Can You Be On the Lake and "On Track" at the Same Time?
The kids are home. The pool is open. Somebody’s already asking what’s for lunch for the fourth time today.
Summer is glorious and summer is loud, and somewhere underneath the sunscreen and the snack negotiations, a quarter is slipping past while you’re not looking.
You want to be present for this. The lake days, the kids who get one summer older every year. You also don’t want to surface in the fall to find the quarter got away from you. Can you have both?
The wrinkle nobody smooths in summer
The winning-est coach in men's Division 1 basketball, Coach Wooden, taught his players to smooth the sock before the blister formed. The summer version is the quarter you didn’t look at until it was over.
It’s the easiest season to coast. The team’s on vacation rotation, you’re half-out yourself, and “we’ll regroup in the fall” starts to sound reasonable. Then Q4 (October 1) arrives and the rocks you set in July are a blur. The fundamental is small: take one hour, before the quarter turns, to actually look.
When we were building our remodel company
Early on, summer was when I told myself I’d earned the right to stop watching the numbers. Kids were home. Family was visiting. Things never calmed down, and every fall I’d open the books with a small flinch, bracing for what I’d ignored.
What I learned, slowly, is that being present for summer and staying on top of the business can co-exist. The thing that let me close the laptop with peace, was knowing I’d looked. A clear-eyed hour beat a vague summer-long of unnamed stress every time.
The quarter check-in, before you check out
A few weeks before the quarter ends, sit down with your V/TO and ask the honest questions. How are my rocks tracking, on, off, or quietly abandoned? Am I on pace for my one-year goals? What are the priorities I think matter most for next quarter?
Then the part most leaders skip: hold those potential Rocks and priorities that you identified loosely. You come to quarterly planning with a draft, not a verdict. Your team and the people doing the work will raise things you haven’t seen. The best priorities get set with them, not handed down. Show up prepared and stay open.
AI - A prompt to think it through
To talk it out before you meet with your team, paste this into the AI of your choice. Keep anything sensitive out of it.
Act as an EOS-savvy strategic thinking leader. I’m reviewing my quarter before the next one starts. I’ll share where my rocks landed, my one-year goals, and my rough priorities for next quarter. Ask me one question at a time to pressure-test whether I’m on track and whether my draft priorities are the right few. Help me find the two or three that matter most, and flag where I might be too attached to an idea my team should weigh in on.
Worksheet
As a subscriber you're also welcome to use the worksheet. If you like putting pen to paper (or text to PDF) this worksheet will also support your quarterly reflection. To get it, email [email protected] and we'll send it to you.
From reflection to a relaxation
Here’s the trade I want for you this summer. One focused hour, so you can close the laptop and actually be at the lake, in the mountains, on the beach or at home. Presence and progress were never opposites.
The answer is in the tools.
Wishing you a peaceful and joyful balance of your summer.
Lisa
