’s working beautifully for them?”
• Conduct stay interviews with these individuals.
  What resonates for them?
  What do they appreciate about the work, the team, or the environment?
• Use what you learn to uplevel the employment brand and recruitment materials for this role—and hire specifically for the traits and strengths that surfaced.

And yes—because 70% turnover is significant—we also explored potential deficits, including leadership development for the department manager.
Surplus thinking doesn’t ignore problems; it simply starts from strength, not scarcity.

Imagine the Shift

Imagine a team that begins each month by celebrating what’s working well and expanding on that momentum.
Imagine entering strategic planning with a sense of identity, pride, coherence, and possibility.
Imagine the morale lift, the creativity spark, the renewed energy that comes from looking at the good—not as a bonus, but as the fuel.

Surplus thinking creates ease, coherence, and delight—not by pretending everything is perfect, but by anchoring your planning in what’s already strong and alive.

Here’s to planning the next chapter grounded in abundance, wisdom, and joy.

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