🚀 3.2.1. Ditch the Annual Plan. Use This Instead

As we step into a new year, the pressure to create the perfect annual plan is immense. But what if the traditional approach to planning is fundamentally flawed for those of us building the future? What if there’s a better way to achieve ambitious goals without the rigidity of a 12-month forecast?

I stopped making annual plans years ago. Instead, I use three core timeframes: a 36-month vision, a 12-week vehicle, and a weekly velocity check.

This is the 3V Framework — a system inspired by Microsoft’s internal planning approach and adapted for entrepreneurs and executive teams who demand clarity over complexity.

Here’s how it works. The Framework at a Glance (Vision -> Vehicle -> Velocity)

Vision (36 months): Where are you going?
Vehicle (12 weeks): What system will get you there this quarter?
Velocity (1 week): Are you moving faster this week than last?

Let’s break down each component.

3 IDEAS:

I. V1: VISION (36 Months) - Choose your destination

Why 36 months, not 12? One year is too short to build anything meaningful and too long to predict accurately. Three years provides strategic breathing room without the delusion of precise forecasting.

Your vision isn’t a revenue target. It’s your North Star — a clear picture of who you want to be in 36 months.

Ask yourself three questions:

Who do we want to become? (Identity, not just metrics)
Why does this matter to us? (Will the journey be fulfilling?)
What system will we be known for? (Your unique capability)

Example Visions:

Solopreneur: “In 36 months, I am the go-to expert for AI implementation in wealth management, generating $2M annually with 80% recurring revenue.”
Startup: “In 36 months, we are the default platform for personalized super intelligence in wealth management, serving 10,000+ families.”

Your Action: Write one paragraph answering: “What does success look like in 36 months?”

II. V2: VEHICLE (12 Weeks) - Focus on what matters now.

A vehicle is the specific system you will build this quarter to move toward your vision. This is not a to-do list or a collection of scattered tasks. It is a deliberate 90-day build.

Think of your 36-month vision as a 12-quarter journey. Each quarter requires its own dedicated vehicle.

The critical question to ask is: “What must exist at the end of these 90 days that doesn’t exist today?”

To help you choose, use the 3R Framework. Every vehicle falls into one of three categories:

RETENTION: Build your core loop. (Use when you have customers, but they aren’t sticking around).
- Example: “Build an onboarding sequence that gets 70% of users to their first ‘aha moment’ within 48 hours.”
REACH: Expand your distribution. (Use when your product works, but not enough people know about it).
- Example: “Launch a content engine publishing 3x/week that generates 50 inbound leads per month.”
REVENUE: Optimize monetization. (Use when you have traffic or users, but poor conversion).
- Example: “Test three pricing tiers and implement upsell flows to increase ARPU by 40%.”

Your vehicle must be coherent with your 36-month vision, realistic given your current constraints, and designed to compound (it should build an asset, not just deliver an output).

Your Action: Fill in this sentence: “By the end of this quarter, we will have built a [Retention/Reach/Revenue] vehicle that enables [specific capability].”

III. V3 — VELOCITY (Weekly)

Vision without velocity is hallucination.

Your weekly dashboard should answer one question: “Are we moving faster toward our vision this week than last week?”

Pick 3-5 weekly input metrics. These must be:

Measurable every 7 days.
Inputs you control (not outcomes).
Leading indicators of your vehicle’s success.

Example Weekly Dashboards:

For a REACH vehicle: 3 articles published, 500 new email subscribers, 10 discovery calls booked.
For a RETENTION vehicle: 100 users entered onboarding, 70 reached “aha moment,” average time-to-value of 36 hours.
For a REVENUE vehicle: 3 pricing experiments launched, 200 users in each test cohort, conversion data collected from 600 users.

Your Weekly Actions:

Every Monday: Review last week’s metrics.
Every Friday: Identify one piece of friction to eliminate next week.

Velocity isn’t about doing more. It’s about removing the delay between insight and action.

2 QUOTES:

"Productivity isn't about doing more. It's about doing what matters most, with a clear vision, impactful value, and unstoppable velocity.” — JD Meier, Former Head of Innovation for Satya Nadella at Microsoft, Author of Getting Results the Agile Way

II.

“We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten. Don't let yourself be lulled into inaction.” — Bill Gates, Co-Founder of Microsoft

1 ACTION:

Copy the template below and fill it out. This simple exercise will bring immediate clarity to your 2026.

My 3V Plan:

My 36-Month Vision:
- In 36 months, I/we are known for: _______
- Our unique system is: _______
- Success looks like (external): _______
- Success looks like (internal): _______
My Current 12-Week Vehicle (Quarter ___ of 12):
- Vehicle Type: □ Retention □ Reach □ Revenue
- By the end of this quarter, I will have built: _______
- The specific capability this enables: _______
My Weekly Velocity Metrics:

Here's to your health, happiness, and success in 2026.

Ludovic Bodin
3x Entrepreneur, 2x Unicorn Investor, 1x IPO
Founder of BOBIC Generational Wealth
Author of Atomic Scaling

P.S. Want my 620-word AI prompt to plan your next quarter using this framework? Reply "3V" and I'll send it.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING:

$2B Meta acquisition. Congrats to the Manus AI team!!!

One of the most dramatic examples of this kind of focused, rapid execution comes from Manus AI, a venture that embodies the principles of Atomic Scaling.

Nine months ago in Beijing, I sat down with Tao & Red, the founders of Manus AI. I walked away impressed.

What happened next was a masterclass in execution:

→ Raised $75M from Benchmark, Zhen Fund & HongShan (ex-Sequoia China)
→ Moved 130 people from Wuhan/Beijing to Tokyo/Singapore
→ Scaled to $125M+ ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue)
→ Acquired by Meta for $2B.

Beautiful execution.
More Atomic Scaling ventures like Manus are coming in 2026.

Want to get your copy of my book ? Start the year strong and get it now! →

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WHAT ELSE AM I WORKING ON?

My new company: BOBIC Generational Wealth.
BOBIC is building personal superintelligence for family wealth management—an AI system designed to help more families navigate and thrive in an era of abundance. We're co-building with family offices in Switzerland, Dubai, and Singapore, and welcoming four more founding families now. Check our video about The Three Types of Wealthy People →