The EOQ Review: Turn 90 Days of Work into a 90-Minute Strategic Plan
A copy-paste template, prompts, and a 90-minute agenda to turn 90 days of work into a living strategy—powered by your AI co-worker.
You'll Get: A copy-paste AI prompt, a downloadable template, and a 90-minute run sheet.
Best For: 2–15 person Human-AI teams that value learning and agility.
Run Time: ~90 minutes once your daily logs exist.
TL;DR: This article provides the template, AI prompts, and step-by-step playbook for our End-of-Quarter (EOQ) review. It's a lightweight system designed to replace chaotic quarterly planning with a fast, data-driven, and AI-assisted process that produces a living strategy and a compounding knowledge base.
From Alignment Theater to Strategic Clarity
On Wednesday, we argued that great founders navigate with a compass, not a static map. But even the best navigator needs a reliable way to check their bearings. Without a robust system, quarterly planning can easily fall into the trap of the Quarterly Alignment Theater—a series of performative rituals that look productive but create significant Alignment Debt (We explored this problem in depth in our last post).
This article provides the antidote. It's the practical, how-to guide for the AI-Assisted End-of-Quarter (EOQ) Review—the lightweight, data-driven protocol we use to turn daily work into genuine strategic clarity.
This isn't just another template; it's a dynamic system. Here’s how it works—and how to run it in 90 minutes.
The EOX Lifecycle: A New Philosophy for Planning
The power of our entire EOX system comes from a simple idea: these documents are not static artifacts. They are a living system where each document transforms its function to meet the needs of its timeframe. We call this the EOX Lifecycle.
At the quarterly level, this lifecycle ensures the EOQ is never a dead document.
Planning Phase (Overlaps Quarters): The EOQ is a Strategic Directive. It’s a forward-looking document used to set the "flight plan" for the next 90 days.
Execution Phase (During the Quarter): The EOQ is a Living Scorecard. It becomes an inward-looking compass for the team, used to pressure-test every tactical decision.
Reflection Phase (After the Quarter): The EOQ is a Historical Log. It transforms into a permanent, backward-looking benchmark, capturing performance, decisions, and hard-won learnings.
This reflection phase is where the system's true power emerges. For example, our Q2 EOQ review surfaced a surprising insight. The AI's 'Divergence Test' revealed we spent 35% of our engineering time on unplanned bug fixes related to a new onboarding flow. We felt busy, but the data proved we were on a reactive treadmill.
This single, auto-generated chart forced a conversation that led us to dedicate our Q3 theme to "Make It Real, Make It Reliable"—a crucial strategic pivot we would have otherwise missed.
Part 2: How It Works: From Daily Logs to a 90-Minute Plan
What looks like "overhead" disappears because the AI compiles and synthesizes the quarter for you. Your only job is the high-leverage daily log—and the high-judgment edit.
The Workflow
Inputs: At the end of the quarter, provide your AI Co-Worker with your EOD/EOW logs and the blank EOQ template.
AI Synthesis: Run a single, comprehensive prompt. The AI parses the logs, computes the metrics, identifies key patterns, and populates the entire EOQ draft.
Human Refinement: Your role is elevated from compiler to strategic editor. You focus on interrogating the draft, adding context, and making the final command decisions.
Here is a condensed version of the prompt we use:
Copy-Paste AI Prompt:
"Act as my analytical partner. Parse all EOD and EOW logs using the provided `eoq_template_v1.1.md`, and generate a complete End-of-Quarter Review.
Your tasks:
1. Compute all flow metrics (throughput/week, predictability ratio, cycle time p50/p85) and place them in Part 1.1.
2. Analyze the logs to identify the largest divergence between planned and actual work, key decisions made, and top risks surfaced.
3. Populate all qualitative sections (0-4) based on the content of the logs.
4. In Part 4, propose a compelling Theme and 3-5 Strategic Recommendations for the next quarter, providing a clear rationale and confidence score for each.
5. Output the final, completed document in clean markdown."
The Path to Team-Scale: Roll-Up Synthesis
Our design for larger teams uses a process called "Roll-Up Synthesis." Individual team members first generate their own EOQ drafts with their AI partners. These are then fed to a lead's AI, which synthesizes them into a single, cohesive team-wide review, automatically generating outputs like:
Alignment Heatmap: A visual of planned vs. actual effort by theme, highlighting over/under-investment.
Conflict List: A ranked list of disagreements or blockers across drafts, suggesting owners for the next decision.
Theme Convergence Summary: Extracted phrases that recur across drafts, proposing 1–2 candidate themes.
Part 3: The Artifact: Your Downloadable EOQ Blueprint
This is the exact V1.1 template we use. Remember the Pragmatic Adoption Path—start lean and evolve into the full version.
The Core Metrics Box
The Quantitative Flow Analysis in Part 1.1 uses these precise metrics:
Throughput (Weekly): `# of completed items / week`. A measure of your team's rate of delivery.
Predictability Ratio: `(# of items completed / # of items committed) per week`. A measure of reliability. Target ≥0.8. Commitment Rule: "Committed" means items listed in the sprint/weekly plan before work starts; it excludes opportunistic pickups added mid-week.
Cycle Time (p50/p85): The median (p50) and 85th percentile (p85) of elapsed time from when work enters "In-Progress" to when it enters "Done." A measure of speed and consistency.
📄 Download the Full Markdown Template Here
# **Quarterly Knowledge Synthesis & Strategic Review Template (V1.1)**
**Objective:** To systematically analyze the quarter's performance, decisions, and collaborative patterns against our stated strategy and values. The primary outputs are a new, updated **Knowledge Base** of durable learnings and a set of clear, actionable **Strategic Recommendations** for the upcoming quarter.
**Required Inputs:**
* All EOD logs for the quarter.
* All EOW reports for the quarter.
* Current Task List / Kanban Board state (`.csv`).
* The `Strategic Roadmap & North Star` document for the quarter being reviewed.
* The `Mission, Vision, Values` (or Manifesto) document.
* The existing Knowledge Base (`KB.md`).
---
## **Part 0: External & Forward-Looking Context**
*(This section answers: "What is the environment we are operating in, and what lies ahead?")*
### **0.1. External Landscape Review**
* **Market & Competitive Shifts:** *[Note any significant changes, new players, or market trends observed this quarter.]*
* **Technology Shifts:** *[Note any new technologies (e.g., new AI models, platforms) that are relevant.]*
* **Key External Feedback:** *[Summarize the most critical feedback received from advisors, potential users, etc.]*
### **0.2. Forward-Looking Risk Assessment**
* **Biggest Risk to Next Quarter's Goals:** *[Identify and describe the #1 risk.]*
* **Single Point of Failure Analysis:** *[Identify our most critical vulnerability.]*
* **The "Elephant in the Room":** *[Articulate the difficult truth we need to confront.]*
---
## **Part 1: Performance & Flow Analysis**
*(This section answers: "What did we do, and how efficiently did we do it?")*
### **1.1. Quantitative Flow Analysis**
* Recalculate all core flow metrics using the latest data.
* **Average weekly throughput:**
* **Predictability ratio:**
* **Cycle-time p50 & p85:**
* **Key Finding:** *[Summarize the trend, e.g., "Velocity increased but predictability decreased, indicating larger, more complex tasks."]*
### **1.2. Strategic Alignment & Direction Analysis**
*(Based on the "13 Questions" framework)*
* **The Divergence Test:** Where was the biggest divergence between our *planned* work and our *actual* work? What does this tell us?
* **The North Star Pressure Test:** Which Guiding Pillars did we most neglect? Which did we serve most powerfully?
* **The "Why" Audit:** Were there any completed tasks that we cannot clearly connect back to a Quarterly Milestone?
### **1.3. Execution, Velocity & Blocker Analysis**
*(Based on the "13 Questions" framework)*
* **The "Stuck Task" Autopsy:** What was the common 'DNA' of tasks that got stuck 'In Progress' for more than two days?
* **The Blocker Root Cause Analysis:** What was the root cause of our single biggest blocker? (Technical Debt, Flawed Assumption, or External Dependency).
* **The Unexpected Velocity Question:** Which task was completed *surprisingly fast* and why? How can we replicate those conditions?
### **1.4. Collaborative OS & Process Health Analysis**
*(Based on the "13 Questions" framework)*
* **The Chore vs. Lever Test:** When did our EOD/EOW process feel like a *chore*, and when did it feel like a high-leverage *tool*? What was the difference?
* **The Friction Log:** Where did our tooling create the most **friction** vs. the most **flow**?
* **The "Heroic Effort" Audit:** Which EOD logs show the most signs of "heroic effort"? What systemic issue led to that day?
---
## **Part 2: Decision & Authenticity Review**
*(This section answers: "Were our choices good, and did we live our values?")*
### **2.1. Decision-Making Analysis**
* List the 3-5 most **Consequential Decisions** made during the quarter.
* Categorize each decision:
* **Strategic Direction & Roadmap**
* **Technical & Architectural**
* **Go-to-Market & Brand Narrative**
* **Prioritization & Resource Allocation**
* Analyze any major **Decision Reversals ("Paddling Back"):** What was the old decision, what was the new one, and what new evidence prompted the change?
* **Overall Assessment:** What was the quality of our decision-making this quarter?
### **2.2. Authenticity Check (Summary)**
* Summarize the quarter's alignment with our Core Values.
* **Most Authentic Value:** Which value did we live out most powerfully and consistently? Provide key evidence.
* **Value with Most Tension:** Which value had the biggest gap between our philosophy and our actions? What does this tension teach us?
* **Emergent Values & Principles:** Did our work reveal any new, unstated values or principles that should be formalized?
---
## **Part 3: Knowledge Base (KB) Generation**
*(This section answers: "What durable wisdom did we earn?")*
### **3.1. Generate New KB Entries**
Based on all the analysis in Parts 1 & 2, distill the most critical, durable learnings into new Knowledge Base entries using the standard format. Aim for 3-5 new high-impact entries.
```markdown
| ID | Name & Related Epic(s) | Description | Learning / Insight | Impact | Relevant Value(s) |
| :-- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| **L-XX** | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
```
### **3.2. Review Existing KB Entries**
* Review the existing Knowledge Base.
* Are any previous learnings now obsolete, or do they need to be refined based on this quarter's experiences?
---
## **Part 4: Synthesis & Forward-Looking Action**
*(This section answers: "So what? What do we do now?")*
### **4.1. The Story of the Quarter**
* Synthesize all findings into a concise, one-paragraph narrative. What was the "theme" or "story" of this quarter?
### **4.2. Strategic Recommendations for Next Quarter**
* Based on the updated Knowledge Base, what are the top 3-5 strategic recommendations for the *next* quarter? (e.g., "Prioritize platform stability," "Invest in GTM asset creation," "Dedicate an epic to paying down X technical debt").
### **4.3. Process Improvements**
* What specific, actionable changes should we make to our Collaborative OS for the next quarter (e.g., EOD template changes, new rituals, modifications to my Alex Metis profile)?
### **4.4. Proposed Theme for Next Quarter**
* Based on all of the above, propose a single, compelling theme for the upcoming quarter that addresses the key learnings and recommendations.
The Action Pack: Your Quarter-End Run Sheet
Quarter-End Checklist
✅ Inputs verified: EOD/EOW directories, previous EOQ, and Knowledge Base (`KB.md`) are up to date.
✅ Definitions set: Start/finish triggers for Cycle Time and the "committed" rule for Predictability are agreed upon for the quarter.
✅ Prompt ready: The AI prompt has the correct paths and dates filled in.
✅ Review focus defined: What are the key questions for this review? (e.g., test a new theme, solve a specific blocker, set capacity bounds).
Your 90-Minute EOQ Agenda
(15m) Prep: Verify inputs using the checklist above.
(Auto) AI Synthesis: Run the prompt; produce the draft EOQ.
(45m) Analysis & Interrogation: Scan the report for surprises. Use your AI to "double-click" on key findings (e.g., "Show me the EOWs where our predictability ratio fell below 0.7").
(30m) Decisions & Lock-In: Spar with your AI to lock in the next quarter's Theme, top 3-5 strategic bets, and resource boundaries.
Where This Protocol Excels (and Where It Fails)
Where This Protocol Excels
Ideal User: A small to mid-sized (2-15 people) agile team where each human is partnered with an AI Co-Worker. This symbiosis makes the rich data capture for logs feel effortless.
Ideal Culture: Teams that value learning over predictability and have a high degree of psychological safety.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
The "Bureaucratic Chore" Trap: Will fail in a culture that doesn't value reflection.
The "Garbage In, Garbage Out" Trap: The output quality is 100% dependent on the quality of your daily logs.
The "No Psychological Safety" Trap: Without trust, the most valuable sections become exercises in blame-shifting.
Installing Your New Strategic Rhythm
We've covered a system that turns a quarterly chore into a nearly free, high-leverage strategic asset. But adopting a comprehensive system can feel daunting.
The true first step isn't tackling the template, but installing the data engine that powers it: the daily EOD log habit. Once you have a quarter of consistent logs, the EOQ review becomes incredibly lightweight. Run the AI synthesis, then treat the output as the start of a structured conversation with your AI. Interrogate the past to architect the future.
The Future is Automated Alignment
This protocol is a powerful blueprint for ensuring alignment. But its real purpose is to point to a future where alignment is continuous and effortless. Imagine a system where a leader's strategic intent is automatically propagated to their team's AI Co-Workers, who then subtly guide and align their human partners' daily work. That is the future of true organizational flow we are building with Segmnts.
We’re building this system now. If you want to run your next EOQ with us, join the Pioneer Program.
The EOQ is just one component of our comprehensive EOX System. To ensure you get the next playbook, subscribe to 'Notes from the Mirror' below.