Being Strategic: How Founders Create Clarity, Alignment, and Momentum
Founders4Founders Session
Being Strategic: How Founders Create Clarity, Alignment, and Momentum
Date: April 8
Time: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Coffee & Meet-and-Greet: 9:30 AM
Running a business without a clear strategic direction is like starting a journey without a destination or a map. You may stay busy… but you may not end up where you truly want to go.
In this Founders4Founders session, David McIvor will walk us through a simple but powerful framework for strategic thinking that helps founders step back from the day-to-day and gain clarity on where their business is going and how to get there.
This conversation will explore why strategic planning matters, what questions actually create clarity, and how founders can structure effective planning sessions or retreats.
What We’ll Explore
Why Being Strategic Matters
Founders often get pulled into the urgency of daily operations. Without intentional planning, businesses can drift, waste energy, and struggle to reach their true potential.
David will share how stepping back to answer a few critical questions can help founders:
• Clarify where the business is headed
• Align partners, team members, and stakeholders
• Identify the right priorities and milestones
• Focus energy on the initiatives that actually move the business forward
The 9 Questions That Create Strategic Clarity
David will introduce a simple strategic planning framework built around nine essential questions that help founders define both long-term direction and near-term priorities.
The framework includes:
• Why – the deeper purpose and mission
• What – the core work and value you deliver
• Who – the people who make the mission possible
• Where – the market or arena you compete in
• Way – the strategy for winning
Along with longer-term planning layers:
• 10-Year Mission
• 3-Year Vision
• 1-Year Goals
• Quarterly Priorities
Participants will receive a template they can use for their own strategic planning process.
How to Run a Powerful Strategic Planning Session
David will also share practical guidance for how founders can structure effective planning time, including:
• Stepping away from daily distractions
• Involving your leadership team or trusted advisors
• Reviewing past performance honestly and objectively
• Identifying lessons learned from previous years
• Turning strategy into clear priorities and execution plans
By the end of the process, founders can walk away with a clear roadmap for where their business is going and the key steps to get there.
Why This Session Matters for Founders
Strategic clarity creates momentum. When founders know where they’re going and why it matters, decisions become easier, teams become more aligned, and progress accelerates.
This session is designed to help you step out of the weeds of daily operations and reconnect with the bigger picture of building a business intentionally.
About David McIvor
David McIvor is the founder of Ascent Leadership, where he works with business owners and leadership teams to design stronger businesses and achieve better outcomes for their companies, their teams, and their families.
With over 25 years of experience helping entrepreneurs and executives build high-performing organizations, David believes that success in business is rarely accidental. The most successful companies are intentionally designed. They operate with a clear strategy, the right structure, and systems that allow leaders to focus on growth rather than chaos.
Drawing inspiration from elite sports teams, David teaches that winning in business requires an inspiring vision, a clear game plan, the right people in the right roles, and a culture built to grow through challenge and adversity.
David brings a unique mix of real-world leadership experience and coaching expertise. Certified as a BOS360 Business Coach, he has worked across the full spectrum of business operations, from front-line roles in sales, customer service, and operations to developing core strategies for some of the largest companies in Canada. Along the way, he has helped build high-performing teams, manage nine-digit P&Ls, and launch and scale businesses of his own.
Today, David combines his passion for coaching, leadership development, and practical business systems to help founders create companies that are not only more successful… but also simpler, more focused, and more rewarding to run.
About Founders4Founders
Founders4Founders is a peer community of entrepreneurs committed to learning, sharing experience, and supporting one another as we build and grow our businesses together. The group exists to create meaningful connections, collaborative learning, and accountability among founders.