The Step Most Organizations Skip Before Setting Next Year's Goals

New Book Out Today Offers Organizations a Six-Step Framework for Smarter Annual Planning

NEW YORK, Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Every fall, organizations across the country open their annual planning with the same question: what do we want to accomplish next year?

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, 70% of those goals will never be achieved. The issue is rarely strategy or execution. It's the process.

"Most planning sessions start at the goal," said Jobert E. Abueva, global executive, TEDx speaker, and author of The Janus Plan: A No-Resolutions Path to Begin Your Year with Intention (Weaving Influence Press). "They skip the one step that changes everything: the honest examination of what the previous year was actually trying to teach us — before any goal is declared or any resources allocated."

The Janus Plan turns reflection into a six-step framework: reflect honestly, set intentions, build momentum, let go, create rituals, and return to the practice over time. Designed for individuals, families, teams, and organizations, the framework can be used at any meaningful threshold, not just January 1.

For businesses entering a planning cycle, The Janus Plan offers exercises that help teams reflect on what the past year revealed about strategy, assumptions, and culture before setting new goals. Doing this work first leads to more focused planning conversations, and stronger commitments that last beyond January.

The press has taken notice. Kirkus Reviews called it "a unique and engaging approach to self-improvement." Publisher's Weekly noted that "the guide advocates steady, sustainable progress, distinguishing it from many motivation-focused entries in the personal development field."

Endorsers across leadership, productivity, and personal development echo both assessments:

"The freshest take on new beginnings I have ever read." — Julie Morgenstern, New York Times bestselling author

"Beautifully written and deeply practical." — Dr. Marshall Goldsmith, Thinkers50 #1 Executive Coach

"You don't need a new you, just a more honest relationship with the one you already are." — Laura Vanderkam, author of Big Time

"A rare blend of poetry and practicality." — Ahmet Bozer, Former President, Coca-Cola International

Abueva is a global marketing and philanthropy executive at ETS (Princeton, NJ) whose career spans Fortune 500 leadership and international brand-building. Jobert E. Abueva burned out running one of the world's most recognizable beauty brands, Clairol Herbal Essences, and turned that reckoning into a framework for beginning again. His fiction, essays, and journalism have appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Fortune, and Entrepreneur, among other publications.

The Janus Plan is available now at all book retailers. Bulk order packages including signed copies, team discussion guides, and author Q&A sessions are available through Porchlight Books.

For media inquiries: Kaitlin Mark — [email protected]

To learn more visit: joberteabueva.com

SOURCE Jobert E. Abueva