The SiriusDecisions Rearchitected Holiday Model

A few weeks ago, I was approached by a member of our sales team – a Mr. Johnny Connell – who confessed to me that he was an avid user of the original SiriusDecisions Holiday Model. Knowing it's one of SiriusDecisions' most popular models this time of year, Johnny was struggling to align the original model with our new priority-based architecture. With all the elements that make up the holidays (e.g. family and friends, vacation arrangements, food preparation, gifts, decorations), he and his wife were finding it difficult to make sense of it all and clearly articulate an actionable plan centered around a set of clear priorities to make it through the month of December.

With feedback from the research team, Johnny defined a set of priorities for our newest Next Generation Advisory service: Holiday Strategies. With the following four priorities, holiday-goers have a clear understanding of where they need to focus to pull off a successful holiday:

• Holiday strategy and planning. Establish a repeatable process for allocating resources, planning for meals and arranging travel.
• Holiday gifting optimization. Build and execute on a project plan for purchasing, wrapping and delivering (and receiving) gifts.
• Holiday bliss. Ensure day-of-the-event success by strategically assigning ownership of responsibilities to family and friends, purchasing excess eggnog and planning a contingent exit strategy in the event of a holiday catastrophe (e.g. political discussions).
• Post-holiday damage control. Develop an approach that effectively responds to post-holiday blues like credit card payments, work email overload and the realization that there are six months until summer.

As with the other 70 priorities that SiriusDecisions covers through its 14 role-based advisory services, each is aligned to a flagship model. In the case of Holiday Strategies, the same model applies throughout: the Rearchitected Holiday Model.

The Rearchitected Holiday Model is segmented by three phases and seven stages and encompasses activities, milestones and intangibles:

• Pre-holiday. During the pre-holiday phase, the individual experiences four unique stages. First is the excitement stage, in which the individual has an overly cheery and often unrealistic outlook on the holiday. This is typically followed by panic, oftentimes regarding the same anticipations revealed in the excitement stage (e.g. anticipation of time with family). With the emotional highs and lows out of the way, the planning stage begins. This is the most critical stage and requires an attention to detail across key activities like meal planning, decorating and gift wrapping. An important reminder for this stage is that when arranging travel, the individual should ensure an emergency escape plan in case the holiday goes awry. While crafting an escape plan, clients will naturally transition into the fourth stage: more panic.
• Holiday. The panic subsides, the planning comes together and the holiday arrives. It’s during this phase that the individual experiences pure bliss. Family and friends may be together, coworkers may be sharing food and drink at an office party, and gifts may be given or received. Regardless of what the individual’s actual holiday looks like, the bliss is only complete when the eggnog is poured.
• Post-Holiday. All good things come to an end. While short lived, the post-holiday shock is intense, especially when the credit card statement arrives. And while the remaining winter months may be long, email inboxes may be overloaded and resolutions may be long forgotten, it’s a new year, a fresh start and a great opportunity to start planning the next 12 months.

For more information on the Rearchitected Holiday Model or to access its associated research, tools and templates, please contact your account representative or schedule an analyst inquiry.