December 3, 2025 – 9 min read
By Sheri Weppel, Performance Development Group
Strategic plans often need to be revisited after launch to ensure there is no change to strategy. In life sciences, where teams must adapt quickly, the key is to keep the plan active in everyday decision-making. This article explores how leaders can turn strategy into a living system—one that stays connected to changing realities, reinforces accountability, and builds team confidence.
The room always feels electric in November.
Everyone’s around the table. Marketing, medical, learning, sales. Slides glow with forecasts and goals. We talk about launches, new data, PDUFA dates, incentive compensation. You can feel the sense of possibility.
I’ve seen this scene so many times. Teams begin with strong priorities and shared purpose. By spring, that energy fades. Messages quiet. Focus wavers. The plan that once drove every conversation eventually fades from view, buried in forgotten folders.
That moment still gets my attention. The challenge isn’t about effort or talent. Most teams simply lack a clear way to keep their plan visible once daily work takes over.
Every organization starts with optimism. We gather smart people, agree on direction, and walk out aligned. Well, for the most part. Then the world moves faster than the plan. Competitors expand. Market access changes. A product once steady becomes unpredictable.
Sometimes the challenge is internal. Teams fall back into familiar routines. New hires come in and need to be supported. Without reminders or reinforcement, even strong messaging loses strength. I’ve seen entire initiatives fade because there was no check-in to see if the message still fits the moment.
When that happens, people start relying on habit instead of strategy. By the time someone notices, the data is already showing missed targets.
According to Gartner research, companies that review strategic priorities monthly are nearly three times more likely to meet their goals than those that only look once a year. Frequent reflection helps people adjust to what’s really happening rather than what they hoped would happen.
For me, a plan is alive when it stays in conversation. It’s something people refer to when they talk about field execution or customer engagement. It shows up naturally in how decisions get made.
Measurement keeps it healthy. Not just end-of-quarter numbers, but leading indicators that tell us if we’re on track. I pay attention to participation data, coaching reports, and reinforcement activity. When those patterns start changing, it usually means something in the strategy needs a closer look.
At one client, we found that the people who used interactive reinforcement most often were also performing strongest in the field. It didn’t prove cause and effect, but it did show that engagement and clarity travel together.
When leaders review these signals each month, they can make small corrections before the year slips away. Those check-ins help keep the plan close to the work instead of locked in a slide deck.
I’ve seen planning turn into everyday behavior inside great teams.
A group of Key Account Managers I worked with started out glued to their templates and tools. It felt procedural. But a few months in, something changed. They began connecting across departments on their own. They didn’t wait for formal alignment sessions. Collaboration became natural. Collaboration itself became the habit.
Field teams working on HCP engagement experience the same pattern. Early in a launch, reps stumble through new material. They practice objection handling, refine their story, and sometimes struggle to find the right tone. With steady coaching, their delivery becomes authentic. They speak with confidence. They sound more knowledgeable and believable.
That’s when a plan starts to live inside the team. People no longer read from the document because they already understand what it stands for.
A plan needs protection. That responsibility always falls to leadership.
The strongest leaders I’ve met keep their eyes and ears open. They talk to every layer of the organization to see whether what’s written still matches reality. They pay attention to what the data shows and what the field is saying.
When new ideas surface, they look for ways to connect them to the plan. One leader I worked with used a simple phrase: “Yes, but here’s how this affects our priorities.” That kind of conversation keeps creativity alive while preserving direction.
Leaders who build regular check-ins make it easier for teams to stay aligned. Monthly meetings on leading indicators, quarterly reviews on lagging ones. The most valuable moment comes from the discussion that follows. Those sessions open space for questions, ideas, and requests for support.
When teams know their leaders will listen, they speak up earlier. That openness prevents surprises later.
Recently, we partnered with a life sciences company preparing for a major launch. The product was new to its therapeutic area, and everyone built their plan around one core message. For months, the team trained and coached on that theme.
About six months after approval, they began hearing from the field that physicians wanted more detail about the clinical message. Market research confirmed it. The team decided to revisit the plan.
We worked together to reorder their priorities. Clinical messaging was prioritized. Broader marketing themes would come later. Within weeks, engagement improved. Conversations with HCPs became more focused and more productive.
The team learned something important. Success came from paying attention to feedback and being willing to rebuild while the work was still unfolding. That openness restored confidence and strengthened relationships with the field.
The hardest situation for any team is carrying out a plan they don’t trust. You can sense it when it happens. Meetings go quiet. Energy dips. People hesitate to speak because they assume change isn’t welcome.
When leaders invite genuine dialogue, the energy in the room becomes more open and collaborative. Teams start to take ownership. They see their input reflected in the plan, and that sense of involvement turns into motivation.
I’ve watched organizations make their plans visible in creative ways. Posters on walls. Screensavers. Coffee mugs. A slide tied to the strategy in monthly meetings. Measurement against the goals. Simple reminders that reinforce shared goals. The visibility matters because it keeps the conversation alive. People remember what they helped create.
There’s no single formula, but a few habits help any plan stay current.
These small actions build connection and trust. Over time, they turn planning from an annual ritual into a shared way of working.
After years of watching teams plan and execute, I’ve learned that good planning starts with inclusion. Everyone responsible for results should have a voice in the process. That involvement creates buy-in and understanding.
I’ve also learned that plans lose power when they disappear from daily language. Keep them visible. Refer to them often. Bring them into conversations with new hires so they understand what the organization stands for.
When people talk about the plan naturally, it becomes part of how they think. That’s when alignment stops feeling forced and starts feeling real.
If I could give one piece of advice, it would be to keep planning human. Stay close to the people who have to live it every day. Listen to what they’re learning and let those insights guide your next step.
Every conversation adds something new. Every update makes the plan smarter as long as it’s tied to purpose and data. Be careful about changing strategy on a whim or without collaboration. The market will keep changing, but a team that stays connected to its plan can adapt without losing direction.
I’ve seen what that looks like in practice. Meetings run smoother. Decisions come faster. People feel confident because they know where they’re going.
That’s the goal. A plan that performs isn’t about perfection. It’s about connection — between leaders, teams, and the reality they’re facing together.
Sheri Weppel from Performance Development Group explains why plans drift and what leaders can do to keep strategy alive all year.
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