I think consultants and advisors should be thinking in terms of 18 months instead of 12.

Because most things in business don’t start and stop neatly inside a year.

They ramp up. They phase out. They get lumpy in the middle.

This is especially true because many of us are constantly iterating.

New offers. Different monetization strategies. Refined positioning.

And sometimes you’re dealing with buyers on different fiscal calendars.

I like the 18-month frame (for two reasons).

One, it gives your decisions time to breathe and operate at a more realistic pace. Plus you don’t create a false sense of precision around something that hasn’t even settled yet.

And two, it removes the December 31st finish-line feel. Expanding to 18 months forces you to make reinvestment and margin decisions on a continuous basis instead of resetting your thinking every January.

That’s what I’m usually trying to show when I build models for clients (e.g., financial models, pricing models, or decision models).

Not with the intent to predict the future perfectly.

But to make the future wiggle.

To take the assumptions floating around in your head — pricing, margin, spending, reinvestment, growth — and put them together in one place so you can see what moves.

…on a timeline that tells the truth a little better.

18 months > 12 months.

Thanks for reading.

Be well. Talk soon.

— Peter

P.S. If you want your own custom model to see how your business decisions play out over the next 18 months, reply and I’ll tell you what I’d include.