Ask Andi: We need to start planning. We react to day-to-day issues, instead of looking ahead. We create problems by not fixing them. Can you help us stick to top priorities?
Thoughts of the Day: Stop reacting, start planning. Identify the top company objectives. Review where you are versus those objectives. Set up systems for employees to share information. Celebrate progress. Organize teams to work on persistent problems.
Stop reacting, start planning
What’s the sight-line on the horizon that everyone in your company is focused on moving towards? Get clear on that, and it’s easier to figure out if everything you’re doing is heading the company in the right direction. Without major goals, it’s easy to drift off in the wrong direction. Write down what you want the company to accomplish in the next 5 years. Consider the following:
- Double revenue, triple profit
- Add 1 new employee for every $150k of gross profit
- Operate within budget
- Reduce operating costs by 1% – 3% / year
- Add enough clients each year to allow the company to dump the bottom 5% – the least profitable, most troublesome
- Sell new products: old customers, old products: new customers
- Expand marketing reach annually while reducing the ratio of marketing spend/revenue.
Set up a meeting schedule to review progress, discuss obstacles, and agree on the next actions to be taken. Meetings can be great. Improperly managed, they can also suck the energy out of any group. Limit meetings to an hour, max two hours. Break up long days of conferences into a series of 1-2 hour activities.
Busyness is not the same as progress
Work with intention. Involve the right people. In my experience, it is more likely to invite too few people to meet, than too many. Don’t be afraid to ask people to give up “work time” to attend meetings. People need to share information in order to function well.
For example, use meetings to inform, brainstorm, analyze and problem solve. Different purposes require different formats. Information sharing meetings do best if data is presented in report handouts or overheads with handouts. Brainstorming meetings need a facilitator who can document what’s being said. Analysis and problem-solving meetings need to be focused on the desired outcome: to reach a conclusion, solve a problem, etc.
It helps to understand that we remember only 15% of what we hear, 50% of what we write down, and 85% of what we hear, write down, and playback. Take notes in every meeting. Start meetings with a review of the previous meetings’ notes. Know whose job it is to take and disseminate notes. Get notes out within 1-2 days of the meeting’s conclusion.
Prioritize income-producing potential tasks
Meanwhile, build a culture of success by taking time to acknowledge and celebrate progress towards goals. Use checklists of to-do’s to stay on track. Recognize groups of people who get their tasks done according to their commitments.
Every organization runs into problems from internal and external sources. Teach employees to be comfortable bringing up issues in meetings. Take time to brainstorm the source of problems. Assign task groups to work on rooting the causes.
Build a culture of taking action. Reward people who fix problems before they escalate into something worse. Emphasize the value of always looking to make things better.
Likewise, everyone needs space and time to think, reflect, and plan. Schedule it into your day. Lead by example. Show your employees that you have the discipline and skill needed to lead the business. Make it your #1 priority to set a schedule, meet regularly, encourage information sharing, and take action to work on the company’s plan.
Unclear about your company’s goals and check-in structure? Give us a call
Looking for a good book?
The One Hour Plan for Growth: How a Single Sheet of Paper Can Take Your Business to the Next Level, by Joe Calhoon
