The Power of Portions: A Guide to Quarterly Planning

Imagine you’re setting off on a big journey through completely uncharted territory. Annual planning is like drawing a detailed map for the entire trip, while quarterly planning breaks that map into smaller, more manageable sections. By focusing on 90 days at a time, leaders can set clear, short-term goals that serve as stepping stones toward the bigger annual vision, making sure every step contributes to the overall journey.

Quarterly plans are flexible, acting as living documents that can be adapted as needed. This means you can make changes without throwing off your long-term vision, keeping your team agile and ready for anything. Quarterly reviews give you the chance to check in on progress, tackle any roadblocks, and adjust strategies as needed. Whether market trends shift or unexpected challenges pop up, staying adaptable helps keep your company competitive and responsive.

At &Marketing, we run on EOS—which (in our opinion) is the best at helping business leaders define their vision and keep everyone aligned, crucial for both quarterly and annual planning. Keep reading this quarterly planning guide to find out the best ways to plan your quarterly meetings for everyone’s benefit. 

Quarterly Plan Must-Haves

As you draft your next quarterly plan, include the following nuggets.

• Review of the previous quarter. Analyze key performance indicators (KPIs) to understand what worked well and what needs improvement. Identify completed projects or milestones. Highlight areas where goals fell short and brainstorm reasons behind the shortfall.
• Milestones and performance metrics. Set clear milestones for tracking progress within the new quarter. Defining KPIs will help you measure your team’s quarterly progress and performance.
• Key focus areas for the upcoming quarter. Outline 2-3 high-level priorities for the quarter that align well with annual goals. Consider seasonal trends, upcoming marketing campaigns, or product launches.
• Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals. Develop clear, measurable objectives for each focus area. Break down large goals into smaller, achievable tasks with deadlines. Ensure these goals are relevant to the overall business strategy. Using EOS terms – these are your Rocks for the quarter.
• Action plans and initiatives. Define specific projects or initiatives needed to achieve each goal. Outline a step-by-step process for each initiative, with clear ownership assigned. Include timelines and milestones to track progress throughout the quarter.
• Resource allocation. Identify the resources needed to execute the plan, including personnel, budget, equipment, and software. Allocate resources efficiently to support priority initiatives.
• Risk management. Brainstorm potential risks that could hinder progress on goals. Develop contingency plans to mitigate these risks or adapt strategies, if necessary.
• Communication plan. Define how team members will communicate progress to each other and other stakeholders. Determine the frequency of progress reports and meetings.

How to run a quarterly planning meeting

Crafting a solid quarterly plan will keep your team focused and drive results. Use the following checklist to ensure you’ve created a productive, effective quarterly planning session. Each item is a building block to lay the groundwork for a successful next quarter.

Not sure how long quarterly planning should take? A typical quarterly planning session among leadership teams should take a full day, with some flexibility depending on your team’s specific needs. Small to medium companies may also need less (or more) time than global organizations. We’ve included an approximate timeline for each section.

• Team check-in (30 min.): Encourage team members to share a personal win and business success from the previous quarter. Teams can offer updates on what they see as working well and what needs improvement. You can also ask each team to share its expectations for the upcoming planning session.
  

  Use this check-in as a transition to help teams debrief from the previous quarter, stay informed, and understand each other’s perspectives. It fosters a sense of shared responsibility and provides a moment to pause and reflect on your company’s current state.

• Previous quarter review (30 min.): During this block, teams review the past quarter’s key objectives (Rocks) and assess completion. Your goal? A minimum of 80% completion. The review offers another chance to discuss what worked — and what didn’t — regarding goal setting and achievement. It also allows teams to discuss lessons learned and become more effective planners for the future.
• Vision review and issue identification (1 hour): This agenda item involves revisiting the annual plan’s vision and strategic plan and confirming everyone’s continued alignment with the core principles outlined in the plan. This exercise reignites team commitment to the vision and verifies everyone’s on the same page. Once the vision is clear, the team can identify and articulate any challenges, concerns, ideas, opportunities, or roadblocks that could impact achieving the vision.
• Establishing the next quarter’s priorities (1-2 hours): Now, the team should work to reach a consensus on the most critical goals for the next three months. You can use your understanding of the overall vision and list of issues to determine top priorities, eventually whittling that list to 3-7 that will significantly impact the company’s success in the coming quarter.

  Once these priorities are established, each leadership team member defines their own 3-7 priorities for the next 90 days. This process creates a laser focus for the entire organization until the next quarterly meeting.

• Addressing key issues (2-4 hours): This agenda item tackles the other issues identified previously. The team selects the top three most critical issues and addresses them in a three-step process. Step one: define the core issue. Step two: an honest, open discussion about the issue. Step three: identify the best solution to eliminate it permanently. The team uses this approach for each issue that is prioritized as crucial for resolution.
• Next steps (5-15 min.): This section recaps all action items generated throughout the day and confirms that everyone is accountable for their commitments and priorities.
• Wrap-up (5-15 min.): Everyone benefits from taking five minutes to reflect on the day. Encourage each team member to share their overall feedback, whether their expectations were met, and rate the day on a scale of 1-10. Your goal? Achieving an average rating of 8+ with honest, open feedback from all participants.

  If ratings fall below your benchmark, work with the team to understand why and identify areas of improvement for future planning sessions. By your quarterly planning session’s end, your team should feel completely aligned with one another, with clear priorities set for the coming quarter and all key issues resolved (or on their way to resolution).

About Author:

Marketing Director Tracey Colla focuses on ensuring each client’s needs are being met in a timely, productive, and creative way. She is a well-rounded marketer, with a talent for identifying opportunity, product strategy and positioning, go-to-market strategies and launches.

About &Marketing:

&Marketing provides the robust outsourced marketing department growing companies need without the high overhead costs of big agencies or full-time employees. Our variable model empowers businesses to reach their growth goals through access to the guidance and expertise of senior level strategists and a flexible execution team.