It's October. Which means somewhere in your calendar, "2027 planning" is looming - and the temptation is to open a blank deck and start building.

Don't. Not yet.

Because here's what I've learnt building annual strategies year after year as a marketing leader: the quality of your strategy is decided before you build anything. It's decided in the questions you ask first - and most marketers skip straight past them to the fun bit.

In this episode I'm giving you the five questions I answer every October before a single slide exists: the honest audit (data, not vibes), the business question most marketers never actually ask out loud, the calendar-versus-strategy test, the outside-in check, and the one about what's changed in the world since last year's plan - which, this year, is rather a lot.

Part one of two. Next week: the hardest part of strategy - what you say no to.

And if the deeper skill here - thinking strategically instead of just executing brilliantly - is the thing you're working on this year, that's the heart of The Marketer You Already Are - my course for ambitious marketers. [More here] or head over to emmawindsor.com and you'll see in the nav.

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