How to turn what Q1, Q2, and Q3 have taught you into smarter decisions for Q4—and a stronger 2027
We are more than 250 days into 2026.
That is more than 250 days of decisions, customers, revenue, missed opportunities, new opportunities, leadership moments, operational pressure, unexpected wins, and probably a few things that absolutely did not go according to plan.
And now, with Q4 right around the corner, many leaders are beginning to think about 2027.
What is our revenue goal?
Where do we want to grow?
What should we launch?
Who do we need to hire?
What needs to change?
Those are important questions. But I think there is another question we should ask first:
What has 2026 already taught us?
Because your 2027 strategy shouldn’t begin with what you want.
It should begin with what you know.
Your Business Has Been Giving You Evidence All Year
Think back to January.
You probably entered the year with a strategy, a set of goals, some assumptions about the market, and a pretty good idea of what you thought the business needed.
But nine months later, you know things you couldn’t have known then.
Your customers have told you something.
Your revenue has told you something.
Your team has told you something.
Your systems have told you something.
And your own calendar may have told you more than you wanted to know about how dependent the business still is on you.
Some ideas worked better than expected. Others didn’t produce what you thought they would. Certain people stepped up. Some roles may need to change. A process that worked beautifully at one level of the business may be struggling under greater volume or complexity.
None of that is just “what happened this year.”
It is evidence.
And before you build another strategic plan, set another revenue target, add another initiative, or invest in another solution, you need to understand what that evidence is telling you.
Q1, Q2, and Q3 Gave You the Inputs
There is a temptation as we approach a new year to immediately look forward.
But good strategy requires us to look backward before we look forward.
Not to dwell on what went wrong. Not to celebrate what went right for another three months. And definitely not to spend a leadership retreat reviewing 47 slides of KPIs everyone has already seen.
The purpose is to identify patterns.
And one of my favorite questions:
What do we know now that we didn’t know when we created the 2026 plan?
That question can change what happens next.
Because sometimes the problem isn’t that your strategy failed.
Sometimes you learned something.
And mature organizations know the difference.
Q4 Is Where You Turn Evidence Into Decisions
This is why I don’t see Q4 simply as the finish line for 2026.
Q1, Q2, and Q3 gave you the inputs.
Q4 is where you decide what to do with them.
What deserves more investment?
What needs to be strengthened?
What needs to be redesigned?
What needs a different owner?
What should you stop carrying into another year simply because it was part of the original plan?
And where has the business outgrown the infrastructure underneath it?
That last question matters.
Growth creates complexity.
More customers create complexity. More employees create complexity. More revenue creates complexity. More products, markets, technology, and opportunity create complexity.
The question is whether your capacity is growing with it.
If your 2027 plan calls for 20% more revenue, for example, the conversation cannot stop at how you are going to sell 20% more.
Because if the answer to the last question is yes, I would look at that plan again.
Don’t Carry Everything Into 2027
One of the most valuable things a leader can do before planning a new year is decide what doesn’t get to come.
We are very good at adding.
New goals. New hires. New software. New campaigns. New initiatives. New meetings. New priorities.
But growth also requires subtraction.
There may be a service that no longer makes sense.
A process that needs to be rebuilt.
A meeting nobody needs.
A responsibility sitting with the wrong person.
A client profile you have outgrown.
A revenue stream that looks good on paper but costs too much capacity to deliver.
Or even a goal that made perfect sense in January but doesn’t make sense anymore.
Changing your mind because you have better information isn’t a lack of discipline.
It is leadership.
The evidence should be allowed to change the plan.
Use Q4 to Build, Not Just Plan
Once you know what the evidence is telling you, don’t wait until January to act on it.
This is where Q4 becomes incredibly valuable.
If leadership capacity needs to be strengthened for 2027, start now.
If a process needs to be rebuilt, start now.
If responsibilities need to shift, start now.
If an offer needs to be tested, test it.
If you need better visibility into revenue, build it.
If something needs to stop, stop it.
If your organization needs greater capacity before it can carry the growth you are planning, begin building that capacity before the growth arrives.
I don’t want January 2 to be the first time the organization encounters the strategy for the year ahead.
By then, some of the work should already be underway.
Q4 is the bridge between what you’ve learned and what you’re building.
Before You Ask What You Want, Ask What You Know
There is absolutely a place in strategic planning for vision.
I believe in big ideas. I believe in ambitious goals. I believe leaders should be thinking about what becomes possible if things work.
But vision gets stronger when it is paired with evidence.
So before you sit down and ask:
What do we want to accomplish in 2027?
Spend some time with a different set of questions.
You have spent more than 250 days collecting the answers.
Read them.
Then use Q4 to make the decisions, strengthen the capacity, address the friction, and build what is missing.
So when 2027 arrives, you aren’t standing at the starting line holding a brand-new strategic plan. You’re already in motion.
With you in the climb,
Takisha Bromell
