Your Q1 Department Review Template

Good morning, Marketing & Growth Leaders!

Danny here with this week’s newsletter

We have a two-parter today,
(i) a Q1 Review and overview to help you break down Q1 performance &
(ii) a second installment in the Marketing Community interview series with an interview with Joe Glover.

Q1 Strategic Review, Executive Template & Owning Your Department’s Future  

As it is the end of Q1, and it can be a daunting place to update the business on what’s happened and potentially highlight performance and cross-functional issues, I created a quick template you could use or areas to incorporate into your update to the company.

» If you would like a Google Docs version of this template, happily request here.

A Quick Reminder To Remember To:

• Always use an exec summary

• Be brutally honest about performance and any gaps

  • Call out what worked 

  • Call out the challenges, but include your action plan for the department and business — always focus on solutions over problems (act as the leader and own the solutions)

• Identify and call out leading indicators in performance (if there are themes occurring or long-term trends, call these out) 

• Include confidence levels  - these are critical to highlight prioritisation and alignment across management and leadership teams (specifically across the C-Suite)  

• Be transparent in your asks 

• Call out cross-functional dependencies, any cross-functional requests shouldn’t be a surprise and should be called out clearly and concisely 

• Any tradeoffs you have had to battle with, and going to have to battle with 

• Call out short-term performance and integrate into the longer-term plan 

• Call out the biggest concerns and how you are going to tackle these (don’t ask for permission)

• If you are a deck culture, create a few slide deck/presentation; if you are docs or wiki culture, flip this into a doc - remember this is likely to be forward and shared outside of your exec team so consider language, tone and calling out individuals.

Your Q1 Update Template

» Link to Google Docs Template

Section 1: Exec Update & Summary

• Department & date 

• Executive Summary of Q1  — The 3-5 sentences of the department’s impact and core performance 

  • Always include 

    • Financial performance 

    • Any variations from goals or targets 

Section 2: Update On Goals & Key Objectives 

• KPIs (Or OKRs / KR’s) 

• Q1 Target 

• Q1 Actual 

  • Any Variance 

• Trends  

• 3-5 Lessons  

• Include the most important metrics - CAC, LTV, etc 

Section 3: Market Insights 

Including - snapshots of 

• Voice of the customers 

• Competitive landscape 

• Economic Impact 

Section 4: Team Health 

• Headcount 

• Hiring and Attrition 

• E-NPS or other internal engagement metric(s) 

Section 5: Q2 Outlook 

• Plan overview

• Key Initiatives & Metrics 

  • Break down initiatives simply, include milestones, with the expected impact and delivery date 

• Cross-functional dependencies 

• Executive Support (never be nervous of including this as they will be expecting it, and the likelihood is you have discussed throughout the planning phase, sign off and Q1

• Any risks 

• Contingency Plans

• Appendix to research, data etc

Marketing Community Spotlight Interview

Joe Glover - The Marketing Meetup Interview

This week I also interviewed Joe, one of the co-founders of the highly respected Marketing Network The Marketing Meetup. We discuss:

• The power of community and human connection

• The moments of serendipity

• The influence of peer to peer learning

• Leading the future of communities and networks

Q: Why did you start the community?

About ten years ago, I attended networking events and felt they were too transactional—focused more on job titles and budgets than genuine human connection. Wanting something warmer and kinder, I started The Marketing Meetup nine years ago. The first event was simple: a logo made in Paint, a buffet sponsored by Redgate Software, and about 50 friendly faces turning up.

Early on, we adopted the phrase "positively lovely" to capture our ethos, and it resonated deeply with people. From this start, the community grew organically, with others stepping forward to launch events in new locations, driven by the same desire for kindness, learning, and authentic connection.

At its core, The Marketing Meetup has always been about creating the kind of community we wished existed—a welcoming space for marketers to genuinely connect.

Q: Can you explain what the group is and who it's for?

The Marketing Meetup is a community built around kindness, learning, and genuine connection for marketers. It's a welcoming space for people who want to move beyond transactional networking and genuinely engage with others in marketing—whether they're experienced professionals, newcomers, or somewhere in between. Our ethos is summed up in our favourite phrase, "positively lovely," reflecting the warm, supportive environment we strive to create at every event.

Q: Was there a light bulb moment when you thought - This is it, this is why we are doing this?

Too many. The biggest ones are when we take people on a journey of confidence. They walk into the space feeling nervous, and walk out with new friends they can take with them going forwards.

Q: What are your 3 top goals for the community?

1. Build marketers competence

2. Build marketers networks

3. And, build marketers confidence

Q: Events are a key part of your community - how do you see events shaping the community members successes in their careers?

Events play a key role in shaping our community members' success by providing moments of serendipity—you never quite know what conversation or connection might spark your next big opportunity.

At The Marketing Meetup, we believe the true currency of community is opportunity, and our events are designed to foster those meaningful, career-enhancing interactions.

Q: What is the best thing about being a community leader?

Getting out the way!
There is immense pleasure that comes from the idea that you’re helping folks - but a greater pleasure from knowing that it’s the connections that they are building that mean they are doing it themselves.

Q: What is the hardest part of community leadership that members don't see?

Truly, it’s a privilege. When you drop your own ego and sense of importance - what negatives could there be?

Q: Has there been any particularly hard moments in The Marketing Meetup that may surprise people?

We’re human - so we face the same challenges as anyone else. The experience of TMM hasn’t been hard - but having been part of this for 9 years - it’s taken place against the backdrop to the rest of my life. I’m open around anxiety and depression - maintaining energy during those times have been the hardest bits.

Q: How has running the community helped you as a marketer?

Both things are pretty similar. Both are about truly understanding, connecting with, and consistently meeting the needs of the people you're serving.

Q: The industry appears to be becoming more connected through great groups and communities. How do you see the role and influence of communities changing in the next year or so?

That much is true - but so is the opposite in the fact that so many folks are looking to sell tech rather than people. 

The reality is while the industry shifts around us - our humanity become more important, not less - and leaning more into this spirit will grow in importance.

Connect with Joe on LinkedIn or if you’re thinking about joining The Marketing Meetup their info is available on their Website.

Do let me know how you get on with the Q1 Review template by emailing [email protected] .

We are going to land in your inbox next week with Harry’s personal tale of treasure hunting and trying to find gold with his CMO job search.

Have a great Friday,

Danny, Harry and Marketing Unfiltered