Last week, our 2025 Group Strategy participants gathered for their Quarter 3 Review and Reset, a rhythm we follow every 90 days.
As a group of peers, we sit together and reflect. We look back on the previous quarter, the goals set, the actions taken, the lessons learnt. We check progress against the 12-month plan and, more importantly, pause to recognise the growth that’s taken place along the way.
Without fail, it’s the same story every time. People are surprised, sometimes even a little shocked at how far they’ve come. They start by talking about what’s left to do, but end up marvelling at what they’ve already achieved. They see momentum, not just movement. Progress, not just busyness.
And every quarter, I’m reminded that a business’s strategic journey is a predictable one.
Success doesn’t arrive by accident, nor is it hidden in a perfect plan or a glossy strategy document. It shows up through a rhythm, a cadence, built on a handful of predictable disciplines.
Let’s unpack them.
1. Alignment: Everyone pulling in the same direction
Alignment is the starting point, the foundation for all strategic progress. It’s about ensuring everyone knows where the business is heading, why it matters, and how their role contributes to that journey.
When alignment is strong, conversations become easier, decisions become faster, and energy flows in a single direction. Without it, effort disperses, dilutes or dissolves. Everyone is busy, but few are moving forward together.
Alignment isn’t a one-time event. It’s built and reinforced every quarter when leaders and teams come together to reconnect with the vision and reset their focus for the next 90 days.
2. Clarity: Knowing what we are (and what we are not)
Clarity provides the confidence to say both yes and no with conviction. It sharpens purpose, defines priorities, and removes distractions.
It’s the difference between “we could do that” and “we will do this.” Between scattered effort and deliberate focus.
Clarity grows through conversation, through the act of reviewing, questioning, and re-articulating what matters most each quarter.
3. The Main Thing: Fewer, bigger, better
Every business has more ideas than it can execute. The art of strategy lies in narrowing the focus, committing to three to five meaningful priorities, and doing them exceptionally well.
Three actions delivered to completion will trump ten started projects every single time!
That discipline (of choosing the few that matter most) creates momentum. Teams experience real wins, see tangible progress, and build the confidence to tackle what’s next.
It’s not about doing everything. It’s about doing the main thing with intent.
4. Accountability: The multiplier effect
Accountability is where strategy meets performance. It’s the space where commitments are tested and traction is built.
When leaders and teams review their progress together, they hold themselves and each other to account. The result? Strategic productivity doesn’t just increase, it multiplies.
Each quarter, that shared accountability strengthens the culture. It creates ownership, resilience, and pride.
5. Discipline and Routine: The muscle behind momentum
Discipline and routine are the quiet powers that turn strategy into results. Together, they build consistency, the kind that transforms good intentions into great outcomes.
The quarterly Review and Reset provides that rhythm: a predictable, structured pause to reflect, realign, and reset. Over time, this habit becomes muscle memory. Leaders start to think strategically without needing to stop and plan; the team builds its “thinking muscle” and the organisation develops a strategic habit.
That’s when things really accelerate. Decision-making sharpens, collaboration deepens, and change feels manageable, even energising.
Your Next Chapter Begins Here
If you want 2026 to be your most aligned, focused, and productive year yet, start with a simple decision.
Join us at our Destination Postcard Workshop on 20 November 2025, where we’ll help you build a compelling vision for 2026 and set the first 90-day plan to make it happen.
Because your strategic journey is predictable, and when you know the rhythm, you can write your own success story.
👉 Join us on 20 November and start shaping your 2026 strategy today.
There is no fee to attend. All we ask is your commitment to show up and think boldly about the year ahead.