Our quarterly planning sessions often feel like we are starting from scratch because we do not prepare properly, resulting in a rushed list of Rocks that we did not fully vet. How do we establish a pre-quarterly prep rhythm that ensures we walk into the room ready to make decisions?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

A successful Quarterly Pulsing™ session is won or lost before the meeting even starts. If you are walking into the room unprepared, you will spend valuable planning hours debating minor details and scrambling to write Rocks rather than focusing on high-level strategy. You need a disciplined pre-quarterly preparation rhythm.

Two weeks before the session, assign homework to every member of the leadership team. Each leader must review their scorecard history, evaluate their progress on current Rocks, and gather feedback from their direct reports. They should also review the V/TO® to re-familiarize themselves with the three-year picture and one-year plan.

Most importantly, require each leader to draft their proposed Rocks for the upcoming quarter before the session. These should not be finalized, but they should represent their best thinking on the highest priority items for their department. By doing this individual thinking ahead of time, you eliminate the blank-page syndrome during the session. The team can immediately dive into debating, refining, and aligning the proposed Rocks, ensuring that you leave the meeting with a highly vetted, realistic plan for the next ninety days.