Power Questions for Quarterly Planning
My business model is going to change dramatically in 2025. Not because of the economy or artificial intelligence or the new administration or the increasingly large number that defines my chronological age. My perspective has changed, and I need a business model that supports it. The old one is a coffee-stained T-shirt that I adore, but it simply doesn’t fit anymore. If you’re in a similar place, consider this quarterly planning approach:
Q1 — January/February/March 2025
You have all your P&L totals from 2024, and a few months before taxes are due. But you don’t need precise year-end data to know where your revenue drivers are, where the skill gaps exist, and where the boat is leaking. The beginning of the new year is the right time to DO something different, and it doesn’t have to be a major overhaul. It just has to be something that puts your personal or professional development more in line with your #1 priority, whatever that is.
Power Question: When it comes to résumé writing or career coaching, what is your #1 priority for 2025?
“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” – Robert Collier
Q2 — April/May/June 2025
This is likely to be your busiest quarter of the year. Yet you’re still going to attend Thrive in Chicago and fill your head with a bunch of new personal and/or business development ideas. This is a good thing; you can’t sell from an empty wagon. But don’t let the buffet line distract you from focusing on that one aspect of your business or development that feeds the reason you pursued this line of work in the first place.
Power Question: What is the most impactful action you can take right now to align your efforts with your core purpose?
“Where your focus goes, your energy flows.” – Tony Robbins
Q3 — July/August/September 2025
Mental health check. What’s working? What’s not working? What parts of your life/work bring you the most joy? What parts of your life/work drain you the most? You can’t be so focused on making a living that you forget to make a life. Before you plan any next steps, conduct an honest assessment of where things stand at this precise moment in time.
Power Question: Are you living in a way that balances your personal well-being with your professional ambitions, and what adjustments can you make to enhance both?
“Balance is not something you find; it’s something you create.” – Jana Kingsford
Q4 — October/November/December 2025
As you move toward the end of 2025, you’ll have a pretty good sense of your success stories and your shortcomings. Before you enter final grades on your report card, challenge yourself to honor the grace and neutrality of positive and negative outcomes. Both are inevitable; change is optional. Ending the year in a state of gratitude is the fuel for sustaining a healthy and productive path moving forward.
Power Question: What lessons have you learned from your successes and setbacks this year, and how can you carry them forward with gratitude and purpose?
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill
