Quarter 4 Goals | Your Playbook for Success

For many, at the beginning of the year, you may define business, professional and personal goals and have the best intentions; however, life happened, and you may not be on track to accomplish all you had originally set out to do at the beginning of the year. It is now time to refocus and end the year well.

What will you professionally focus on in Q4?

I discuss Q4 business priorities with many of my Executive Coaching clients. For those of you that do not have a clear plan for Q4, and to assist you in thinking about how you can approach this activity, I have outlined some areas below that I am working on with clients that may help you formulate your areas of focus for Q4. 

What are your key business areas of focus in Q4?  

When conducting a deep dive on my business quarterly, I focus on the following areas:

1. Client Base + Customer Acquisition
2. Financial + Revenue Generation
3. Operational + Execution
4. IT + Digital
5. Human Resources + Attracting & Retaining
6. Sales + Marketing
7. Administrative + Process
8. Process Mapping + Improvements

What are your professional and personal goals for Q4?

I set my annual professional and personal goals; however, I also conduct quarterly reviews, and where goals need to change, I pivot and update this list as the year progresses. If you have not done this in 2021 yet, it is time to look back at your original goals. Cross off what you have achieved to date, review what is still outstanding and analyze if those goals still stand as important or need to be completed in Q4. 

As we are in the year’s home stretch with only three months remaining in the calendar year, it is a great time to redefine focus areas for the remainder of the year. Are the goals you initially indicated that you would be working on this quarter still relevant? Due to your current circumstances, do they need to be updated, abandoned, or a new pivot introduced?

The following are eight areas that I think about during my quarterly review. You may include more or less and should base the categories on your situation. When I focus on areas of priority moving forward, I initially rank myself on each item below. We are only as strong as our weakest link, so that is why it is important to look at your whole life canvas and evaluate where you rate yourself, pivot and correct direction if necessary and be confident in the direction you decide to take. 

1. Career – where do I want to be in my position by December 31st, 2021
2. Financial – quarterly financial goals
3. Intellectual – technical or interpersonal professional development focus for the quarter
4. Parental – areas of focus with each child
5. Physical – body health and exercise goals
6. Psychological – attitudinal and emotional focus
7. Relationship – areas to focus on with significant other
8. Social – extended family, social and collegial relationship focus

Recognize what is and what is out of your focus of control.  ~ Jenny Reilly

Keep the momentum going:

• Once you start on your goal, connect with your motivators (your ‘why’ for working on the goal) and set a habit frequency to work on your goal daily.
• When possible, it is best to work on a goal on a specific day/s weekly, to enable consistency in pushing the goal forward.
• A final note on motivation, when you are working towards something, start with the easiest task first just to get started.
• Attaining a quick win will help your momentum. 

Focus on what will provide you with the biggest impact professionally and personally in Q4. Once you have reclarified your goals for Q4, break them down into manageable steps, map out your milestone dates, and notate them in your calendar. We need to understand that obstacles may arise in the quarter to slow down progress on our goals; however, if you proactively plan what and how you will complete each step, you will have a greater likelihood of not being derailed and attaining your goals on, or before schedule. 

Take decisive action on your goals. I think of quarters as sprint runs. I have the energy and focus to work on complex projects over three months. A quarter is long enough to make a real impact and short enough not to get bored with the actions required for completion. 

Objectives are not just achieved magically, and work has to be intentional, focused, and planned to make things happen. 

Define your Q4 focus

1. CLARIFY: When you detail your focus for Q4, it will help you clarify what action you need to take and provide you with the right mindset to move forward.
2. DESCRIBE each area of focus into a specific goal statement when you detail what needs to be done, how you will do it, and when it provides you with a framework to work within.
3. ACTION: Taking the first step on a goal is always a motivator to help you take the next. For each action item required, ensure you assign due dates for the activity, so you can map out what can be done by December 31st, 2021.
4. PRIORITIZE: Having defined goals for the quarter will enable you to prioritize your work to ensure you stay on track and will assist you from falling into a procrastination rabbit hole.
5. VISION: You can’t go anywhere unless you know where you are going – having your goals to focus on, daily reviewing your list and scheduling the next best step for each will help you formulate a path moving forward.

Your Q4 goals should be thoughtfully formulated. They should motivate action, have clearly defined tactics and an implementation timeline. 

1. What do you believe you can accomplish in Q4? 
2. What are your top five priorities over the next 90 days?
3. What metrics will you track?
4. How do you see the next three months rolling out in your schedule?
5. What is your intention, what steps are required, and when will you do it?

Q4 with your team

With each of your teammates at your next team meeting:

• Evaluate what worked well (in Q3 or over the last three quarters), what did not, and learnings/take-aways from both
• Determine what action will be continued
• Provide kudos to those who accomplished goals in the last quarter

If you encountered any wins, setbacks or failures, acknowledge them, learn from them, analyze what went wrong, what went right, and how you could have done things differently to improve the outcome. Reflection on January – September will enable you to facilitate greater progress in Q4. 

Achieve your Quarter 4 goals by answering some of these questions and focusing on your key professional and personal areas. If you need support with your strategy and priorities to hit your end of year targets, my executive coaching and business consulting support can help you, your team, and your business excel, please reach out to askme@jennyreilly.com or schedule a convenient time for a complimentary strategy session via Jenny Reilly Consulting Calendly.

Get your leadership strategies and tactics in my monthly newsletter, sign up here to subscribe.