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title: Core Report - January 2026
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Planning Season is upon us! If you're failing to plan, you're planning to fail. ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­    ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­  

| View in browser Planning Season is upon us! If you're failing to plan, you're planning to fail.   Let’s be honest: by April, most of those shiny New Year strategic plans are already gathering dust or getting strangled by "business as usual". We see it all the time—senior leaders becoming glorified firefighters because their portfolios are clogged with zombie projects that should’ve been killed off in February.   Mobilising for a "portfolio uplift" sounds fancy, but it’s actually just about having the guts to stop doing the wrong things. It’s about finding that steady baseline again so your team can actually breathe and focus on the three things that will actually move the needle this year.     We've launched a series of products to help with this. Read more below, and as always, reach out to us with any questions!   Cheers, Sharon & Will Stop Guessing: The Portfolio Diagnostic Tool You can't fix what you can't see, and honestly, most "status reports" are just creative writing exercises. We built our Portfolio Diagnostic tool to cut through the noise and show you exactly where the gears are grinding. No complex frameworks or 50-page slide decks here—just a straight-up look at where your money and people information is misaligned and confusing.   Our new app will allow you to see where your system has opportunity for improvement, and will provide a roadmap for that improvement. View the App Agile Australia We're going to be speaking at Agile Australia in May about Don't Play the Game; Hack the System. Join us at the MCG, and use code AA26-FRIENDS for a discount to attend the conference. Join Us! Core State Mastery The PQ (Political Quotient) Course Most teams have the IQ to solve problems, but they lack the PQ to actually get them across the line. We see it constantly: brilliant people trapped in a cycle of over-analysis and "alignment" meetings that never end. Our PQ Course isn't another theoretical framework to memorise. It’s a practical reset for how your teams handle delivery. We teach them how to stop over-complicating the simple stuff, how to spot a bottleneck before it becomes a crisis, and how to build a rhythm that actually sticks. If you’re tired of seeing great ideas die in the middle-management gauntlet, this is the circuit breaker your team needs.   Check out the course here: https://mastery.corestate.consulting/products/courses/political-quotient   Governance Skills Governance has a bad reputation for being the "department of no," but that’s usually because it’s being done by people who think a 50-page risk register is a substitute for good judgment. Real Governance Skills are about building a system that allows you to move faster, not slower. It’s the difference between a leadership team that gets bogged down in the weeds and one that actually provides a steady baseline for the business.   We’re stripping back the performative paperwork to focus on what matters: radical clarity, accountability that isn't a dirty word, and the ability to make high-stakes decisions without the second-guessing. It’s time to stop treating governance as a compliance checkbox and start using it as a performance lever.   Governance shouldn't be a handbrake. We’re running facilitated sessions to help senior leaders build the skills to steady the system and drive radical clarity. Less compliance-checking, more confident decision-making. Learn more about our facilitated sessions here: https://corestate.consulting/solutions/the-how   Polycrisis Isn't a Buzzword; it's a failure to manage risk. The term "polycrisis" has become the latest darling of the consulting world, used mostly to excuse poor planning as "unforeseeable." But when US-Iran tensions spike, the resulting supply chain shocks aren't a surprise—they are the inevitable result of fragile, outdated models.    Read the blog post. Please feel free to share this Core Report with your colleagues or on social media. Core State Consulting, 94/51 Playfield St., Chermside, QLD 4032, Australia, 1300060638 Unsubscribe Manage preferences |
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