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After leaving Big Consulting way back when, I followed a BCG Principal to Carnival Corp, the big cruise conglomerate.

He was taking the helm of an corporate strategic projects team and needed analyst support.

(Excel and PowerPoint were my primary languages back then.)

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All-in-all it was interesting work supporting cross-brand strategy, and a fascinating entry point into the travel industry.

But every three months or so…

Actually, exactly every three months…

I’d have about a week of my time carved out to support our CFO’s FP&A team as they prepared for Carnival’s earnings call.

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I remember being floored each time thinking just how many people and how many collective hours we spent buttoning up financial addendums and creating back-pocket analyses in anticipation of questions from the Wall Street analysts.

It was good exposure to see that first-hand, and I now recognize the importance of that sort of diligence…

One fumbled answer on those calls could cause a major shift in stock price and investor confidence, among other things.

But still, I thought - can we please focus on moving the long-term needle rather than the quarterly earnings game?

Cute, huh? 🙃

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Well, fast forward a decade or so and here I am out on my own.

Running a solo business at the opposite end of the complexity spectrum.

And with no New York analysts banging on my door, I see the quarter-end approaching, and I still find myself compelled to go through a mental checklist:

• How does my revenue look for the year?
• How’s my pipeline?
• What do I need to send to my accountant?
• Am I ready to file my state quarterly return?
• How much did my newsletter grow?
• How many speaking appearances did I do?
• etc.

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What happened to my dream-state of just focusing on the long-term?

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Oh, right.

Just like for the ‘big guys’, the quarterly check-ins provide a tether.

A reality check.

Not a need for panic.

Just a set of rituals to keep me honest and on track toward my goals.

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I’m curious - with the end of Q2 next week, what are your quarterly checks and rituals?

Formal or informal.

Financial. Celebratory. Reflective. Creative. Anything.

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Hit 'reply' and let me know.

If I get a handful of responses, I’ll share out an aggregated list later this week.

(I'll share them all anonymously, so feel free to let loose!)

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💡

-Wes