End-of-Year Review and New Year Planning

A self-critical professional arrives at year-end with a primary narrative of what didn't happen: the goals not met, the gaps not closed, the things left undone. When asked what went well, the list is brief and hedged. The review structure — wins first, hardest lesson second, goals not achieved third — is sequenced intentionally to prevent the failure narrative from running before the achievement narrative has a chance.

Hold the sequence explicitly. 'We're completing this in order. Top three wins first, before we touch anything that didn'...