Finish Strong Each Quarter and Set the Stage for Success in the Next One
Four times a year, you have the opportunity to review, recalibrate, and reframe your business’s standing. Practicing this helps you “finish strong” while preparing for the quarter and months ahead. Consistency with this approach sets you up to finish strong year after year.
At the time of this writing, we are approaching the end of Q4, a crucial time for business leaders to prepare for the year ahead. However, the principles in this post work year-round.
Use an end-of-quarter process to get your financials in order, take a step back, and plan strategically for growth. If it’s Q4 for you right now, it’s a great time to review next year’s budget and update it as needed.
REVIEW
I like to get started early on the end-of-quarter process, and many of my clients have adopted a rolling 12-month forecast to stay proactive. This dynamic approach makes planning and budgeting more flexible and manageable. It also allows you to reflect on how the year is going. Celebrate the wins, acknowledge the losses, and leave behind the challenges that didn’t serve you or your business. Being consistently proactive is essential to positioning your business for the future.
RECALIBRATE
If you’ve been operating on autopilot, the end of a quarter/year is the perfect time to recalibrate. Start fresh and get ready for a productive next quarter/year. As you recalibrate, take a moment to reflect: Is your vision for the business still the same? If not, what needs to evolve to keep pace with industry shifts, market demands, and even your own interests and personal growth/lifestyle hopes?
This is a time to check your budget, as well. I’ve always been a fan of zero-based budgeting—starting from scratch and building the budget based on current needs rather than simply adjusting the previous year’s numbers. This disciplined, top-down and bottom-up approach forces you to think critically about each expense and its alignment with your business strategy and goals.
REFRAME
As you plan for new quarters and new years, remember that high performers thrive on challenges and measurable results. They aren’t satisfied with easily achievable objectives—they seek stretch goals that push their limits, drive growth, and elevate both their teams and the company. High performers want to keep score and track progress toward ambitious goals. This may be a good time to reframe your incentives and polish your compensation plans.
In setting these stretch goals, it’s important to stay objective. While we aim high, we must also recognize the real-world factors influencing success. Sometimes, external challenges or personal circumstances come into play. Ask yourself: Did we put in the necessary effort? Were there unforeseen obstacles? Did personal or team dynamics shift? By maintaining this balanced view, you ensure that the drive for high performance remains grounded in reality, allowing for growth and the flexibility to adjust plans when necessary.
Stretch goals should inspire, but they must also account for the complexity of real-world challenges.
Here’s a Quick Recap of the Review, Recalibrate, Reframe Process:
- Review Your Organizational Structure: Take a close look at your organizational chart. What roles or departments need to change? Are there gaps that need filling or efficiencies that can be improved? Get the right people in the right positions.
- Analyze Historical Sales Data: Dive deep into your sales history, analyzing performance by customer, segment, or product. The profit matrix is an excellent tool for identifying which customers fall into the low-value, low-margin quadrant (LV, LM). This helps you focus on the most profitable areas of your business. (But remember, even lower-value/lower-margin customers deserve respectful treatment—your business reputation depends on how ALL your customers perceive you.)
- Examine Cash Flow, Profitability, and Efficiency KPIs: Look over your cash flow, profitability, and efficiency KPIs to assess the health of your business. What adjustments can you make to boost financial performance in the coming year?
- Set Measurable Goals for Improvement: With your analysis in hand, develop clear, measurable, and stretchable goals for the coming year. These can be firmed up toward the end of each quarter, but get early numbers on paper. Whether it’s increasing profitability, improving cash flow, or streamlining operations, a solid plan will ensure you’re driving the business in the right direction. Let your team know of new goals they can work toward in sales, efficiency, or living out company values.
- Ensure a Clear Financial Model: Create a clear financial model with a detailed monthly income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement. This provides a concise yet comprehensive snapshot of your financial health, helping you better track progress and forecast results.
- Polish Processes: Are you closing each month in a timely way? Do your reports reflect accurate input and help you make wise decisions? Is your finance team working toward excellence and accuracy in all assignments/routine tasks?
- Check In With Yourself: As a business leader, your company can only be as good as you can be. Check in with yourself – mind, body, soul, spirit. Have your needs/goals/desires changed? Is it time to consider a plan that will help you do your best work or live in a more meaningful way? It’s easy to get into a rut, and a quarterly review of and for yourself can help you stay out of one.
Prepare for Success!
The business landscape is evolving, and staying ahead requires smart, proactive planning. Use the remainder of this quarter to solidify your strategy, ensuring that you enter the next with clarity, focus, and a clear plan for success!
I’d love to talk with you more about this. Contact me today!