Q3 Planning Review with Sarah & Marcus
IN 12 MIN
Modes Decision × Negotiation × Defend ×
Q3_Planning_Deck.pdf × Resource_Allocation.xlsx ×
Last time · Mar 28

You and Sarah reviewed the Q2 timeline. She pushed back hard on the April deadline — her team is understaffed and she felt the scope wasn't realistic. Marcus offered to shift resources but wanted data first. You committed to pulling engineering capacity numbers by end of week. The meeting ended with tentative agreement to revisit once you had the data. View debrief →

Open loops
  • April deadline still contested — no resolution from last meeting
  • Resource allocation between Sarah's team and platform team unresolved
  • Marcus asked for a risk assessment on the compressed timeline — not delivered yet
What you owe
  • Sarah Engineering capacity numbers — promised by Apr 4 overdue
  • Marcus Risk assessment on compressed timeline — no deadline set
What they owe you
  • Marcus Decision on contractor budget for Q3 — said he'd have it “by next week” (Mar 28)
  • Sarah Updated scope doc with her team's revised estimates
Likely dynamics

Budget will resurface — Marcus hasn't confirmed contractors. Sarah will ask about the capacity numbers you haven't delivered. Expect the April deadline to be the first 10 minutes. If you don't lead with an honest update on what you owe, it'll come up harder later.

Watch outs & Blindspots
  • You over-explain when Sarah pushes back — last 2 meetings this turned a 30-second point into a 3-minute monologue
  • You agreed to the Apr 4 deadline without checking with engineering first — pattern of committing before validating
  • Marcus tends to table decisions when he's uncertain — if you need a yes today, ask directly
Connection
S
Sarah — mentioned her daughter's piano recital was last weekend. She seemed stressed about it conflicting with the sprint deadline.
M
Marcus — just came back from paternity leave two weeks ago. First few meetings he mentioned being sleep-deprived.
My ask Haiku
Questions to raise Haiku
If pushed back Haiku