The
STATE
of
THE WORK AHEAD
A PRESENTATION FOR THE LEADERSHIP TEAM
PREPARED BY THE PLANNING OFFICE NOVEMBER · MMXXV
AGENDA FORTY MINUTES
WHAT WE WILL COVER TODAY

The Programme

01 The Quarter In Review OVERVIEW · 8 MIN
02 A Reading Of The Data STUDY · 10 MIN
03 Our Working Method DIAGRAM · 6 MIN
04 Headline Indicators METRICS · 8 MIN
05 What Comes Next CLOSING · 8 MIN
SECTION OPENER EIGHT MINUTES
Q3
OVERVIEW FOUR THEMES
A READING OF THE PERIOD

The Quarter, In Review.

A short framing of what changed, what held steady, and where the team's attention is most needed in the weeks to come. The opener sets the tone for the data and decisions that follow.

THREE THEMES TWO DECISIONS ONE QUESTION
OVERVIEW · A READING OF THE PERIOD THREE THREADS

Three Threads
worth Following Closely.

01

A Wider Field Of Customers

Expansion into adjacent segments held through the period, with new accounts arriving from regions that previously sat at the margins of our practice.

02

Quieter, Steadier Operations

Internal systems were rebuilt around fewer moving parts. Incidents fell, and the time spent on routine work fell with them, freeing capacity for longer projects.

03

A Renewed Product Cadence

Two releases shipped on the schedule we set in spring, and the team closed the period with a clearer view of the autumn roadmap than it began with.

DATA STUDY · QUARTERLY MOVEMENT SIX QUARTERS

How the
numbers moved.

Two indicators tracked side by side across six quarters. The lighter bars show what was committed; the bone bars show what was delivered against it.

VOLUME · INDEXED TO ONE HUNDRED
120 90 60 30 0
52
44
61
57
70
60
77
72
90
84
106
98
Q2·24 Q3·24 Q4·24 Q1·25 Q2·25 Q3·25
COMMITTED
DELIVERED
DIAGRAM · THE WORKING METHOD FOUR STEPS
FROM QUESTION TO DECISION

A four-step
working method.

A short loop the team runs every fortnight. Each step has a single owner and produces one artefact that the next step depends on. The cadence is the most important part.

01

Frame The Question

Write down the decision we are making and who it affects. Keep the brief to a single page so the room can read it before the discussion.

LEAD2 DAYS
02

Gather The Evidence

Pull the numbers, talk to three customers, read the prior work. Note what is missing and where the picture is most uncertain.

ANALYST4 DAYS
03

Draft A Position

Write the recommendation in plain prose with two alternatives. Circulate it the day before the review so colleagues arrive with comments in hand.

LEAD3 DAYS
04

Decide And Record

Meet, decide, and write the decision into the log within a day. The log is the single record we return to when the question comes back.

GROUP1 DAY
HEADLINE INDICATORS · Q3 FOUR NUMBERS
FOUR NUMBERS WORTH KEEPING IN VIEW

By the
numbers.

A short panel of indicators the team reviews each month. Variances are read against the plan agreed in March, not against the prior year.

ACTIVE ACCOUNTS
2,418
+ 12.4%
Net new accounts added across the three operating regions during the quarter.
RETENTION RATE
94%
+ 3.1 PP
Trailing twelve-month retention across the renewing cohort of accounts.
CYCLE TIME
11d
− 2 DAYS
Median time from intake to first delivery, weighted by project volume.
MARGIN ON REVENUE
37%
+ 1.8 PP
Contribution margin after direct costs, before allocated overhead.
CLOSING NOTES END OF BRIEFING
THE WORK THAT FOLLOWS
QUESTIONS
and
DISCUSSION
NEXT REVIEW
Friday
12 December
OWNER
The Planning
Office
DISTRIBUTION
Internal
Leadership
PREPARED BY THE PLANNING OFFICE VOLUME SEVEN · ISSUE TWO