Q4: Offence or defence?

As we head deep into the 4th quarter of this financial year, are you playing offence or defence?

Yes, yes, I hear you, enough with the sports metaphors!

But this one is so simple.

We've finished the 3rd quarter, you now have business performance data for 3/4's of the financial year. The question is 'how are you approaching this quarter?'

Are you approaching it with a defensive mindset, and protecting what you have achieved so far? Or have you re-calibrated and decided to head into Q4 with an offensive mindset and achieve even more than you planned for? Keeping in mind, you probably planned your budgets for this quarter over a year ago!

What has happened in the past year?

Plenty!

Most markets have changed, more and more organisations are leaning into AI, we're heading into a federal election, not to mention what's going on internationally. The truth is the world is different. And maybe your organisation's objectives need to be too. 

Maybe you have the opportunity to achieve even more this quarter than you imagined a year ago? 

Whether you need to make changes, or keep to your original game plan (see what I did there?), whatever your choice, make it a deliberate one and communicate it well with your team.

I've already been invited to facilitate a 'performance review' for many organisations, where we are going through the performance results for Q1, Q2, and Q3, re-aligning Q4 and laying the plans for FY26 based on this data. By being on top of this data review and re-set, these leaders are ensuring they had into Q4 with a clear game plan and communicate their strategy clearly with their teams. I can't wait to hear their full year results, after a period of intense focus. 

Whatever your game plan is, make it deliberate and don't just roll into 30 June 2025 by accident.