Goal Core · Short term goals · Module
Quarterly objectives
A small number of specific, demanding commitments set for a quarter and reviewed at its end — few enough that they can all be named from memory.
The idea
How it works
A quarter is long enough for something real to happen and short enough that a mistake is still affordable. That is the whole argument for the interval.
The constraint that makes it work is number. Three to five objectives can be held in mind, argued about, and traded off against each other. Twelve cannot, and a list of twelve is in practice a list of none.
Working with it
In practice
- 01
Start from the goal above
Each objective should be traceable to a longer-range goal. One that is not is either urgent operational work or a distraction.
- 02
Write them so they can be failed
An objective nobody could miss tells you nothing at quarter end. Difficulty is what makes the result informative.
- 03
Cut to five at most
The cutting is the work. What survives is the actual priority, whatever the earlier list claimed.
- 04
Close the quarter properly
Score them, say why, and write down what was learned before setting the next set.
One level in
The components of quarterly objectives
A component is something that exists afterwards which did not exist before — a deliverable or a mechanism, not an intention.
Objectives carried unchanged into a third quarter are usually not objectives but ongoing responsibilities, and belong somewhere else.
The other modules in short term goals
Milestones
Dated checkpoints inside longer work, each one a moment where progress becomes visible and a decision to continue is genuinely available.
LearnQuick wins
Results chosen deliberately because they will be seen — unambiguous, attributable to the effort, and early. Selecting them is a communication decision as much as an operational one.
LearnLeading indicators
Measures that move before the outcome does, and therefore give you time. Distinguishing them from lagging measures is what makes a short review useful rather than merely early.
Learn