Session 6: Strategy and follow-through
What matters most this quarter?
Length: 45 to 60 minutes.
Format: short teach, real-work exercise, written
output.
This is the final session, and the easiest to do poorly. The trap is to write inspirational goals nobody can measure and call it strategy. The discipline is to make the measure pressure-testable and the “not doing” list real.
After this session, the program is over. The practice is just beginning. Plan the 30-day review before you leave the room.
Session at a glance
- Length: 45 to 60 minutes.
- You will need: the Quarterly Goal Sheet template open or printed for each leader; the Glossary open to Strategy; the output from Session 5 (the change being tested) visible.
- Participants leave with: one drafted Quarterly Goal Sheet per leader, plus a 30-day review date already on calendars.
What we will teach
- Strategy as choice — including what we will not focus on.
- Goals and measures.
- Weekly status (using the words from Session 3).
- Review rhythm — the program does not end here.
Timed agenda
| Time | Segment | Move |
|---|---|---|
| 0:00 – 0:05 | Open | State the question. Recap Session 5’s test result in one sentence. |
| 0:05 – 0:15 | The teach | Walk strategy-as-choice, the measure rule, the weekly status rhythm. |
| 0:15 – 0:35 | Solo write | Each leader drafts a Quarterly Goal Sheet alone. |
| 0:35 – 0:50 | Pair pressure-test | Pairs swap drafts and pressure-test the measure and the not doing list. |
| 0:50 – 0:58 | Lock the review rhythm | Schedule the 30-day review now, not later. |
| 0:58 – 1:00 | Close | One sentence per leader: what they will start doing on Monday. |
Opening words
“This is our last session as a group. Today every leader in this room leaves with one quarterly goal, written down, with a measure that holds up to pressure. The program does not end when this hour ends — it ends in 30 days, when we look at whether any of this actually changed our work.”
The teach (about 10 minutes)
- Strategy as choice. Strategy is choosing what matters and choosing what we will not focus on. A “strategy” with no tradeoff is a wish list.
- Goals and measures. Use the pattern from Session 2: We will improve [thing] so that [result]. We will know it worked when [measure]. If the measure can only be evaluated by you, it is too soft.
- Weekly status. Every owner gives one status per week using the four words from Session 3: green, yellow, red, blocked. One line. No epic updates.
- Review rhythm. A 30-day review (see Rollout, Step 4) is non-negotiable. Without it, the habits fade. Pick the date in this room.
The phrase to plant:
A strategy without tradeoffs is a wish list. A goal without a measure is a wish.
The exercise (about 35 minutes)
Part A — Solo write (20 min)
Each leader opens the Quarterly Goal Sheet and fills it in alone. Specifically:
- One quarterly goal in the outcome shape (not a task list).
- The measure — specific enough that an outsider could tell whether it was met.
- The what we will not focus on field — at least one concrete thing.
- The check-in dates (weekly status + a midpoint review).
This is silent work. Resist the urge to talk during it.
Part B — Pair pressure-test (15 min)
In pairs, swap goal sheets. For each one, the partner asks:
- Could a neutral observer tell whether this goal was met? If not, what would the simplest measurable signal be?
- Is the not doing list real, or is it everything-shaped? Push for something specific the leader is genuinely choosing to postpone.
- Are the check-in dates on real calendars, or just on the sheet?
Each leader edits their sheet based on the pressure-test before moving on.
Scenario for this session
Use this scenario as a pressure-test case for any leader who arrives with a draft goal that is too soft. Run the existing draft through the questions below as if it were the scenario.
A draft goal that needs pressure-testing
A leader arrives at the pair pressure-test with a draft goal that reads:
We will improve our cross-business operations by Q3.
The measure field reads: Leadership satisfaction.
The what we will not focus on field reads: (empty.)
The check-in dates field reads: Monthly.
Every part of this draft is too soft to be useful. Use it as a worked example for the partner pressure-test.
Pressure-test questions to apply
- The goal sentence. “Cross-business operations” could mean anything. What specific operation? In which businesses? Improved how? Push for a single concrete outcome.
- The measure. “Leadership satisfaction” is evaluable only by leadership. Could a frontline person tell whether this was met? Could someone outside our company tell? Push for a measure that names a visible signal — a metric that moves, a process that becomes faster, a problem that stops recurring.
- The not doing line. If everything is in scope, the goal is too big. Name at least one specific operation this goal is intentionally postponing. (“We are not trying to fix payroll consolidation this quarter” counts; “we are not doing anything else” does not.)
- The check-in cadence. “Monthly” means nothing if the dates are not on calendars. Push for specific dates in the field, not a frequency word.
Where this goes wrong
The most common failure: the pair settles for a rewritten goal that sounds better but is still soft on the measure. A useful test: read the rewritten goal to someone who was not in the room. Ask them what specific signal they would look for to know it was met. If they cannot answer in a sentence, the measure is still soft.
The second-most-common failure: the not doing line gets filled in with something the team was never going to do anyway (“we are not building a new payroll system this quarter” when nobody was going to). Push for something the team wanted to do but is choosing to postpone. That is the move that makes the goal sheet a real tool instead of a checkbox.
Closing words
Run a fast lap of the room.
“Before we close: each person, one sentence. What you will start doing on Monday. Not what you will think about. What you will do.”
Then schedule the 30-day review in the room. Put it on calendars before anyone leaves.
Common derailments and how to redirect
| If you hear or see… | Then say… |
|---|---|
| A goal that reads like a project list | “That is a task list. What is true at the end if all of those happen?” |
| A measure that requires the leader to grade themselves | “Could someone outside this team tell? If not, what is the visible signal?” |
| An empty “not doing” field | “If you are doing everything, the goal is too big. Name one thing you are choosing not to fight this quarter.” |
| “We’ll figure out the check-ins later” | “Calendars now. Otherwise it does not happen.” |
| Someone asks “is the program really over?” | “The sessions are. The practice is not. The 30-day review is the next session in disguise.” |
Output
One drafted Quarterly Goal Sheet per leader, with owner, measure, not doing list, and check-in dates. Plus the 30-day review date on every calendar in the room.
Facilitator notes
- After this final session, the program should not end. The next thirty days are where the habits either stick or fade. Plan a 30-day review using the questions in Rollout, Step 4.
- If a leader leaves the room with a wish-list goal, the 30-day review will catch it. Do not over-correct in this session at the cost of finishing on time.
- End on the Monday-promise lap. It is the cleanest, most concrete way to close the program.
The week before
- Confirm Session 5’s named owner brought what they observed from the process test. If the change worked, name that as the team’s first proof point.
- Re-read Rollout, Step 4 so you can quote the 30-day review questions without flipping pages.
The week after
- Send a one-line note to everyone in the room: thanks, the 30-day review is on [date], here are the goal sheets we drafted.
- The first weekly status update using the goal sheets happens this week.
- Read How to roll this out, Step 5 and start collecting the change requests you want to send back to whoever maintains this guide.
After the program ends
This is the last facilitator-led session in the program. The work from here is the leaders’ own:
- Weekly status using green / yellow / red / blocked.
- One escalation when something is at risk — do not save it.
- The 30-day review, using Rollout, Step 4.
- Send change requests back to HR so the guide gets better.
If the team uses the words from Sessions 1 through 6 in the next 30 days, the program worked. If not, the program is paperwork.