This exercise provides a qualitative review of the past year and intends to prepare entrepreneurs and managers for the next. The attached sector-agnostic framework creates a simplified reference point and creates better results for compact projects. The exercise should be extended and updated for complex organizations and teams. Please get in touch with us to learn more.

1. The Annual Retrospective
Exercise Framework
A starting point for evaluating the annual
performance beyond financial KPIs
December 2022
Copyright Contextual Solutions

2. INSTRUCTIONS
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Rule 1: Please answer the questions individually, kindly,
honestly, and openly. Avoid statements that could be
construed as blames or excuses and instead create an
environment for positive criticism and self-development.
THE GOAL OF THIS EXERCISE
This exercise provides a qualitative review of the past year and
intends to prepare entrepreneurs and managers for the next.
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Rule 2: Only consider one year’s activities during the
exercise. Achievements and failures of the past years do
not matter in the context of this review. Do not rush
through the questions. Spare enough time for your team
to consider all achievements, failures, and learnings.
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Rule 3: Please be mindful of the external conditions (e.g.,
inflation, supply chain limitations, detailed due diligence
requirements, waiting times, access to funding, etc.) and
remain realistic when planning for 2023. Complement this
exercise with an OKR goal-setting exercise later on.
TIPS AND INSIGHTS
• This exercise can be completed physically (using post-its and a
whiteboard) or digitally (using collaboration tools. Studies reveal
that interactive, in-person exercises are more likely to trigger
creativity, if possible.
• Completing the financial KPI analysis beforehand would be
helpful but is not a must.
• Every team/department should complete the exercise individually
for bigger companies and corporates; however, start-up
managers should perform a company-wide review.
• Relying on facts instead of opinions and speculations during this
exercise will lead to healthier results.
• Involving as many stakeholders as possible and including even
the junior ranks for a fresh perspective will make results more
interesting.
☆This framework provides a simplified reference point and
creates better results for compact projects. The exercise should
be extended and updated for complex organizations and teams.
Please get in touch with us to learn more.

3. PART I: 2022 IN REVIEW

4. 2022 IN REVIEW: SAMPLE GOAL BENCHMARKS
Sales Goals and KPIs
• What were our goals? • Did we reach
the goals? • If yes, was it easy to reach
the goals? • If no, what went wrong? •
How many new customers did we
acquire? • Did we establish new
partnerships?
HR Goals
• Did we reach our recruitment goals?
• Did we grow in the right direction?
• If no, what went wrong? • Did we fire
anyone? • Did we implement any
cultural initiatives? • Are our
employees motivated enough?
Marketing and PR
• Did we achieve our goals? • Did we
start using new channels? • If yes,
what was the reaction? • Were we
featured or covered? • How many
events did we participate in?
Technical Goals
• Did we accomplish our product
goals? • Did we do enough testing? •
Did we implement new technologies
or start using new tools? • If yes, did
we increase productivity or
motivation?
Growth and Expansion
• What were our goals? • Were we
able to enter new markets or grow in
different directions? • Were these
initiatives successful? • Did we collect
any customer feedback?
Other Goals
• Were we able to access sufficient
funding? • Do we still have enough
runway? • Did we invest in
sustainability or diversity? • Did we
have enough time to learn and grow
personally? • Did we improve our
leadership?

5. 2022 IN REVIEW: THE GOOD, BAD AND UGLY
• We have reached all our sales KPIs
• We won an innovation award
• We were featured in an international magazine
• We grew our team
• We didn’t have to fire anyone
• We could have used more brainstorming sessions
• Our entry-level employees could have used more in-
house and external mentoring
• We could have completed more user interviews if we
had used our time more efficiently
• We could have created more team bonding
opportunities
• We couldn’t fulfill our product deadlines
• Our partners didn’t deliver the solutions on time
• Our expansion project wasn’t successful
• We should implement more realistic product
roadmaps
• We should work on improving expectation
management and communication with partners
• We should conduct market research before entering
new markets
WHAT WENT WELL? WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN IMPROVED?
WHAT WENT WRONG? WHAT DID WE LEARN?

6. PART II: 2023 IN MOTION

7. 2023 IN MOTION: START, STOP, CONTINUE
E.g., ”we should
implement no-call
Tuesdays.”
E.g., ”we should stop
having meetings longer
than 2h.”
E.g., ”we should
continue investing in
customer loyalty
initiatives."
START
What should we start doing?
STOP
What should we stop doing?
CONTINUE
What practices should continue?

8. Contact us for questions, exercise support, or
feedback!
Contextual Solutions
Made in Berlin
www.contextualsolutions.de
E-mail: info@contextuals.de
Twitter: @contextualss
LinkedIn: @contextualsolutions
Instagram: @contextualsolutions
HAVE A SUCCESSFUL YEAR AHEAD!