Annual plans drift. You set the budget with clear priorities, then operational fires demand resources. A key initiative for a new segment gets pushed back because the existing platform has execution issues. That’s fine at the time - you have to deal with what’s burning. But three months later you realize you’re way behind on the things that underpin the budget, and nobody flagged it.
A one-page AOP is a focusing constraint. It compresses the year to 7-8 things that matter, makes them discussable, and creates a checkpoint to test whether you’re actually resourcing them or kidding yourself.
The Structure
This is what’s worked for me - adapt as needed.
Goals (left column) - Aspirational long-term direction. These can be slightly vague: “Become market leader in X segment”, “Improve profitability to Y%”. They provide context for why the milestones matter.
Milestones - Concrete outcomes you’ll have achieved by year-end. Not activities - outcomes. “Replatformed product Z.” “Secured 6 new logos in segment X.” “Launched in market Y.”
The test: can you draw a clear line from milestone to goal? If you get 6 logos in this market, does that credibly move you toward market leadership? If not, wrong milestone.
Initiatives - The specific projects or bets that deliver each milestone. This is what actually gets resourced and tracked.
Metrics - How you know whether you’re on track. The exercise forces you to think: do we have instrumentation? Can we review this monthly, or will we only know if we succeeded in December? If metrics only tell you at year-end, you have a measurement gap.
How to use this
At planning time: The forcing function is compression. If you have 15 “critical” milestones, you don’t have priorities - you have a wish list. Force it down to 7-8. Everything can’t be strategic.
Throughout the year: Use it as a decision filter. When operational issues demand resources (and they will), ask whether they pull from AOP initiatives. Sometimes the answer is yes - fires happen. But make it explicit. The risk is drifting for months before realizing you’ve under-resourced the plan.
Review cadence: Monthly or quarterly, check actual progress against milestones. Not activity - movement. Are the initiatives progressing? Are metrics showing it? The trap is confusing busyness with progress.
What this doesn’t do: It’s not comprehensive. Operating issues will arise. General work continues. This isn’t everything the business does - it’s the 7-8 things that move the needle and need explicit focus.
The detailed budget
The one-pager sits alongside the budget. The budget is where decision codification actually lives - phased hiring, revenue timing, investment triggers. The one-pager is what keeps you honest: are we resourcing the things that matter, or has drift taken over?
Red flags:
- Can’t compress to 7-8 milestones (everything is “critical”)
- No clear line from goals to milestones (aspirations don’t connect to concrete outcomes)
- Metrics only tell you success/failure at year-end (instrumentation gap)
- Never referenced after January (shelf-ware)
Related: Meeting Modes ยท Decision Rubrics