A new start

Regular reviews are the key to executing plans

by Jak Carroll, Strategic Sport Solutions

I always like the new year period as a time for reflection and a time for a new start.

In fact, the word “January” originates from the Roman God Janus who had two faces: one with an eye on the future and the other with an eye on the past.

The new year period is a time when I throw out a lot of the rarely used possessions (mostly gadgets and clothes) accumulated over the past year, as well as clean up things like my computer desktop and my email inbox.

I get particularly excited when I plan for the year ahead because it is a blank slate filled with promise and opportunities, rather than a road well-travelled littered with obstacles.

This “new start” is always a time when I feel full of energy and optimism.

But wouldn’t it be great if we could make not one, but four new starts a year?

A quarterly review process is one way that organisations can do this.

Publicly traded companies are required to file quarterly reports and it would be a useful practice for sporting and not-for profit organisations to consider doing something similar each quarter.

The quarterly review would essentially be a check-up on progress towards the big-picture goals outlined in an organisation’s strategic plan.

It would be a chance to not only review the appropriateness of current goals and the progress made towards them, but also consider future challenges and key actions that need to be taken in the following quarter.

Such reviews would help keep the organisation focused on the big picture and ensure that Boards are well-informed on strategic issues.

For as Winston Churchill once said: “However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.”

The Tip Sheets section of this website contains a simple template that could be used for such quarterly reviews.

Does your organisation need some help with planning or governance? Jak Carroll has extensive experience in the sport and nonprofit sectors, including consulting to organisations and conducting training sessions. If you are interested in some quick advice or having Jak work with you on your next project, please click here