How important do you feel conducting quarterly reviews and evaluations are for your personal and professional growth? For small businesses and entrepreneurs, the right type of evaluation with revisions lays the foundation for future growth and success. It allows us to build on what is working and eliminate or revise what is not.
There was no major in entrepreneurism when I attended college and I didn’t fully realize that I was an entrepreneur until later in my career. I had thought of myself as an entertainer and educator. The process for quarterly reviews and evaluations started creeping in to my schedule as I started hiring part-time assistants and marketing my growing content. At this point in my life and career, those quarterly reviews are an essential part of my yearly schedule.
In this article that accompanies our podcast, we cover the benefits of quarterly reviews, goals and priorities, the quarterly review process, making adjustments and accountability. There is a free download to help you plan or review your unique system.
Benefits of Quarterly Reviews
A quarterly review of our businesses helps us realistically view what is working well and what needs revising or even eliminating. In our podcast interview, Greg, as a former professional athlete, brings up the illustration of a football game with four quarters and how it relates to our quarterly reviews.
Generally, the thing that's true about measuring quarters in football as opposed to measuring a whole game or a whole year is if you can figure out how to win each quarter, you'll end up winning the game. Some of the same principle applies to basketball, even though there are two halves instead of four quarters. For instance, how many shots did I get off in basketball? How many of those were quality shots? In football, how many plays did I run?
If you think about it from a football or basketball standpoint you don't even have to win all four quarters. You could win two quarters and still win the game. The same thing is true of our business year. If we can see trends throughout the yearly cycle, we can more accurately plan a yearly calendar for promotion, budget and continued work.
Goals and Priorities
Both long-term and short-term goals are important to review. Quarterly goals are short-term goals that should align with our long-term goals. All of our goals should be based on our mission and core values. See the chapters on purpose and core values in the book Stop Circling for help on this.
By breaking down larger objectives into manageable chunks, individuals can maintain motivation and track progress more effectively. For instance, in a professional context, if the long-term goal is to advance to a managerial position within a year, setting quarterly targets such as completing a leadership course, gaining specific skills, or achieving certain performance metrics can provide clear milestones to work towards. These short-term goals serve as stepping stones towards the ultimate objective, ensuring that efforts remain purposeful and directed.
Moreover, regularly and quickly reassessing and adjusting these short-term goals based on progress and changing circumstances ensures alignment with long-term goals, allowing for flexibility and adaptation along the way.
Quarterly Review Process
The review process typically begins with diligent data gathering, where performance metrics, financial reports, and other relevant data points are collected and organized. This data serves as the foundation for reflection, allowing us to analyze trends, successes, and challenges encountered during the quarter. Places to look for this are with ad evaluation, website analytics, sales, financial records and even team building. Ask, “What kind of feedback is the market and my competitors giving me?” Also, “What are my vendors selling and why? How?” Get free Quarterly Review Download!
Taking time to ask important questions enables us to recognize what worked well and what could be enhanced moving forward. Following reflection on feedback, thorough evaluation takes place and aligned with our goals. This evaluation involves assessing both data-driven information as well as overall experience of customers, assistants and even personal satisfaction.
By integrating data gathering, reflection, and evaluation into the quarterly review process, we gain valuable insights, make informed decisions, and continuously strive for growth and improvement. For my business, I evaluate the following as I focus on inbound marketing:
- Amazon marketing and book sales: Books on Amazon
- Music catalog, marketing and seasonal sales: Sheet Music-MP3s
- Licensing songs and instrumentals
- Online training marketing: Online training: Online Learning
- Podcast and mailing list expansion: Women at Halftime Podcast
Making Adjustments
For making adjustments, prioritize tasks and initiatives based overall goals. For example, if most of the marketing budget is spent in an area that is not making an impact, this is the time to revise this strategy or change course in putting those dollars toward another area. This strategy of making these adjustments quarterly is much better than waiting until the end of the year.
Additionally, leveraging feedback gathered during the review process is essential for refining strategies and addressing areas of improvement. Whether it's from customer surveys, employee evaluations, or performance metrics, incorporating feedback allows for targeted adjustments that address specific needs and challenges.
This shouldn’t be an overwhelming process. It can be done very simply by checking accounts and even using different AI programs for evaluation. I consistently look on appsumo for programs that will help me with automation and evaluation. By combining strategic prioritization with feedback-driven refinements, we can adapt swiftly to changing circumstances, capitalize on opportunities, and maintain momentum.
Communication and Accountability
Transparent communication entails openly sharing the outcomes of the review, including both successes and areas for improvement with relevant team members. Also, honesty with ourselves is important in this process as it will help us move forward with informed confidence. This transparency builds trust and ensures that everyone is informed about the organization's performance and goals.
Fostering a culture of accountability encourages team members to take ownership of their responsibilities and commitments. This is crucial for establishing clear expectations, setting measurable objectives, and holding individuals and teams accountable for their contributions to the organization's success.
This takes time but is a healthy process with facilitating healthy communication that can lead to innovative solutions and enhanced performance. By prioritizing transparent communication, accountability, and collaboration after a quarterly review evaluation, entrepreneurs and small businesses can strengthen their overall effectiveness and drive sustainable growth.
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Articles and Podcasts
- about Greg & Deb
GREG joins DEBORAH as a co-host on Women at Halftime Podcast once a month.
GREG JOHNSON is a former professional athlete, a triple A relief-pitcher with the Cleveland Indians (now Guardians) He also has years of experience in sales and as an R.I.A. (Registered Investment Advisor), owning his own business. He & Deb met on a blind date and have been married over 40 years.
The right type of evaluation with revisions lays the foundation for future growth and success.
deborah johnson
Thought Leader, Keynote Speaker, Author
If you are interested in growing and learning, check out our online courses here: Online Learning
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