UNCAPPED: THE UNFINISHED CEO · PLANNING · OCTOBER 2026
THE SHORT ANSWER
Business owners use a quarterly planning workshop to step out of the day job for one day, review the last 90 days honestly, and choose the three to five moves that will grow the business next quarter. The growth comes from what they walk out with: a written 90-day plan, one owner for each goal, and a weekly number to track. Owners in Greenville, Spartanburg and across the Upstate do this every quarter at ActionCOACH South Carolina’s GrowthCLUB.
Most owners already know where they want the business to be in a year. What they lack is a regular moment to stop, look at the numbers and decide what matters most for the next 90 days. A quarterly planning workshop is that moment, four times a year.
What happens in a quarterly planning workshop
A good workshop follows the same six steps every quarter.
- Look back honestly. Compare revenue, gross margin, cash, leads and conversion rate against last quarter’s plan. Name what worked, what did not, and why.
- Reconnect to the annual target. Check whether the year is on track and work out what the next 90 days must deliver to stay on course.
- Find the one constraint. Growth usually stalls at a single narrow point: not enough leads, weak conversion, limited delivery capacity, a people gap or tight cash. Fix that first.
- Choose three to five goals. Each goal should attack the constraint or move the annual target. Everything else waits.
- Assign one owner and one weekly number per goal. Track what drives the result, such as quotes sent or first meetings booked, not only the revenue that shows up later.
- Map the first week. Owners leave knowing exactly what happens on Monday morning.
Four ways the workshop drives growth
- Focus. Ten priorities means none get finished. Three to five goals means the important work beats the urgent work.
- Perspective. Planning next to other owners, with a coach asking hard questions, exposes blind spots that are invisible from inside the business.
- Rhythm. An annual plan gets one chance to be right. A quarterly plan gets four chances a year to adjust to what the market is actually doing.
- Follow-through. The workshop sets the plan. The weekly review keeps it alive. We cover that side in How Quarterly Planning Keeps a Leadership Team Accountable.
What to bring to your next planning day
- Last quarter’s profit and loss statement and current cash position
- Sales numbers: leads, quotes or proposals, conversion rate and average sale
- Your annual revenue and profit target
- A list of every open project, so you can decide what to stop
- One honest answer to the question: what kept me busiest last quarter that did not grow the business?
Can you run one yourself?
Yes. Block a full day away from the office, use the six steps above and protect the agenda. Owners who run their own often find two things hard: staying out of the weeds long enough to think, and having someone push back when a goal is vague or a priority is a favorite rather than the right one. That is where a facilitator and a room of other owners help.
Quarterly planning in Greenville, Spartanburg and across South Carolina
ActionCOACH South Carolina runs GrowthCLUB, a planning day every 90 days, for owners in Greenville, Spartanburg and the rest of the Upstate in person, and for companies across South Carolina online. You step out of the business, build your plan alongside other owners, and leave with the next 90 days mapped. GrowthCLUB members also get the ABoS platform to track every goal, owner and weekly number between planning days.
See all programs · Business coaching in the Upstate · Book a free 30-minute strategy call
Frequently asked questions
What is a quarterly planning workshop?
A half-day or full-day session, held every 90 days, where an owner or leadership team reviews the last quarter, sets three to five goals for the next one, and assigns an owner and a weekly number to each goal.
How is quarterly planning different from an annual planning retreat?
An annual retreat sets the direction for the year. Quarterly planning turns that direction into 90-day goals and resets four times a year, so the plan keeps up with real results instead of going stale by spring.
Who should attend a quarterly planning workshop?
The owner at a minimum. Once a business has managers, the leadership team should attend too, because the people who own the goals should help set them.
Does quarterly planning work for a small business without a leadership team?
Yes. An owner-led business benefits even more, because the owner is usually the bottleneck. Planning alongside other owners gives the outside view that a leadership team would otherwise provide.
Where can I attend a quarterly planning workshop in Greenville or Spartanburg, SC?
ActionCOACH South Carolina runs GrowthCLUB quarterly planning days for Upstate owners in person and for owners across South Carolina online. Book a free strategy call to find the next date.
Until next time,
Paresh Patel
Managing Director, ActionCOACH South Carolina
Connect with me on LinkedIn
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