Is 2010 Progressing The Way You Expected? If not, Something Must Change!
(Contributed by Matt Lauth, Certified Six Disciplines Business Coach)
It’s May already, and here you are in the middle of Q2. Two questions you need to ask yourself: 1. Are you on track? 2. If not, what are you going to do about it?
By “change initiatives” we’re referring to those few key projects (some call them “big rocks” or “vital few objectives”) that you identified as part of your strategic plan – the few cross-functional initiatives across your organization that will produce the most important changes for your organization.
The reason why change initiatives are so important? They should drive as much as 70+% of the planned effort and aligned activity of each person in your organization – every day!
If you’re new to the concept of change initiatives, here’s a quick 4-step checklist to get you started:
- Decide on the list of the key initiatives for your business by answering “What are the most important projects we can undertake as a company that will have the most important impact on the way we do business?” Keep the list to an absolute minimum (3-5 initiatives).
- Document each initiative with a name, short description, a single person who’s responsible for the initiative and its outcome, a single measure (“For this initiative to be successful, what needs to occur?”), and an expected completion date.
- Measure progress toward each of the initiatives. We suggest the list be reviewed weekly, with group reviews every two-weeks. This will bring the focus that this is important to the organization and the accountability to seeing that it gets done.
- Create a “stop doing” list of the projects you’ve decided not to do (you HAVE decided to stop doing some things, right?) Reassign these valuable resources (time, people, and dollars) to your most important change initiatives.
KEY ACTION TO TAKE: By focusing your planning and daily activities on the most important initiatives, you’ll develop a concise view of what’s most important (and what’s not), and you can begin to establish the habit of disciplined strategy execution. Need help with your change initiatives? Contact us, and we’ll have a Six Disciplines AmeriStride business coach get in touch with you.