Marc Watters - Construction Business Blueprint

The Construction Business Blueprint #009 - You Don’t Rise To Goals; You Fall To Systems

• Marc Watters • Season 1 • Episode 9

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January won’t fix a messy Q4.


In this episode, Marc walks through a battle-tested Q4 execution engine built for construction business owners who want to protect profit, close cleanly, and carry momentum straight into Q1.


Instead of banking on a “fresh start,” you’ll learn how November’s margin protection and December’s disciplined closeout create the bridge that sustains cash flow, confidence, and capacity through the new year.


Inside this episode:

  • 📅 November: Protect your profit — chase invoices, retentions, and variations before they vanish.
  • 🧾 December: Clean the slate — complete projects, confirm leave, and clear the admin pile.
  • 💡 Execution rhythm: Monday huddle, Wednesday cost check, Friday review.
  • 🔍 Accountability: The Focus Three framework that keeps teams aligned without micromanaging.
  • 🚫 Avoiding chaos: How to stop overcommitting, ignoring data, or letting standards drop under pressure.


By the end, you’ll have a repeatable Q4 playbook that protects cash flow, safeguards reputation, and launches Q1 with clarity and control.


Grab your free Q4 Execution Engine, subscribe for more construction business strategy, and share this episode with a builder who needs to finish strong.


COMMENT below: your biggest takeaways and what you want me to create next! 


SPEAKER_00:

Okay, so in today's episode, we are going to talk about the Q4 execution engine and how quarter four sets up for quarter one. So, pretty much today we're going to summarize that is stop waiting for January to start Q1. It starts now. So most construction business owners think January is when they will set themselves up for Q1. That's the time we think you're going to get organized, you're going to get structured, you're going to put a plan in place, but Q1's already started by then and it's too late. So the work you do in November and December decides how you not only finish the year strong, but how you start the year as well. Right now, if you go into Q1 on the back foot with November and December being busy, and like we talked about in the previous video, with you know system and processes going out the window, rushing to get everything done, ignore leads this time of year, that's going to really start you off in Q1 on the back foot. During this episode, we're actually going to show you how to build your Q4 execution engine, what to focus on, and how to do it exactly just like I do with my clients inside my private mentorship. So, like I said, the reason why it's called the execution engine is because planning is easy. The execution is the hard part. So I can give you as much information as possible. I can talk about things, you can write things down, you can write down your goals, your ambitions, your dreams, and whatever else, but you have to talk about the execution. So, what are the steps or the stages that you need to make in order to make that happen? And that's what we're going to talk about in this video. So, who is this video for? I know we're talking about yes, Q1, starting off Q1 well, but who this video is for is for anybody who is thinking that just bury their head now until the end of the year and hope we'll worry about the rest in Q1 and just hope that it all works out well. But like I said, during our live event with our clients, Santa's not coming down the chimney with a miracle to fix your business over the Christmas break. Q1's going to happen and Q1 is going to start just as busy, if not busier, than how Q4 ended. So you need to start the new year planned, positioned, and ready to go. And again, like I said, that starts now in November and December. Ideally, it would start in October, like I did with my private mentoring clients. But what I want to talk about here is how it's not too late now. There is roughly between six or eight months or six or eight weeks left to the end of the year, and it is not too late. You can get a lot done in that space of time if you don't get caught up again on the Christmas rush and just bearing your head in the sand. So if you want to start Q1 off the right way and finish the year strong, use these next 68 weeks to really double down on what's working, what's not, put a plan together for execution in quarter one. So why I built the Q4 execution engine? Well, this year was one of the best year ends we've ever had as a community inside the Blueprint programme. All of our clients are absolutely killing it. They're actually excited to finish the year strong. It's the first year in business where they haven't been overwhelmed, overworked, stressed out, you know, chasing their teal at this time of the year. And they now already, back in September, actually had a plan and were already targeting and had Q1 pipeline all sewn up, ready to go. And obviously, they've been working with me this year, obviously, new clients coming in as well. The Q4 execution engine has set them up and told them exactly what to focus on in this last sprint of the year. So it was September, October, November, December. And that means that when January comes, they are hitting the ground running. So yeah, what I wanted to do was obviously the year had been going so well, I wanted it to finish off strong. So that's why the Q4 execution engine was created. It was to keep the focus on each of those months when things change, and as the business changed during the season or whatever else towards the end of the year, it was important and what to focus on when. So there's a gap there between what you want and then making it happen. So the execution gap is important, and that's what this does. The Q4 execution engine. So the execution gap is all about the accountability being in place, the rhythm being in place, and tracking everything as we go on. So it's known exactly what to focus on, how to review it, how to fix it, how to navigate the challenges, and then moving forward. So, like I say, you don't rise to your goals, you fall to the level of your systems. So keeping the systems, everything in place, keeping the focus points, keeping this sectioned up into each month or each quarter is vital. So the engine is pretty much built up of one focus per month. So we've got November and December here to finish off strong. So we're gonna have a sprint for November and a sprint for December. Okay, guys, so if you're sitting watching this and you want access to the Q4 execution engine, the very execution engine that I put together for my clients inside the construction business blueprint program, then look below where it'll be below this video, you'll get a link straight to that. So hopefully by now you have availed of that link and you've got the Q4 execution engine. But if not, I'm gonna go through it all anyway and explain exactly what it is and why we do it and how we do it. So the engine is based on one focus per month, and we look at key actions, measurable metrics, and also deadlines for each of those targets. So the focus for November is on the profit protection. And I actually have a video on the channel here all about protecting your profit in November, so be sure to check that out as well. But November is all about the profit protection and what the focus on, you know, your project pipeline and things like that, making sure that you're closing off November with all your profit protected, essentially, putting a ring fence around everything that you need to have and your measurable financial targets and things like that. Then December focuses on the cleanup and the closeout for and for the Q1 setup. So December is obviously a crucial time of year. It's actually a short month because everybody cuts off early for the Christmas period, if you're lucky enough to do so. And it's important that we don't leave everything to the last minute in terms of admin, pipeline for quarter one, starting back, anything that's sort of hanging over you. You want to sort of cut off clean, and I talked about that in the September videos as well, all about closing Q4 as best as possible, as cleanly as possible, in order to start Q1 on the front foot rather than dreading the new year coming around. So the November focus is going to be based around all the things that I touched on in the previous video, like ensuring that invoices are going out in a timely manner. Again, that not rising level of goals fall into the level of your systems, making sure your systems and processes are maintained during this really, really busy period and that you have everything structured and set up correctly, that you have throughout the year, and just maintaining those standards and those levels of systems and processes. And then, like I said, December is all about the clean closeout. So making sure that projects are complete by a certain time, looking at your programs, looking at your schedules, communicating with your team, communicating with your clients, and just making sure that everything is tidied up before Q1 starts. So we're going to look at things like weekly non-negotiables. We're breaking them down into different segments. So a weekly non-negotiable for you guys could be anything, obviously, without knowing the specifics of your business. But what I do with my guys, weekly non-negotiables in there could be making sure that you maintain like a Monday huddle with your team, having that team meeting every Monday, that's a key action moving forward. Then we're gonna have a Wednesday cost check. So you could look at you could take stock right in the middle of the week on program and cost to see exactly where you are and where you need to be. And that's a good time because you've obviously mapped out the start of the week. Then you've got your Wednesday you can review and see how you need to finish the week off to make sure that everything hits targets. And then on Friday, we're going to check that as well to make sure that everything is up to date, everything has happened as it said it was going to happen, and then planning the following week. So that's something we can do in November in terms of checking costs, checking communication with team, making sure the systems and processes are still in place and reviewing that on a regular basis. Then we're moving on to the focus three system, which is picking three needle-moving tasks each week that's going to move you closer to the goal. So, in terms of the November profit protection, we want to, you know, again, like we say, review those costs. So it could be, you know, those three focus systems could be keeping your job cost report of the date, or if you haven't got something like that in place, getting something like that in place. It could be checking your accounting software or just your overdue invoicing, making sure that's done once a week or on a daily basis. Then it could be just communicating with clients, checking in with clients to make sure if you're commercial or domestic, payment dates, variations, different things like that, just making sure that everything's there, and also reviewing the pipeline coming in and making sure that you're you're you're reaching your targets and your metrics there for winning projects, your leads coming in, making sure you're getting back the inquiries and setting up for quarter one. So, all those things could be three focus things or needle movers and tasks you need to complete every single week in with those non-negotiables. So, a focus three system for December, for example, three needle moving activities could just be that. It could be checking your Q1 pipeline again, it could be making sure that everyone's holidays and everything is lined up, that there's going to be no nasty surprises. It's checking again with your clients on when they close and their payment dates or their expectations for when you're going to be finishing, just making sure everything's well communicated, tidying up on all the admins. So it could be making sure that you have a non-negotiable of one or two admin days a week. It could be doing site surveys and things like that, like making sure you're going on regular site surveys and not just getting caught up and being busy on the tools, etc. etc., which is really going to set you up again then for Q1. So just clean up all the overdue things in your diaries, all the to-do things, and just really keeping on top of things, really making sure that December is completely cleaned up, any backlogs up to date, your diaries up to date, everything is just clean and tidy, so that you're starting off Q1 on the front foot, and you're again you're finishing Q4 strong. What I will say as well is visibility drives accountability. So whether you've got somebody that holds you accountable, like my clients do, they're checking in with me on a daily and a weekly basis. But even just printing off your Q4 execution engine, posting on your wall, keeping in your van, keeping track and actual physically having sight of your goals and your targets, then make sure that you know what you should be working on, reviewing it on a Monday, Wednesday, and a Friday, like those non-negotiables we talked about. But visibility drives accountability, so making sure that you're constantly looking at that and checking up on it. Same what you said you were going to do, holding yourself accountable is going to be massive if you haven't got somebody there to help you and support you in doing that with you. Another tip for the Q4 execution engine is communicating that with your team and ensuring that you're aligned with your team and that they know what to expect and how you're finishing off Q4 and starting off Q1. You know, tell them about the business goals and targets and what their expectations from you are as a business owner and what they are from your team. So clear focus, clear ownership, making sure everybody is it's well communicated, everybody knows what they need to do, everybody knows their deliverables, etc. etc. So again, we're gonna talk about just briefly then another point that's gonna help with this is the Q4 and Q1 bridge. So there's that bridge between people thinking just getting ready or getting closing out to the end of the year and closing out Q4, but there is a bridge there, which is the reason why this whole video was created for how we finish off Q4. We touched on at the start of the video, it's gonna set you up for Q1. So making sure the invoices are cleared and up to date, having your Q1 pipeline and order book filled, retentions and different things like that are chased, and maintaining marketing. That's the kind of bridge that the gap that needs to be bridged between Q4 and Q1. So that work that you'll put in now and these last two months, November, December, will really stand by you in next year in the start of Q1. So that's bridging the gap there between that. So keeping that in focus with your approach and your actions and behaviors in November and December, just keeping that in the forefront of your mind that you're actually bridging the gap between Q1 or Q4 and Q1. So, like I've said on the previous videos as well, avoiding pitfalls such as overcommitting, avoiding the data, letting the standards of the processes and things like that slip, or maybe just not holding yourself accountable, having those real non-negotiable reviews on the Monday, a Wednesday, and a Friday, you know, not printing this off and just letting things go, just you know, just getting caught up and being busy. We just want to try to avoid that and avoiding that pitfall and maintaining and starting and finishing off strong so we start off strong. So the final message on that was Q4 isn't a burnout sprint, it's controlled execution. So act now, finish strong, and start January ahead. So, like I said, the Q4 execution engine is available to grab below this video. If you want any more explanation, if you want any more help, or you want that accountability, you want that plan in place for starting off Q1 in the best possible way, reach out to me under this video via DM on any of our social platforms, and I'll be happy to have a conversation with you on it.