/ceos-quarterly

name: ceos-quarterly
description: Use when conducting, scheduling, or reviewing quarterly conversations or 5-5-5 quick check-ins between managers and direct reports
file-access: [data/conversations/, templates/quarterly-conversation.md, templates/quarterly-quick.md, data/vision.md, data/accountability.md, data/rocks/, data/people/]
tools-used: [Read, Write, Glob]

ceos-quarterly

Facilitate the EOS Quarterly Conversation — the formal quarterly check-in between each manager and their direct reports — or the 5-5-5, a lightweight 15-minute version. The full conversation follows a 5-point agenda (30-60 min). The 5-5-5 uses three time-boxed sections (15 min). Both are two-way conversations about alignment, role satisfaction, and obstacles — not performance reviews.

**Not for:** Quarterly planning sessions (use `ceos-quarterly-planning`), people evaluations (use `ceos-people`), or annual planning (use `ceos-annual`). Quarterly Conversations are **1-on-1 check-ins**, not team-wide planning sessions.

When to Use

• "Run quarterly conversation for [person]" or "quarterly check-in with [name]"
• "5-5-5 with [person]" or "quick quarterly check-in with [name]"
• "Quick conversation with [person]" or "quick check-in"
• "Schedule quarterly conversations" or "who needs a quarterly conversation?"
• "Review quarterly conversations" or "show conversation history for [person]"
• "Quarterly one-on-one" or "manager check-in"
• Any discussion about formal quarterly conversations or quick 5-5-5 check-ins between managers and direct reports

Context

Finding the CEOS Repository

Search upward from the current directory for the `.ceos` marker file. This file marks the root of the CEOS repository.

If `.ceos` is not found, stop and tell the user: "Not in a CEOS repository. Clone your CEOS repo and run setup.sh first."

**Sync before use:** Once you find the CEOS root, run `git -C <ceos_root> pull --ff-only --quiet 2>/dev/null` to get the latest data from teammates. If it fails (conflict or offline), continue silently with local data.

Key Files

| File | Purpose | |------|---------| | `data/conversations/QUARTER/` | Conversation files by quarter (e.g., `data/conversations/2026-Q1/`) | | `data/vision.md` | Source of Core Values (read-only — use ceos-vto to modify) | | `data/accountability.md` | Source of seats, owners, and reporting structure | | `data/rocks/QUARTER/` | Rock files for the quarter (read-only — use ceos-rocks to modify) | | `data/people/` | People Analyzer evaluations (read-only — use ceos-people to modify) | | `templates/quarterly-conversation.md` | Template for full conversation files | | `templates/quarterly-quick.md` | Template for 5-5-5 quick check-in files |

Conversation File Format

Each conversation is a markdown file at `data/conversations/YYYY-QN/firstname-lastname.md` with YAML frontmatter:

person: "Brad Feld"
manager: "Daniel"
quarter: "2026-Q1"
date: "2026-03-15"
core_values_rating: 5       # count of + ratings out of total Core Values
gwc_status: pass             # pass | fail | evaluating
rocks_completion_rate: 80    # percentage (0-100) or null if no Rocks

**File naming:** `firstname-lastname.md` — lowercase, hyphenated. Matches the naming convention from `ceos-people`.

Quick Conversation File Format

Quick 5-5-5 check-ins use a separate file at `data/conversations/YYYY-QN/firstname-lastname-quick.md` with YAML frontmatter:

type: quick
person: "Brad Feld"
manager: "Daniel"
quarter: "2026-Q1"
date: "2026-02-14"
core_values_rating: null
gwc_status: null
rocks_completion_rate: null

**File naming:** `firstname-lastname-quick.md` — the `-quick` suffix prevents collisions with full conversation files. The `type: quick` frontmatter field distinguishes format.

**Scoring fields:** Always `null` for quick conversations. The 5-5-5 is informal — no formal ratings, pass/fail, or completion percentages.

**Backward compatibility:** Files without a `type` field are treated as `full` (the original format).

The 5-5-5 Format

The EOS 5-5-5 is a 15-minute check-in with three equal time-boxed sections:

| # | Section | Duration | Focus | |---|---------|----------|-------| | 1 | Employee Speaks | 5 min | Core Values, Rocks, Role (GWC) — from the employee's perspective | | 2 | Manager Speaks | 5 min | Performance, Wins, Concerns — from the manager's perspective | | 3 | Together | 5 min | Next Steps, Commitments — agreed together |

**Key difference from full conversation:** The 5-5-5 is structured around who speaks, not topic sections. The employee gets uninterrupted time first, then the manager, then they collaborate.

Quarter Format

Quarters follow `YYYY-QN` format: `2026-Q1`, `2026-Q2`, `2026-Q3`, `2026-Q4`.

To determine the current quarter from today's date:

• Jan-Mar = Q1, Apr-Jun = Q2, Jul-Sep = Q3, Oct-Dec = Q4

The 5-Point Agenda

| # | Section | Focus | |---|---------|-------| | 1 | Core Values Alignment | How are they living the Core Values? | | 2 | GWC | Do they still Get it, Want it, have Capacity? | | 3 | Rocks Review | How did their Rocks go this quarter? | | 4 | Role Expectations | Are roles clear and being met? | | 5 | Feedback Both Ways | What's working? What's not? What's needed? |

Key EOS Principles

• **Every direct report gets one conversation per quarter.** This is not optional — it's part of the system.
• **Two-way conversation.** The direct report should talk as much as the manager. It's a dialogue, not a lecture.
• **Reference, don't re-evaluate.** Core Values and GWC reference the People Analyzer results — this isn't a fresh evaluation. Rock completion is discussed, not re-scored.
• **Document everything.** The conversation is recorded and kept for future reference. Git history is the audit trail.

Process

Mode: Facilitate

Use when conducting a quarterly conversation with a specific person.

Step 1: Setup

1. **Identify the person and manager.** Ask for the person's name if not prov