The 90-Day Reset

April marks the start of Q2, and it's a natural checkpoint for reviewing progress against annual objectives. This week I've been helping clients assess their first-quarter delivery and recalibrate plans for the rest of the year. A pattern I see consistently: organisations that set ambitious annual targets but don't build in quarterly review and adjustment mechanisms end up either blindly pursuing outdated plans or abandoning them entirely. The best approach is a rolling quarterly planning cycle where the annual vision provides direction but the detailed execution plan is refreshed every 90 days based on what's actually happened.

I learnt this week that giving constructive feedback is a skill that needs constant practice. I had to deliver feedback to a team member that was critical but necessary. What made it effective was being specific about the behaviour, clear about the impact, and constructive about what good looks like. Vague feedback helps nobody — precision and care make the difference.

The clocks have changed and the lighter evenings are a welcome shift. I've been using the extra daylight to get outside more, and it's had a noticeable impact on energy levels and mood. After months of dark mornings and early evenings, the return of spring feels like a reset. There's a lesson there about the impact of environment on performance.

GitHub Copilot — AI-powered code assistance that's become genuinely useful for the development side of my work. Even as someone who primarily manages delivery rather than writing code daily, having an AI pair programmer available when I do need to work with code has increased both speed and confidence. It's particularly good for boilerplate and repetitive patterns.

This week's challenge: conduct a personal Q1 review. What were your goals for 2026? How have you progressed? What needs to change for Q2? Write it down — the act of writing crystallises thinking in ways that mental reflection alone doesn't achieve.