Does this time of year prompt you to evaluate where you are in terms of your business goals? Does it encourage you to do an objectives review.
You feel like you don’t know where the summer went! Do you get a back to school feeling this time of year?
There are four months left of the year. Time to get serious!
My birthday was this past weekend. My mom went into labour with me on a Labour Day. Headed to the hospital on the Monday. I was born at 7am the following morning.
In Ontario we start the school year on the day after Labour day.
These two events happening at the same time – my birthday and back to school – always makes me feel this time of year is the start of a new year.
Yet, I do a more realistic review of my goals rather than the resolution activity that happens at the start to the calendar year.
For my own business, I review and reset my Objectives and Key results (OKRs) 3 times a year. January, May, and September. I call the 4-month bucket a phase.
Thinking of OKRs in phases works for me for several reasons.
Looking at OKRs in phases separates it from quarterly metrics. It highlights the focus on it being a reset of my objectives rather than a performance review. I know, maybe a mind game. It works for me.
As well, objectives can take 4 months to really take shape. Funny enough that extra month can really make a difference in terms of getting a new initiative off to a good start. Not sandboxing things into quarters changes the perspective.
And importantly, since my OKR review is a deeper dive, it can take more time. It’s a more productive use of my time to do only 3 times a year, rather than four. And I give it the time it takes.
It truly becomes a steering activity.
What do you do this time of year?
Do you use that a back-to-school feeling to launch you forward?
