To secure the last quarter without dispersing your teams, a 90-day roadmap (September-December) must apply the principle of extreme focus. Concretely, the objective is to convert an overall vision into a measurable weekly battle plan.
Overall structure of a 90-day plan
For that, An effective roadmap is structured around the 1-3-12 model: 1 Priority Objective, 3 Tactical Pillars, 12 Weeks of Execution.
STRUCTURE DE LA FEUILLE DE ROUTE┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│ OBJECTIF UNIQUE ET MESURABLE (North Star) │└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ ┌────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────────┐ ▼ ▼ ▼┌───────────┐ ┌───────────┐ ┌───────────┐│ PILIER 1 │ │ PILIER 2 │ │ PILIER 3 ││ Commercial│ │ Trésorerie│ │ Livrables │└───────────┘ └───────────┘ └───────────┘ │ │ │ ▼ ▼ ▼(4 Sprints H1) (4 Sprints H2) (4 Sprints H3)
Mosquito & Elephant: cutting by phases
1. Month 1 (D1 to D30): the commercial offensive and conversion
First of all, the first month aims to lock in the opportunities already committed in order to secure turnover before the end-of-year slowdowns.
- Action 1: Audit the sales pipeline and categorize prospects into “Signable within 30 days”, “To be reactivated” and “Lost”.
- Action 2: Launch a targeted re-engagement campaign with lukewarm prospects who put their project on hold before the summer.
- Action 3: Propose an anticipation or renewal offer to historic customers to secure recurrences.
2. Month 2 (D31 to D60): execution and consolidation of cash
Afterwards, once the contracts are secured, the effort shifts towards the delivery of the projects and the effective collection of the sums due.
- Action 1: Accelerate delivery milestones to enable advance billing before December 15.
- Action 2: Trigger a strict audit of customer receivables and automate reminders to avoid cash flow delays during the current financial year.
- Action 3: Reduce non-essential variable expenses to maximize net margin for the quarter.
3. Month 3 (D61 to D90): finalization and preparation of N+1
Finally, the last month serves to close the financial year and lay the groundwork for the first quarter of the following year in order to avoid the January “air gap”.
- Action 1: Finalize customer deliverables and validate year-end revenues.
- Action 2: Conduct quick review interviews with teams and celebrate the achievement of key milestones.
- Action 3: Start prospecting for T1 of the following year in order to start January with a pipe already qualified.
Weekly monitoring dashboard
Furthermore, to prevent the roadmap from remaining a theoretical document, manage it using four simple indicators, revised every Monday morning:
| Indicator (KPI) | 90 day target | Measurement frequency | Responsible |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA new signed | Target amount (€) | Weekly | Commercial |
| Cash collected | Target balance (€) | Weekly | Management / Accounting |
| Progress of deliverables | % of steps validated | Weekly | Operations |
| New qualified leads | Number of leads | Weekly | Marketing / Prospecting |
The 3 golden rules of successful piloting
Firstly, the rule of SOC (Single Ownership Capacity): each key action must be assigned to a single named manager. If two people are responsible, no one is.
Then, the 15-minute set point, or Monday “stand-up”: bring the team together every Monday at the same time. Each answers three questions: What did I accomplish last week? What is my priority this week? What blockage is slowing me down?
Finally, the principle of strategic “No”: any project, idea or request that does not directly serve the main objective of the 90 days is postponed to the following quarter.
