Business owners are all too familiar with the rapid pace involved in running and growing a company. In the hustle and bustle of the everyday grind, months and even years seem to fly by in an instant. It is therefore essential that business leaders regularly carve out time to reflect on their organizations – the good, the bad and even the ugly –in regular, predetermined intervals. I am going to be frank here, annual reviews are simply not frequent enough and leave massive gaps in your ability to address issues in a timely manner. And monthly reviews can feel more tedious and obligatory than they are useful. I believe that quarterly reviews strike the right balance in timeliness, provide a smart cadence for the reflective process, and deliver prime opportunity for agility and adaptability. So let’s move forward on our 90-day cycle for reviewing achievement, acknowledgement and challenges in your business.
Quarterly reviews are as much about what you stopped doing over the last three months as what you began doing differently during that time. I recommend that you first focus on achievements in your business. These wins might take the form of a successful project, a new customer, a closed deal, some new innovation, an achieved goals or a great new hire. Then you can move on to things like losses, challenges, threats, and other important dynamics specific to your business.
Assessing Beyond the Black and White
When executing your Quarterly Reviews, it is important to be comprehensive in your analysis approach. Even successful projects might include some inefficiencies, drawbacks or lessons learned that are important to consider. Achievements, often perceived as successes, may also provide insight into wouldn’t didn’t work or obstacles that needed to be overcome. So make sure not to look at each event or issue as solely good or bad, a win or a loss. Just about every project will elicit lessons learned and their impact on your company just might surprise you.
A shift in black-and-white perspective allows leaders to gain better understanding and meaning surrounding both success and failure. Regardless of whether a project unfolded as planned, what insights were gained throughout the engagement or after completion? What new doors were opened because of an engagement and which actions no longer make sense? Beyond the balance sheet, how did various processes or outcomes affect your teams, your customers, and other key stakeholders? And perhaps most importantly, how did these wins, losses, and challenges affect you and your team’s emotional energy, overall wellbeing, and company culture. Afterall, even a successful project that leaves everyone involved feeling empty, demoralized, or disconnected just might not be worth it.
Addressing Time & Financial Impacts
Understanding the value of time will be key to your quarterly reviews, particularly as it relates to the financial benefit of any given activity. While you may have closed a big deal, were the man-hours spent worth the revenue generated? If at first glance the equation looks a little lopsided, are there future opportunities that can increase the value of the deal?
And what about delegation? Delegation and recognizing one’s limitations as a business owner can be transformative. Successful delegation frees up precious time to focus on what truly matters. Remember, as a business leader your job is to think and execute at a higher, more strategic level than the rest of your team.
Are the right people handling the workload or are you as the owner of the business taking on more than your fair share? What about delegation throughout the rest of your business? The quarterly review process prompts leaders to identify activities better suited for others and leads to a more streamlined and efficient operation.
Quick Guide to Navigating Quarterly Reviews
Every business has its unique challenges and opportunities. While data and outcomes of quarterly reviews will certainly vary by business and industry, the process itself is pretty uniform. Here are four steps to consider when building a 90-day review cycle.
1. Break Down Achievements. Strip down successes into a series of components. Reflect on both the accomplishment and valuable lessons learned. Consider the emotional impact of the win and how it affected your company culture and employee morale. Determine the drivers that made the project or deal a success.
2. Decide to Delegate. As mentioned above, as a business owner, your time is best spent a strategic level. Identify tasks or responsibilities that no longer align with your strengths or are a poor use of your time, then delegate them whenever possible.
3. Consider the Intangibles. Assess the well-being of your team, suppliers, and customers. How were key stakeholders and your company culture impacted by your wins, losses, and process? Request input from team members who might not normally weigh in at this level.
4. Time Management. How well did you and your leadership team manage the clock? Was a ton of overtime accrued by your employees or valuable weekends lost to tough deadlines? How much time was reclaimed due to better efficiency? How well is your team utilizing their time and energy?
Of course, dollars and cents are important, but quarterly reviews need to add more value than simply evaluating costs and earnings. Approach this time of reflection as a massive opportunity for continued improvement. With the right mindset and a willingness to dig a little deeper, you might just discover the true secret to long-term success.
Blair Koch is the CEO of TAB Denver West, a TAB CEO Advisory Board Facilitator, and a Business Ownership Lifecycle Coach. Blair has spent most of her career helping small business owners achieve their personal and professional goals. She also hosts the Best Businesses in Denver podcast.
