It’s the new year and, along with millions of others, I am wrapping up my beloved annual planning process.

I enjoy this both personally and professionally – taking time to reflect on past goals, the learning and growth that resulted, and defining new plans for the year ahead.  

Without exception, I end up with far more ideas and activities than are possible.

And it’s not just me.

Companies achieve only about 63% of their strategic plans’ potential financial performance. While there are many factors at play, one critical issue is a lack of clear priorities.

This year, I urge you to consider doing less.

I know this is counterintuitive. Growth, by definition, means more.

But as we pursue more things to achieve more growth, we create fragmentation of scarce resources and sub-optimal execution. We create products and services that our customers don’t want or need, resulting in unnecessary waste.

Consider what happens with a magnifying glass in the sun. When light passes through it, the focused energy can create enough heat to start a fire. Without the laser-like focus of the magnifying glass, the sun’s energy is scattered. It’s warm but not enough to catalyze a reaction.

To achieve maximum impact, we must narrow our focus to outperform

In Good to Great, Jim Collins’ research showed companies with a single-minded “Hedgehog Concept” had 6.9 times greater returns over 15 years compared to the rest of the market. Inspired by a parable, this concept compares foxes (traditional companies), which are “scattered, diffuse, and inconsistent,” to hedgehogs, who narrow their focus to what they can be truly best at. Hedgehogs offer products and services that deliver real value, a hallmark sign of a purpose-driven business.

As you wrap up your 2025 strategic planning, here are five specific ways to pursue “less” and why it will result in more growth.   

1. Fewer Customer Segments

Companies often target too many customer segments or have too broad an overall audience, which results in a vague and cursory understanding of customer problems and needs. Rather than trying to serve all potential buyers, focus on the narrowest segment of customers for whom you offer the best solution. Work to understand them deeply and design all your products and services to meet this segment.

Example: Hubspot

HubSpot proved the power of a single ideal customer when they eliminated their small business segment (1-10 employees) to concentrate solely on mid-market companies, even though they were already a $50M business. This narrowed focus allowed them to build more tailored products and services for their core segment and accelerated their growth.

2. Fewer Messages

What is the one thing you want people to remember? When we say too much, we say nothing. Narrowing to one core message forces you to truly understand what matters to your audience (point No. 1). Validate that the message you chose is the right one.

Example: Volvo

With an unwavering focus on safety since 1927, Volvo is one of the strongest brands in the automotive industry. From inventing the three-point seat belt to their current commitment that no one should die in a new Volvo, this single-minded message has defined their brand and their product innovation strategy for nearly a century.

3. Less Innovation

A huge number of product launches fail. We feel pressure to launch new items to compete with other brands with multiple new launches a year. Paradoxically, this can limit growth. Rather than more frequent launches, focus on fewer, better, more meaningful innovations that are noticeably superior. Like an overcrowded garden, launches for the sake of news cannibalize scarce resources, resulting in sub-optimal growth.

Example: The Columbia University "jam study"

This famous study study compared an instore tasting display of 24 jams compared to 6 jams. The larger jam selection attracted more tasters than the smaller one, but it resulted in one-tenth the sales. This 'choice overload' principle suggests that focusing on fewer, better products can drive more sales than constantly launching new varieties that overwhelm customers and create decision paralysis.

4. Fewer Channels

An “omnichannel” marketing strategy is to be everywhere all the time. There are thousands of ways to reach our customers—we can’t be everywhere. Decide on a limited number of channels where you will win rather than pursuing channels simply because “everyone else” is there. If you can’t (eventually) master a channel, it’s not worth doing. This applies both to distribution and to content. 

 Example: Trader Joe’s

While competitors rushed to e-commerce during the pandemic, Trader Joe’s stayed firm in their store-only approach, choosing to invest in people and products rather than digital infrastructure, a decision that has helped maintain their strong culture and customer loyalty.

5. Less Speed 

In the current pursuit of growth at all costs, businesses move at a frantic pace, expanding rapidly into new markets, rushing product launches, and scaling before systems are ready. But sustained growth is, by definition, sustainable. Moving thoughtfully allows you to build a strong infrastructure that ensures quality as you scale.

 Example: Chick-fil-A

Chick-fil-A opens just 80-100 new locations annually, just a fraction of their fast-food counterparts. Their methodical approach to expansion focuses on quality and culture, creating more value than a rapid growth - their stores generate the highest revenue per store in the industry, twice that of McDonald's.

I share these principles not as rules but as aspirations from a fellow “more” addict. Following these directives isn’t easy to do. Implementing systems to create checks and balances is essential to ensure we don’t creep back into the “more” mentality. Systems provide structure that protects the resources and time required for true excellence.

Creating systems to do less

Here are a few specific tactics and approaches to enable a strategy of “less”:

• Pre-set limits: Determine in advance a preset quantity of strategies or work; for example, two core customer segments, three strategic initiatives, four channels. Do not stray from this limit even if it seems there is a huge “opportunity.”

• Do a resource planning exercise: Map out the actual people, hours, and dollars it will require to deliver each output. This will help you quickly realize what is and isn’t possible.

• Conduct a memorability check: Wait one week after creating a plan (for example, annual strategic initiatives, a set of core messages, or new product initiatives) and ask the participants what they can recall from memory. If no one can remember each component, there are likely too many.

• Adopt a one-for-one protocol: When you add something new, make sure you subtract something from the list. 

Sustainable Growth Requires a Sustainable Pace

We say we want growth, but really we want sustainable growth. When we try to tackle too many things, our priorities are scattered. We cultivate surface-level learning and expertise. We create less value for our customers. We burn out. Making the intentional decision to set limits on markets, investments, initiatives, and messages requires tremendous discipline. But when adopted, the organization or individual has the ability to develop true mastery and value beyond what most others can deliver.

This year, I encourage you to do less. Let’s see how much more you can accomplish.