Monthly business review template
An MBR template that looks at the month against the quarter: goals and pace, what changed, what we learned, and the two or three decisions that need the whole team.
A monthly business review steps back from the week. Are the quarter's goals on pace? What changed this month that we did not expect? What did we learn? What two or three decisions need everyone in the room? It is longer than a weekly review and happens less often, so it should be about direction, not detail.
When to use it
Once a month, in the first week, looking at the month just finished. For a leadership team, or any team that owns quarterly goals. Keep the weekly review for the week-to-week numbers.
The template
Monthly business review · [Month]Prepared by [name] · Pre-read sent [date]QUARTER GOALS: WHERE WE ARE| Goal | Start | Now | Target | Deadline | Pace so far | Pace needed || [Goal 1] | 41% | 50% | 60% | Sep 30 | 3 pts/month | 5 pts/month || [Goal 2] | ... |One line under each: on pace / behind / ahead, and why.WHAT CHANGED THIS MONTH- [Something that happened that the plan did not expect: a customer, a competitor, a hire, a problem]- [...]WHAT WE LEARNED- [One sentence each. Things we now know that we did not know last month.]WHAT WE STOP, START, OR CHANGE- Stop: [thing], because [reason]- Start: [thing], owner, date- Change: [goal or plan], from [X] to [Y], because [reason]DECISIONS FOR THIS MEETING1. [Question]. Options. Recommendation. (No more than three.)2.3.NEXT MONTH'S FOCUS- [One to three things]APPENDIX (not discussed unless asked)- Detailed numbers, team updates, finance summary
Agenda (60 minutes)
0:00 Goals and pace (15 min). For each goal: on pace or not, and why.0:15 What changed and what we learned (10 min).0:25 Decisions (25 min). One at a time. Decide, owner, date.0:50 Stop, start, change (5 min). Confirm the list.0:55 Read back (5 min). Every decision, owner, date.1:00 End.
Build the pre-read with the tool
A filled "goals" block
| Goal | Start | Now | Target | Deadline | Pace so far | Pace needed || Setup completion, week 1 | 41% | 50% | 60% | Sep 30 | 4.5 pts/mo | 5 pts/mo |Behind, slightly. The onboarding flow change shipped late (Aug 20).Two weeks of data since then show 2 pts. On pace if that holds.| Repeat support tickets | 22% | 19% | 12% | Sep 30 | 1.5 pts/mo | 7 pts/mo |Behind, badly. Root cause: the billing articles were not rewritten.Decision needed (item 1 below): reassign or reset the target.
Rules that make it work
- Pace, not just position. 50% sounds fine until you see you need 5 points a month and have been getting 3.
- "What changed" is about the world, not the team. New customer, lost customer, competitor move, hiring.
- No more than three decisions. If there are more, the weekly review is not working.
- Stop something every month. If the list only ever grows, nobody is choosing.
Where M-Tracker fits
Goal position and pace come from M-Tracker's objectives dashboard, where tasks are linked to key results and progress is recorded against them. Decisions become tasks with owners and dates. The appendix of team activity comes from the organisation and team views, with no survey.
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