Purpose

Set 3-5 strategic goals for the quarter. Runs at the start of each quarter (or mid-quarter if starting fresh).

Usage

/quarter-plan — Plan current or upcoming quarter
/quarter-plan next — Plan next quarter (run in last week of current quarter)

Step 0: Check if Quarterly Planning is Enabled

Read System/user-profile.yaml:

Check quarterly_planning.enabled value
If false or missing:
- Display: "Quarterly planning is currently disabled. Would you like to enable it?"
- If yes → Run onboarding questions (Step 0.5), then continue
- If no → End command
If true: Continue to Step 1

Step 0.5: Quarterly Planning Onboarding (First Time)

"Quarterly planning helps you set 3-5 big goals every 3 months. Your weekly plans will then tie back to these goals.

When does your Q1 start?

January (calendar year)

February

April (common fiscal year)

Other month

I don't want quarterly planning"

Capture response:

If 1-4: Save month to config
If 5: Set enabled: false and end

Calculate quarter dates:

If Q1 starts in January:
  Q1: Jan-Mar, Q2: Apr-Jun, Q3: Jul-Sep, Q4: Oct-Dec
  
If Q1 starts in February:
  Q1: Feb-Apr, Q2: May-Jul, Q3: Aug-Oct, Q4: Nov-Jan
  
If Q1 starts in April:
  Q1: Apr-Jun, Q2: Jul-Sep, Q3: Oct-Dec, Q4: Jan-Mar

Save to System/user-profile.yaml:

quarterly_planning:
  enabled: true
  q1_start_month: 1  # 1=Jan, 2=Feb, 4=Apr, etc
  prompted: true

Step 1: Determine Target Quarter

Calculate current quarter based on q1_start_month:

Example: If q1_start_month=1 and today is Jan 28:
- Current quarter: Q1 2026
- Quarter dates: 2026-01-01 to 2026-03-31

If no parameter or "current":

Plan current quarter

If parameter is "next":

Plan next quarter (for end-of-quarter planning)

Store:

target_quarter: "Q1 2026"
quarter_start: "2026-01-01"
quarter_end: "2026-03-31"

Step 2: Context Gathering

Check for Last Quarter's Review

Look for 07-Archives/Reviews/[last-quarter].md:

If exists, extract:

Completed goals
Incomplete goals
"Next Quarter Suggestions" section
Key learnings

If missing:

Note: No previous quarter review found
This is likely first time using quarterly planning

Check Current Quarter Goals (if mid-quarter update)

If 01-Quarter_Goals/Quarter_Goals.md exists with current quarter:

Read current goals
Note progress made
Ask if updating or replacing

Check Pillars

Read System/pillars.yaml:

Strategic pillars
Check recent activity across pillars
Identify any neglected areas

Scan Recent Projects

Look at 04-Projects/ for active initiatives:

What's in flight?
What needs to land this quarter?
Any new initiatives starting?

Check Career Goals (if Career system enabled)

Look for 05-Areas/Career/Growth_Goals.md:

If exists, extract:

Long-term vision (1-3 years)
Target role/level
Development focus areas (skills to develop)
Impact goals
Career milestones

If missing:

Skip this section (career system not initialized)

Step 3: Interactive Goal Setting

Review Last Quarter (if available)

"Last quarter (Q4 2025) goals were:

[Goal 1] — ✅ Completed

[Goal 2] — 🔄 In progress (80%)

[Goal 3] — ❌ Didn't finish

Anything to carry forward into this quarter?"

Wait for user input.

Present Context

"Looking at [Quarter] [Year] ([Start Date] - [End Date]):

Active projects:

[Project 1]

[Project 2]

Pillars to consider:

[Pillar 1]: [Recent activity level]

[Pillar 2]: [Recent activity level]

[Pillar 3]: [Recent activity level]

If career goals exist, add:

Your career direction (1-3 years):

Target role: [Role/Level from Growth_Goals.md]

Skills to develop: [Key development areas]

Impact you want: [Impact goals]

Keep these in mind as we plan this quarter — your quarterly goals should advance your career goals.

Then continue:

Let's work backwards from impact:

Imagine it's [Quarter End Date] and you're looking back on this quarter feeling incredibly happy with what you accomplished.

What outcomes would accelerate your career and impact in your current role?

What would you be proud to have delivered?

What would matter most to the people you serve?

What are the 3-5 most important outcomes you want this quarter?"

Guide Goal Definition

For each goal (aim for 3-5):

"Goal [N]: What's the outcome?"

Then follow up:

"Which pillar does this support?"
"How will you measure success?"
"What does 'done' look like?"
"Any key milestones along the way?"

If career goals exist, also ask:

"Does this goal help develop any skills you're targeting? (e.g., [skill1], [skill2] from your career plan)"
"Does this advance your path to [target role]? How?"

Note responses for Phase 2 metadata.

Pillar Balance Check

After goals defined:

"Here's how your Q1 goals map to pillars:

[Pillar 1]: [X] goals

[Pillar 2]: [Y] goals

[Pillar 3]: [Z] goals

Does this feel like the right balance?"

Allow adjustment.

Step 4: Archive Old Quarter Goals

If 01-Quarter_Goals/Quarter_Goals.md exists:

Determine the quarter it represents
Move to 07-Archives/Reviews/[old-quarter]-goals.md
Note: This preserves what was PLANNED vs what ACTUALLY happened (from review)

Step 5: Generate Quarter Goals

Use the create_quarterly_goal MCP tool for each goal collected in Step 3.

For each goal, call the tool with:

title: Goal title
pillar: Pillar ID
success_criteria: What done looks like
milestones: Array of milestone objects
quarter: Quarter string (e.g., "Q1 2026")

If career goals exist, also include:

career_goal_id: Which career goal this advances (from Growth_Goals.md)
skills_developed: Array of skills this goal develops (e.g., ["System Design", "Technical Leadership"])
impact_level: "high" (promotion evidence), "medium" (solid contribution), or "low" (tactical)

The MCP tool will generate markdown like:

---
quarter: Q1 2026
start_date: 2026-01-01
end_date: 2026-03-31
created: [timestamp]
---

# Q1 2026 Goals

**Jan 1 - Mar 31, 2026**

---

## 🎯 Quarter Objectives

### 1. [Goal 1 Title] — **[Pillar]**

**What success looks like:**
[Specific, measurable outcome]

**Key milestones:**
- [ ] [Milestone 1] — By [rough timing]
- [ ] [Milestone 2] — By [rough timing]

**Progress:** 0% 🔴

---

### 2. [Goal 2 Title] — **[Pillar]**

**What success looks like:**
[Specific, measurable outcome]

**Key milestones:**
- [ ] [Milestone 1]
- [ ] [Milestone 2]

**Progress:** 0% 🔴

---

### 3. [Goal 3 Title] — **[Pillar]**

**What success looks like:**
[Specific, measurable outcome]

**Key milestones:**
- [ ] [Milestone 1]
- [ ] [Milestone 2]

**Progress:** 0% 🔴

---

[Repeat for goals 4-5 if applicable]

---

## 📊 Pillar Alignment

| Pillar | Goals | Balance |
|--------|-------|---------|
| [Pillar 1] | [Goal numbers] | [# of goals] |
| [Pillar 2] | [Goal numbers] | [# of goals] |
| [Pillar 3] | [Goal numbers] | [# of goals] |

---

## 🔄 Carried From Last Quarter

[Items from Q4 2025 that are continuing]

- [ ] [Item] — [Context]

---

## 📝 Notes & Context

[Any additional context about the quarter]

---

## 🏁 End of Quarter

*Fill this in when running `/quarter-review`*

### Completed
- 

### Incomplete
- 

### Key Wins
- 

### Learnings
- 

---

*Generated: [timestamp]*
*Command: /quarter-plan*

Step 6: Summary & Next Steps

Display summary:

"Q1 2026 goals set and saved to 01-Quarter_Goals/Quarter_Goals.md

Your focus this quarter:

[Goal 1]

[Goal 2]

[Goal 3]

Pillar balance: [Note any imbalances]

Next steps:

These goals will appear in your weekly planning

Update progress notes as you make progress

Run /quarter-review at end of quarter (Mar 31)

Ready to plan this week? Run /week-plan"

Integration Points

Called by /week-plan:

Weekly planning reads from 01-Quarter_Goals/Quarter_Goals.md
Prompts user to connect weekly priorities to quarterly goals

Updated manually:

User can update progress percentages
Check off milestones as they complete

Reviewed by /quarter-review:

End of quarter review references these goals
Compares plan vs actual accomplishment

Graceful Degradation

First Quarter

No previous quarter to reference
Start fresh with current context

Mid-Quarter Start

Can run anytime
Adjust goals for remaining time in quarter
Note when goals were set

Disabled State

Command prompts to enable
Can enable at any time
Doesn't affect weekly/daily planning

Track Usage (Silent)

Update System/usage_log.md to mark quarterly planning as used.

Analytics (Silent):

Call track_event with event_name quarter_plan_completed and properties:

goals_count: number of goals set
pillars_covered: number of pillars with goals

This only fires if the user has opted into analytics. No action needed if it returns "analytics_disabled".

quarter-plan