As the first half of the year closes out, you may find that the goals you had for the year feel like a stretch — never a good feeling. On the other hand, you might feel like your goals for 2024 weren’t ambitious enough. Either way, now that the dust has settled from the year’s first half, it’s time to climb up the tree to see if you’re still on the right path. It’s time for a gut check: your midyear review of your goals, also known as Rocks in EOS®.
But here’s the thing — most businesses treat their midyear review as a casual check-in when it should be one of the most strategic meetings of the year. The difference between companies that crush their annual goals and those that wonder where the year went often comes down to how seriously they take this moment.
Table of Contents:
- Why Your Midyear Review Matters More Than You Think
- Pre-Meeting Preparation: Set Yourself Up for Success
- Types of Midyear Goal Review Meetings and How to Approach Them
- Common Midyear Review Mistakes to Avoid
- Making Your Midyear Review Actionable
- Tools to Support Your Midyear Review
Why Your Midyear Review Matters More Than You Think
Your midyear review is your opportunity to prevent December disappointment and ensure the second half of your year is more focused, productive, and profitable than the first.
The midyear review is where we separate the wishful thinking from the actual commitments. This meeting should force tough conversations, hard decisions, and clear commitments for the remainder of the year.
Pre-Meeting Preparation: Set Yourself Up for Success
Before you gather your team, make sure you have the data you need to make informed decisions. Nothing derails a strategic conversation faster than hunting for basic information mid-meeting.
Essential Data to Gather for your midyear review:
- Financial performance vs. targets (revenue, profit, cash flow)
- Year-to-date progress on all annual goals and Rocks
- Key metrics and scorecard trends
- Completion rates for Q1 and Q2 Rocks
- Customer satisfaction and retention data
- Employee engagement feedback and retention rates
- Market conditions and competitive landscape changes
Pro Tip: If you’re running on EOS®, your quarterly sessions should have generated most of this data already. If you’re scrambling to find this information, that’s a sign you need better systematic tracking going forward.
Types of Midyear Goal Review Meetings and How to Approach Them
It’s vital to do a midyear goal review meeting with your teams, direct reports, and managers. Reviewing the last 6 months worth of work and assessing what stays and what goes will yield one of the highest ROI’s of any meeting on your Q3 calendar. It does not have to be a very long meeting, but it does have to be very intentional.
Each meeting has the same goal: making sure you’re on track (or getting on track) for the second half of the year. However, the meetings will vary depending on who you’re checking in with.
Midyear Goal Review Meetings for Leadership Teams
Your leadership’s midyear goal review meeting shouldn’t be too different from your typical quarterly check-ins, but the midyear is a great time to really focus in because you have the advantage of a clean halfway mark for your yearly goals.
The Leadership Team Midyear Agenda
Duration: 3-4 hours minimum (consider a half-day offsite)
Attendees: Leadership team only
Goal: Strategic recalibration and second-half planning
Here’s how to structure your leadership agenda for your midyear review:
1. Vision & Traction Assessment (30 minutes)
Start with the fundamentals. Review your Vision/Traction Organizer (V/TO):
- Are our core values still accurately reflected in daily operations?
- Is our core focus still the right focus for the market we’re in?
- Does our 10-year target still inspire and guide us?
- Are we on track with our 3-year picture, or do we need to adjust?
2. Annual Goal Reality Check (45 minutes)
Be brutally honest about your progress:
- Are you 50% to your yearly goals, more or less?
- Which goals are definitely achievable, stretch goals, or completely unrealistic?
- What external factors have changed that affect goal feasibility?
- Should you shift your goalposts to be more ambitious or more realistic?
3. Quarterly Rock Analysis (30 minutes)
Examine your Rock completion patterns:
- What’s your Q1 and Q2 Rock completion rate? (Should be 80%+)
- Why didn’t certain Rocks get completed?
- Are you setting too many Rocks or Rocks that aren’t truly priorities?
- Do your Rocks clearly support your annual goals?
4. Issues & Problem-Solving Review (45 minutes)
Your Issues List reveals what’s really happening in your business:
- What recurring issues have emerged in the past six months?
- Are you solving problems at the right level?
- Which systemic issues need addressing in the second half?
- Is your team comfortable raising difficult issues?
5. People & Accountability Assessment (30 minutes)
Great businesses are built by great people in the right seats:
- Do we have the right people in the right seats for our second-half goals?
- Are there any personnel decisions we’ve been avoiding?
- Is accountability consistent across the organization?
- What development or changes are needed?
6. Financial Deep Dive (30 minutes)
Numbers don’t lie — let them guide your decisions:
- Revenue growth sustainability and cash flow patterns
- Profit margin trends and cost management effectiveness
- Investment needs for second-half growth initiatives
- Risk assessment and contingency planning
7. Second-Half Goal Setting (60 minutes)
Based on your review, set your course for the remainder of the year:
- Adjust, keep, or abandon current annual goals based on data
- Set Q3 and Q4 Rocks that directly support goal achievement
- Assign clear ownership and accountability measures
- Plan for potential obstacles and how you’ll overcome them
It’s important to set aside time for this meeting — you want at least two hours, but probably more. This is a chance to step out of the day-to-day and into the bigger picture. Not only that, these meetings should never feel rushed or like a chore; they are a chance to keep your leadership team connected with each other and the organization’s direction.
Reality Check Question: If you continue at your current pace for the next six months, will you achieve your annual goals? If not, what specifically needs to change?
Midyear Review Meetings for Managers and Direct Reports
Midyear is a good time to check with your direct reports on how they’re feeling about their progress. You may have done this more casually throughout the year already during your one-on-ones but it’s important to give the discussion some structure, to record the meeting, and to assign and track any actions or to-dos that come out of it.
The Individual Midyear Review Structure
Duration: 60-90 minutes
Goal: Personal goal assessment and second-half planning
1. Goal Performance Review (20 minutes)
To kick it off, review what was planned at the beginning of the year: What were the numbers or outcomes that were agreed upon to signal success on your yearly goals? You should both ask yourselves, “Are these still appropriate goals considering how the year has gone?” Adjusting goal targets is a huge key to keeping employee morale and motivation high.
Focus on:
- Specific metrics and outcomes achieved vs. planned
- Quality of work and goal completion, not just quantity
- External factors that may have impacted performance
- Personal and professional development progress
2. Obstacle and Support Assessment (15 minutes)
- What obstacles have prevented goal achievement?
- What support or resources are needed for the second half?
- Are there any skill gaps that need addressing?
- How can processes or systems be improved to support success?
3. Goal Adjustment and Setting (20 minutes)
You should also ask yourself “Do we need to scrap any of these Rocks right here and now?” Priorities change quickly and what was important or feasible in January may not be any longer. If a goal needs to be scrapped, mutually agree on new second half goals that take the reality of 2024’s second half expectations into consideration.
Once you’ve agreed upon second half numbers and outcomes, put them in writing and break them down so they’re more manageable. Plan out the next major steps (2-3) that will put you on the right track to hit that number or goal for the end of the year. Then, most importantly, set a regular recurring time to check in with the goal owner and get updates on their progress towards the goal or KPI.
4. Career Development Discussion (10 minutes)
- How does their role align with their career aspirations?
- What development opportunities should we pursue in the second half?
- Are they in the right seat for their skills and our needs?
- What’s their vision for growth within the organization?
5. Recognition and Future Planning (10 minutes)
Lastly, praise. Everyone has faced their own personal challenges and hardships that they overcome to try to bring their best self to work. Remember to use the meeting to also acknowledge and emphasize what’s been accomplished, both personally and professionally. Your team will thank you for it.
End with:
- Clear commitments for the second half
- Scheduled follow-up meetings and check-ins
- Documented action items with deadlines
- Mutual understanding of expectations and support needed
Common Midyear Review Mistakes to Avoid
Mistake #1: Being Too Optimistic
Don’t assume things will “pick up” in the second half without making specific changes. Hope is not a strategy.
Mistake #2: Overwhelming Your Team
Focus on the vital few changes that will make the biggest impact, not a laundry list of improvements.
Mistake #3: Ignoring People Issues
Personnel problems rarely solve themselves. Address them head-on during your midyear review.
Mistake #4: Failing to Make Real Decisions
A review without decisions is just an expensive meeting. Come prepared to make tough calls about people, priorities, and resource allocation.
Mistake #5: Not Following Through
The review is just the beginning. Success comes from disciplined execution of your second-half plan with regular check-ins and accountability.
Making Your Midyear Review Actionable
The best midyear reviews result in clear, actionable plans. Here’s how to ensure yours drives real results:
1. Document Everything
Don’t rely on memory. Document decisions, commitments, and action items with clear ownership and deadlines.
2. Create Accountability Rhythms
Plan monthly check-ins to ensure you stay on track. If you’re running on EOS®, integrate these commitments into your quarterly Rock setting and weekly Level 10 meetings.
3. Communicate Changes Clearly
If you adjust goals or priorities, make sure everyone understands what changed and why. Transparency builds trust and buy-in.
4. Plan for Obstacles
Identify potential roadblocks and have contingency plans ready. What will you do if market conditions change? If key people leave? If cash flow tightens?
5. Celebrate Progress
Don’t just focus on what’s not working. Acknowledge wins and progress to maintain momentum and morale.
Tools to Support Your Midyear Review
Running an effective midyear review requires good data and systematic tracking. If you’re using a business operating system like EOS®, software like Strety can make your review more efficient and data-driven by providing:
- Real-time visibility into Rock completion and goal progress
- Historical data on Issues and their resolution patterns
- Scorecard trends and metric tracking over time
- People Analyzer data to inform personnel decisions
- Meeting documentation to track decisions and accountability
- Integration with your daily tools to ensure follow-through
Have Meetings that Matter with Strety
Finally, don’t lose momentum after having these awesome, revitalizing meetings! Schedule regular leadership meetings and one-on-one meetings that keep your team connected and on track. Not only that, keep your work organized and centralized so there’s easy visibility into goals and progress, without the need for excessive meetings.
When the people in your organization speak the same language and are working in a culture of consistency and transparency, it’s that much easier for them to excel — which is excellent news for your bottom line.
Your midyear review should be one of the most important meetings of the year. It’s your opportunity to ensure the second half of your year is focused, strategic, and successful. Don’t treat it as just another check-in — treat it as a critical recalibration that separates good businesses from great ones.
We built Strety as a business operating system platform with all of the tools businesses need to run an effective business operating system (B.O.S.). Our built-in custom agendas and agenda templates will not only help you have meetings that matter, but also capture the action items that come out of your meetings, your goals and how you’re tracking against them. Strety is the best way to get on track and stay there.
The second half of your year starts now. Make it count.
Give Strety a try for free or book some time for a tour around our tools.
