Today Is Your Progress Checkpoint
March 31st, 2021 // 1:36 pm @ Scott Manning
There are round numbers in numerical value or symbolic numbers with meaning to you or representative of other things but today is one of those notable dates on the calendar.
Today is obviously the last day of March, the final day to a full Quarter. It’s a special moment in the progress of your year for benchmarking and tracking purposes and both to keep you honest and focused on where you are headed.
Here’s a list of what I recommend paying attention to at the end of the quarter.
Of course, there is the actual performance of your quarter for your business…
Financial results.
New customer flow.
Leads into the pipeline.
All the normal metrics you would look at, though looking into the past is always already too late, we are fully future focused and you should be managing numbers that help you to take control over what is going to happen not trying to work the puzzle of what already happened because it’s a waste of time.
That said, as a professional and a business owner you must know not just the state of the union but the statistics of it all.
Then there are other things that should be check in on and held accountable such as Team Member performance.
More than anything you really don’t want to be waiting until the end of a quarter to know whether you hit your goals or not but you do want to be seeing where you are as compared to where you wanted to be. My annoying words to my wealth group that I recite every quarter are we: ahead or behind – period.
And done properly this should be a daily focus in your business…at least. Are we ahead or behind of where we want to be.
However, specific to the quarterly snap shot we have to look back and say what’s working and what isn’t, where are we on track and where are we off track, and what does this say about where we are headed right now for the quarter that is now before us.
You want to check in on your goals for the year as a whole and see if you expected to be 25% of the way there or some other scaled up or down percentage.
You also want to check in on your wealth, everything from net worth to money off the table to your specific financial goals whether debt reduction or investments and everything in between. Do not let a quarter pass without seeing where you are on your journey to true financial independence.
Above all else, you want to take some personal time and really look at where you are at, whether that is staying true to your committed daily disciplines or reading of books or health plans or whatever else.
It is very important to have some solitude with yourself to reflect on the last quarter and to visualize, plan out, create, and organize the next quarter as specifically as you possibly can – at the very least a week by week roadmap.
For your business, you should be able to do the same and to really know exactly how you will achieve your goals for your next quarter. Nothing should be left up to chance or lacking clarity at this point – not the strategy and not the math.
Also, please don’t forget that which is most important – the people in your life – and specifically your significant other or spouse. It is worthwhile to sit down together and reflect on everything you have accomplished and experienced (including the positives and also the challenges that were addressed). Essentially, what did we learn about each other and our life last quarter.
And then for the fun part, what do we want to happen next quarter, anything more, less, different?
You see there is a lot of similarities to the “new year” – and this goes directly into my focus on a “year in a quarter” that I’ve talked with you about before. You will see why in just a moment.
The bottom line is this… the more often you course correct the more you will live the life you want, have the business you desire, and the more you will live to your potential.
Far too many people live one long year with some random breaks in between but otherwise it’s like the groundhog day concept by never taking any deliberate control over what they want.
A quarterly battle plan is the answer. Not only does it give you clarity and direction, it gives you confidence and peace of mind because if you visualize and map it out the more it will happen the way you want it.
Here’s the best part, schedule rewards for yourself. At the very least my “vacation a quarter” concept is the minimum of what I want for you. Use this to recharge and have something to look forward to, it’s quite possible it is what culminates your quarter in the first place.
So on this final day of March, don’t let this quarter end or the next one begin without doing them both justice.
And then, tomorrow, we turn the page to another unique day on the calendar (though aren’t they all) the Fool’s Day. While other people may get fooled, you can rest assured by following my advice today you’ll know exactly how you performed and where you are headed.
Next week, we’ll head back to planting and nurturing good seeds in your business.
In the meantime, if you really want to see how you are doing and you want to honor the integrity that I know you live with – then ceremonially conclude this quarter by taking a hard look at where you are at and turn the page with a future focused plan of what you want the next 90 days to be like for you.
Category : Blog
