Q4: Your 90-Day Sprint

We’re heading into Q4, and lately I’ve been spending a lot of time on the sidelines of cross-country races, cheering on my girls.

My favorite part is always the finish. These runners have already pushed themselves hard, and yet somehow, when they hit that final stretch, they find another gear.

It got me thinking about the final stretch of our year at work.

Q4 isn’t the time to panic about everything you haven’t accomplished yet. It isn’t the time to coast and just try to get through the next few months. And it definitely isn’t the time to try to cram a year’s worth of goals into three months.

It is, however, a great opportunity to revisit the goals you set, decide what still matters most, and make a focused push toward the finish line.

In this Two-Minute Tip, I share a few simple questions to help you refocus your priorities and make the most of the final 90 days.

Let’s finish strong.

• Read the video transcript

  We're heading into Q4, and before you just try to make it through to the end of the year, hear me out. I've been watching a lot of cross country races lately. Both of my girls are competing in cross country, and I have a favorite part of the race. That is the very end. When these runners have been out there just pushing it so hard the entire time, and yet when they're coming into that final stretch, somehow their tired legs, their tired bodies find another gear, and they kick it up, and they push hard through to the finish line.

  If I showed you videos from the race, you would hear this mom voice screaming, cheering them on

  Well, this fourth quarter of the year, that's your home stretch.

  You probably set some performance goals at the beginning of the year for yourself, for your team,

  but when you have 12 months to accomplish something, it doesn't feel very pressing.

  It's easy to think, "I have plenty of time."

  Well, now is your chance to revisit them and focus on a sprint for the last 90 days.

  I want you to look back and see what you put down as goals that you thought mattered for this year. And where are you at on each of them?

  If you need to change them, if some need to go away, they're no longer relevant, that's okay. Make adjustments.

  And then focus in for this final push. What most needs your attention in this last quarter of the year?

  Where could you make the most meaningful impact?

  What do you want to focus on in this sprint so you can cross that finish line strong? Now is the time to look at that, have a conversation with your manager about it and go into this fourth quarter feeling ready to finish strong.