We’ve passed the mid-point of 2009. Are you confident that the latter half the year will be better than the first half? How about 2010? Are you hoping that things will be better or do you have a plan in place that is fueling your optimism? Are you worrying about things that are outside of your control or addressing issues that are well within your control? Let’s focus on some items that are within your control:
1) Employees: Do you have the “right people” in your organization? This starts with your Leadership Team. Do they share your values, embrace your company’s culture and Get it, Want it and have the Capacity to do their jobs well?
2) Clients: Do you have the right clients? In other words, is your Target Market clearly defined? Are you trying to be all things to all people or do you have a profile of your Ideal Customer, someone who truly values the things that differentiate you from your competitors?
3) Issues: How good are you and your Leadership Team at solving your company’s problems? Do you treat symptoms or are you getting to the heart of issues and solving them in a timely manner so they don’t linger for days, weeks, months and sometimes years?
4) Accountability: Again, starting with your Leadership Team, are your people accountable for what they say they will do? Does everyone in your organization have a clear sense of their roles, responsibilities and accountabilities?
5) Alignment: Is everyone clear on the Vision for your organization and are they all in the same boat rowing in the same direction? What is the cost to your organization when some are rowing in one direction, some another, some not rowing and some not even in the boat?
An effective Leadership Team devotes time to work “on” the business. This involves rising above the day to day activities associated with working “in” the business and focusing on the company’s overall health. Given the difficulty that most businesses currently face, it’s now more important than ever for you to plan your Management Team’s Annual Off-Site Meeting to develop a strategy that meets market conditions. The objectives for the planning session are three fold:
1) Increase Team Health: A healthy team is reflected by trust, commitment, accountability and results.
2) Create a Clear Company Vision: A clear vision lets everyone in the company know where it’s going and exactly how it will get there.
3) Identify the Issues List: There’s good therapy in getting all the issues (not symptoms) out on the table so they can be solved. Are your issues clear or are they buried deep within the organization?
The Agenda for Day 1:
1) Review the previous year’s results. How did we do?
2) Review the previous quarter’s Key Priorities. Did we complete them?
3) Team Health Exercise
4) Organizational Checkup. Is our organization’s health improving?
5) SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) Analysis
6) Issues List
7) 3 Year Picture, at a high level
On Day 2:
1) Review the Issues List
2) Review the 3 Year Picture
3) Complete the 1 Year Plan
4) Establish Key Priorities for the next quarter
5) Identify, Discuss and Solve Issues
6) Next Steps and Conclude
Accomplishing the stated objectives of improving Team Health, Vision and Problem Solving involves time to think clearly without interruptions and distractions. This is why holding the meeting off-site is crucial. To accomplish the items listed on the agenda takes focus, energy and effective communication. It must be clear that there is an expected return on this investment of time and money. Viewed this way, the Annual Planning Meeting is a boon to the company, not a boondoggle for the Leadership Team.
It’s important to communicate the Agenda and the Outcomes to everyone in the organization. This can have a calming effect. Better for people to know the plan than for everyone to wonder what might happen next. The Management Team Annual Off-Site Meeting is time well spent and when done effectively will more than pay back the investment of time and expense.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
A Walk in the Woods
Have you ever been lost in the woods? I mean really lost? That terrifying, “oh s _ _ t! I’ve really gotten myself into a tight spot this time” kind of lost. Lost to the point where you worry about having to spend the night or perhaps several nights alone? What was the first thing that you did after the panic subsided and you stopped wandering around aimlessly? You probably sat down and thought to yourself “wait a minute, settle down, take a breath, THINK for a minute.” And it was during that moment of clarity that you started really thinking about your situation differently. You were able to figure it out and find your way out of the woods.
There’s a lesson here that can be carried over to your business. How often do you find yourself so deep in the woods that you can’t see the trees? What do you do? Do you take a minute by yourself to settle down, take a breath and THINK? To see things clearly it’s important to make some “think time” for yourself.
To clarify, “think time” is not recreation, playing hooky or goofing off. It’s quiet time that’s dedicated to thinking about your business and your life. We call this a “Clarity Break”. Here’s how it works. Schedule a time that works for you to leave your office and think. I mean really think! This can be the library, a favorite coffee shop, going for a hike or whatever it takes for your mind to break free from all the stuff that’s worrying you or holding you back.
I have a friend that discovered bicycling a few years ago. He schedules time during the week to get out alone and ride for an hour or so. No interruptions, no phone calls, no distractions. He tells me that he does some of his best thinking during these breaks from the office. This is actually part of his work routine! “What do you think about on your rides?” I asked him. “I think about how I can add value in my role as the owner of my business. I think about nagging issues that need resolution and how I might approach those issues differently. I think about how lucky I am to have a business worth worrying about. I think about how I can help others. I always seem to return to the office in a much better frame of mind. I take out a pad of paper and write down the things that I was thinking about. It really helps me put things in perspective.”
Let’s face it, thinking is hard work. As Henry Ford once lamented, it’s probably the reason why so few people do it. Try my friend’s routine for a few months. Schedule the time to THINK and see if it helps you approach things differently. You’ll learn to appreciate the trees again and that walk in the woods!
There’s a lesson here that can be carried over to your business. How often do you find yourself so deep in the woods that you can’t see the trees? What do you do? Do you take a minute by yourself to settle down, take a breath and THINK? To see things clearly it’s important to make some “think time” for yourself.
To clarify, “think time” is not recreation, playing hooky or goofing off. It’s quiet time that’s dedicated to thinking about your business and your life. We call this a “Clarity Break”. Here’s how it works. Schedule a time that works for you to leave your office and think. I mean really think! This can be the library, a favorite coffee shop, going for a hike or whatever it takes for your mind to break free from all the stuff that’s worrying you or holding you back.
I have a friend that discovered bicycling a few years ago. He schedules time during the week to get out alone and ride for an hour or so. No interruptions, no phone calls, no distractions. He tells me that he does some of his best thinking during these breaks from the office. This is actually part of his work routine! “What do you think about on your rides?” I asked him. “I think about how I can add value in my role as the owner of my business. I think about nagging issues that need resolution and how I might approach those issues differently. I think about how lucky I am to have a business worth worrying about. I think about how I can help others. I always seem to return to the office in a much better frame of mind. I take out a pad of paper and write down the things that I was thinking about. It really helps me put things in perspective.”
Let’s face it, thinking is hard work. As Henry Ford once lamented, it’s probably the reason why so few people do it. Try my friend’s routine for a few months. Schedule the time to THINK and see if it helps you approach things differently. You’ll learn to appreciate the trees again and that walk in the woods!
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