This Q1, don’t just report progress against KPIs; review the relevance of your strategy.

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Organizations the world over are preparing to report their Q1 performance based on progress aginst their KPIs.

This is a long-standing, systematized, top-down management practice.

For the few purpose-driven and courageous organizations, each quarter also presents the opportunity to review the relevance of their strategies amidst rapidly shifting forces affecting economies, industries, organizations, functions, teams, and individuals alike.

They are willing to ask themselves whether it is still

Stephen Covey said, “If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster.” 

We could all learn from the approach startups and fast-moving consumer goods companies have taken over the past few years - the faster the global landscape shifts, the shorter the strategic plans they set. 

They are fully aware they can only be as relevant as their agility to sense disruption and evolve in response to it.

This is becoming an urgent and expensive lesson for organizations across all sectors - we cannot continue with business as usual quarterly reviews. 

Real-time shifts require real-time insights and action.

“You need to be uncomfortable and apprehensive: True strategy is about placing bets and making hard choices. The objective is not to eliminate risk but to increase the odds of success.” Harvard Business Review.

Rather than review progress against a redundant KPI, this approach allows organizations to make the necessary strategic adjustments to continue to generate value and maintain competitiveness, if only for the next quarter.

Ultimately, it is the cumulative value they capture from this iterative strategic alignment process each quarter that becomes a true indicator of their overall performance over time.