Mid-year represents a crucial moment for leaders to honestly assess what's working, realign resources to high-impact initiatives, and reinvigorate the team for a strong finish to the year.
Why Mid-Year Matters More Than Ever
Last month, I spoke with a CEO wrestling with a familiar mid-year challenge, but with a 2025 twist: “We're navigating trade policy uncertainty, inflation pressures, and a slowing economy—all while trying to stay focused on our original strategic priorities. The initial energy from January planning has faded, and despite steady effort, we're not hitting key milestones.”
This scenario plays out in countless organizations this July. The business climate demands both resilience and strategic agility.
As we hit the halfway point, it's easy to feel like you're just managing through volatility rather than driving toward clear goals. The big objectives set back in January can feel distant when you're constantly recalibrating for economic headwinds. But here's what I've learned: static plans in today's complex environment usually fall short. Mid-year gives you a strategic pivot point—your chance to honestly reassess where you stand, realign your focus and resources, and reinvigorate your team for the remainder of the year.
A well-executed Mid-Year Strategic Review can turn potential challenges into year-end success, especially when external pressures demand both short-term navigation and long-term positioning. It requires stepping back from reactive management to ask the tough questions.
Five critical questions every CEO and Senior Leader should ask right now:
1. Do our founding assumptions still hold? When you set your annual plan, you made assumptions about the market, customers, and competitors. Six months later, revisit those assumptions. Has the external landscape shifted? New opportunities or threats emerged? This tells you if your “North Star” still points correctly.
2. What does performance data really tell us? Go beyond just tracking KPIs. Understand the why behind your performance. Be honest about progress. Analyze execution bottlenecks and where resources get tied up. This gives you a clear, data-driven picture of operational reality.
3. Are resources aligned with high-impact initiatives? Your strategy needs resources focused on the most critical initiatives. Based on your review, identify the 2-3 strategic initiatives that will have the biggest impact. Do your time, best talent, and capital flow to these top priorities? Where are the gaps? This clarifies where you need to realign resources.
4. What's the biggest execution barrier we can remove? Many strategies falter in execution. Identify the most significant roadblocks hindering progress on key initiatives. Evaluate your operating rhythm—meetings, reporting, communication. Does it help or hurt? This provides an action plan to revitalize execution discipline.
5. How can we reignite organizational energy? The mid-year slump is real. To finish strong, you need to actively reinvigorate your team. Celebrate progress, acknowledge lessons learned. How compelling is the story you're telling about the second half? Does the strategy resonate beyond leadership? This shows how to reinvigorate the team and foster shared purpose.
Idea into Action
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Schedule a dedicated half-day session with your leadership team for a Mid-Year Strategic Review, using these five questions as the agenda.
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Ask each leader to prepare data and observations for their area beforehand.
Identify 1-2 key strategic adjustments and 1-2 critical execution barriers to address in Q3. Assign clear ownership and timelines.