The same collisions recur annually and surprise everyone
A planning cycle overlapping a peak trading period happens every year, and each year it is treated as an unfortunate coincidence.
Time Core · Object
Year Wheel
The organisation’s year as it actually repeats: the cycle it runs on, the dates it cannot move, how the load falls across it, and the rhythm in which it looks at itself.
The term
What it is
Every organisation has a year that repeats: reporting deadlines, seasonal demand, holidays, renewals and planning cycles. Most run it without ever drawing it, which means each collision is discovered again annually.
Drawing it makes two things visible that are otherwise argued about: which weeks are genuinely unavailable, and which months are already carrying more than they can hold.
It is also where the framework’s review rhythms have to fit. Every core in the model implies a cadence, and unless they are placed in one calendar the organisation ends up reviewing everything in the same fortnight.
Why it earns a place
What goes wrong without it
Capacity is not evenly distributed and plans assume it is
Holidays, reporting periods and seasonal load mean the available weeks in a year are considerably fewer than the calendar shows.
Review rhythms compete for the same attention
Every discipline implies a cadence. Placed independently they cluster, and the organisation spends one month of every quarter reviewing.
One level in
The modules within year wheel
Four working areas: the cycle itself, what cannot move, how the load falls, and where the reviews sit.
Fixed points
The dates that cannot move: statutory deadlines, contractual dates, industry events and periods when nothing can be changed.
LearnLoad across the year
How work distributes against a capacity that is not constant, and where the year is already over-committed before anything new is added.
LearnThe review rhythm
Where the organisation’s reviews sit in the year, and whether they are spread or clustered. The mechanism by which the whole framework gets used rather than consulted.
Learn
Across the framework
What it touches
- Project managementProject dates have to be set against the year’s real capacity rather than against the calendar.
- Market CoreThe content calendar and the seasonal moments sit inside this wheel and compete with everything else in it.
- Business CoreFinancial close, budgeting and reporting are fixed points that consume more capacity than anyone plans for.
- Goal CoreGoal review rhythm is one of the cadences the wheel has to hold, and it is the one most often displaced.
Beyond the framework
Models worth knowing here
The Omnigoal says where this belongs and what it touches. It does not tell you how to think about it — other people have done that, and done it well. These are theirs.
Beyond budgeting
Jeremy Hope & Robin Fraser · 2003Replace the fixed annual budget with rolling forecasts and targets set against actual conditions.
The case against the annual cycle is that it fixes a plan to a year that has not happened, negotiates resources once, and then rewards hitting a number agreed before anyone knew anything. What replaces it is a rhythm: forecasts refreshed continuously, resources released when needed, and performance judged relative to how the market actually turned out.
- Reach for it when
- When the annual plan is out of date by March and everyone spends the rest of the year explaining variance against it.
- Where it stops
- It requires giving up a great deal of central control, which is why most adoptions keep the budget and add the forecasting on top — the worst of both.
Jeremy Hope & Robin Fraser, Beyond Budgeting, Harvard Business School Press, 2003.
Sales and operations planning
Developed from Oliver Wight’s work · 1980sAlso known as S&OP
One monthly cycle in which sales, operations and finance agree a single set of numbers for the months ahead.
Demand is reviewed, supply is reviewed, the gap between them is resolved, and leadership signs off on one plan rather than the three that departments would otherwise run on. The discipline is the cadence: the same meeting, the same horizon, every month, so disagreements are settled on a schedule instead of during a crisis.
- Reach for it when
- As the backbone of a year wheel, and wherever sales forecasts and production plans are visibly different documents.
- Where it stops
- It needs honest forecasts, and the meeting is only as good as the willingness to say a number is wrong. Where it becomes a reporting ritual, it consumes a day a month and settles nothing.
Developed from Oliver Wight’s work on manufacturing planning in the 1980s; now standard practice in operations management.
These are other people’s models, named here so you can go to the source and use them properly. The Omnigoal is not affiliated with their authors and is not endorsed by them; nothing of theirs is reproduced here — no canvas, no diagram, no wording. Each is described in our own words, with the originator credited, because the framework is a place to put thinking, not a replacement for the people who did it. Model names and trademarks belong to their respective owners and are used here only to refer to the work itself.
Every model in the framework, and where each one belongsThe available weeks in a year are considerably fewer than the calendar shows, and plans are built on the calendar.
The other objects in the Time Core
Project management
Project Management is the cornerstone of the Time Core, focusing on coordinating resources, timelines, and activities to ensure projects are completed efficiently and effectively. This comprehensive approach emphasises meticulous time management, from planning and execution to the closure of projects, ensuring that deadlines are met and goals are achieved within the set timeframe. Effective project management is crucial for optimising time use, achieving organisational objectives, and maintaining a competitive edge.
LearnMarket Timing
Determines the optimal time for launching new products or entering new markets. This is key for capitalising on market opportunities and achieving a competitive edge.
LearnGolden Opportunities
Identifies and capitalises on unique, high-impact opportunities that arise unexpectedly. This ensures the business can quickly leverage these opportunities for maximum benefit.
LearnContingency Planning
Prepares for unexpected events and disruptions by developing plans to mitigate risks and ensure business continuity. This helps the organisation remain resilient and responsive.
Learn