Quarterly planning works best when it starts with facts, not guesses. The good news is the facts are already in your Align data.

Before your next planning session, take time to run a simple Start, Stop, Keep review. It helps your team see what actually moved the business forward and what simply kept everyone busy. When teams do this well, they avoid adding new priorities without clearing space first.

The best time to do this is one to two weeks before your quarterly session. That way your meeting becomes a decision session instead of a discovery session.

Here are three ways to start using the framework.

1. Create a formal feedback loop

Your team and your customers often see opportunities leadership doesn’t. A short survey can surface both issues and wins from the front lines. The Align Academy Pre-Planning Guide includes a simple template to help you collect that feedback before your leadership team meets.

2. Run a priority post-mortem

Look back at your Priorities from the last 90 days and ask each owner to review results and lessons learned. What created real progress (Start)? What stalled (Stop)? What should change next quarter (Keep)?

This reflection turns experience into insight and helps the team make smarter decisions for the next set of priorities.

3. Audit your meeting rhythm

As companies grow, meeting habits tend to grow with them. Over time, calendars fill up with recurring meetings that may no longer serve their original purpose. A quarterly planning cycle is a great time to step back and review them.

Use the Start, Stop, Keep framework to evaluate your meeting rhythm. Look at every recurring meeting on the calendar and ask three simple questions.

• Which meetings should you start because the team needs clearer communication or faster decisions?

• Which meetings should you stop because updates could be handled inside Align with a quick status change?

• Which meetings should you keep because they drive accountability, reinforce culture, or help the team stay aligned on priorities?

This short audit often frees up hours each week while making the meetings that remain more focused and productive.

Growth usually comes from a series of small, smart moves made consistently. When you decide what to stop doing, you create the space for better priorities to take hold.

If you’re preparing for your next planning session, review the Quarterly Pre-Planning Checklist to make sure your team is ready.

Additional Recommended Reading

Article: How to Lead an Effective Quarterly Planning Session
Podcast: The Growth Show (episodes on maintaining culture while scaling operations)

Happy Planning!

- The Align Team