As it's now officially the second half of the year, I want to share a simple, yet powerful activity that will set you up for a successful Q3 and beyond.
As I have been working with my private clients and those inside Propel to achieve their goals WITHOUT unnecessary complexity and overworking, we start each quarter with a specific reflection exercise.
(Want the exercise? Get your free copy by scrolling 'til the end!)
The results are often eye opening.
Let's rewind back to a recent session...
One of my clients realized that she generated as much revenue in the prior 90 days as she did in the prior year.
It would be easy to just look at her numbers in a vacuum and think she should keep doing what she was doing, because 4x-ing your results is incredible.
But you know what is just as important as the results?
The journey, and achieving the results in a sustainable and fulfilling way.
As she reflected on her quarter and we walked through 4 key questions, she realized that she:
- Worked more than she wanted
- Spent way more time in meetings than she wanted
- Invested time on things that didn’t generate ROI or fulfillment
While her financial results were incredible, HOW she achieved them needed to shift.
As we planned her next 90 days, we developed an approach that:
- Generated the same amount of revenue
- Focused on tasks that felt fulfilling
- Decreased her workload by 10 hours per week
In the end, not only did she love what she was doing more, she also increased her profitability.
Because as sexy as 4x revenue can sound, what really matters is avoiding the trap of growing top line revenue while actually decreasing your profits.
While It's important to review results you've achieved, you also need to consider HOW you achieved them.
To ensure we stay laser focused on what matters most, we need to: reflect on what’s working, what isn’t, and where to focus our precious time, money, and energy next when planning for a new quarter or year.
When looking back on the 1st half of the year, these are the 4 questions I ask my clients, and that I recommend you ask yourself as well:
- What are you most proud of and went really well?
- What lessons did you learn and didn’t go as well as expected?
- What do you want to continue or do more of?
- What do you want to eliminate (lean out) or do less of?
The questions may look simple, but when you answer them honestly, they can be surprisingly transformative.
If we had just looked at my clients amazing revenue numbers, we would have planned for her to keep doing what she was doing.
Instead, we dug deeper by asking the questions, and found new ways to simplify and lean out her schedule and focus areas…
By allowing space to review and reflect, she was able to shift her business in a direction that was more aligned with her goals for personal time and business strengths.
Here is a screenshot of the activity that we worked through together:
Often, the challenge is understanding what serves us, and what is no longer needed and can be let go.
The best way I have found to do this is through regular reflection and retrospectives.
I developed the 90 Day Retrospective technique to provide a simple framework to make decisions.
The framework is a powerful tool to help you clearly understand:
- what’s working and feels in alignment with your vision for your life & business
- what isn’t working and needs to shift or be eliminated
- and where to focus your precious time, money, and energy next when planning for a new quarter or year.
If your goal is to set yourself up for a successful next quarter, the 90 Day Retrospective technique is a great first step.
You will find the retrospective in the Lean Out Planner, and you can also download a free printable guide here.
Learning to recognize when it's time to let things go is so important to help your business continue to grow.
Do you incorporate regular reflection and retrospectives into your business routine?
If so, what have you let go in order to grow?
Leave a comment below.
by Crista Grasso
Crista Grasso is the go-to strategic planning expert for leading global businesses and online entrepreneurs when they want to scale. Known as the "Business Optimizer", Crista has the ability to quickly cut through noise and focus on optimizing the core things that will make the biggest impact to scale a business simply and sustainably. She specializes in helping businesses gain clarity on the most important things that will drive maximum value for their clients and maximum profits for their business. She is the creator of the Lean Out Method, 90 Day Lean Out Planner, and host of the Lean Out Your Business Podcast.
