Spring Is the Real Checkpoint — Not December

December gets treated as the checkpoint for the year in most businesses I deal with — the month everyone reviews what happened, sets intentions for January, and hopes next year goes better than this one did. By the time December arrives, though, there's almost no runway left to change anything about the current year. The review happens after the outcome's already locked in.

I think September is the more useful checkpoint. I just don't see many leaders treat it that way.

At this point in the year there's still real time to act on what a proper review turns up — four months is enough to close a capability gap, make a senior appointment, restructure a team, or finally have the development conversation that's been overdue since March. A December review just confirms what already happened. A September one can still change it.

The questions most valuable now go beyond “are we on track.” Does the leadership team, as it stands today, have the capacity to deliver what's planned for the final quarter — Christmas trading, the year-end push, whatever the commercial pressure looks like in your business? Is there a role that's been under-resourced all year that needs filling properly before the busiest period hits, instead of papered over again? Is there someone on the team ready for more responsibility than they currently have, who could take real pressure off the leadership group in the final stretch?

This year's added a layer of genuine economic uncertainty to that review. Business confidence has moved around more than usual through 2026, and the Reserve Bank's own commentary has pointed to a wait-and-see approach to hiring taking hold across parts of the economy as businesses manage that uncertainty. I understand the instinct. But waiting on spending and waiting on people decisions aren't the same thing, and mixing the two up is where a lot of businesses lose ground they don't get back before the year ends.

The RBA's next rate decision lands later this month, and there's real debate about which way it goes. Whatever the outcome, it won't change whether your leadership team can deliver the next four months. That's a question worth answering now, while there's still enough of the year left to act on the answer.