In this series we are talking about connecting – connecting to people, connecting people to the business results you want, and getting those results.
Let me intro this next step before we recap, so that those that have been reading along don’t have to repeat (thanks to those who gave me this good feedback; the recap is at the end of the post)…
In Step 4 you removed roadblocks to aligning people’s actions with Strategy. Woot! Let’s get going!
For Step #5, collect these materials:
1. Your 1-3 Critical Strategic Objectives, which are now mapped to show relationship and the priorities of these Objectives and their Steps
See the Recap below for links to these prior steps. Questions? Click to “Ask Lori”
2. Your Annual Budget
If you do not have access to this, even for your department, you may want to pass this blog and Leadership series on to someone who does.
3. Your Monthly Financial Statements for the past 3 months, or more if you wish
Ditto #2
4. Summaries from your most recent Annual Performance Reviews
These are important. If you don’t have these, at least grab the blank forms that are used. And I’ll show you how to get what you need, relatively painlessly and so worth it!
5. A .pdf print out of the database(s) that are used to get you the information you use right now for decision-making
Again, this is important and I know I can get you comfortable with it, if you are willing, even if you are not technical. I’ll give you some tips if you can’t get this info or if you aren’t comfortable looking at it.
The tips will be provided in the next post. If you don’t want to wait for that or if you feel your question is specific, I’ve opened AskLori to any question related to this Leadership series so please feel free to access me this way.
There is only one action I want you to take right now:
- Compare Items #1-5 and consider these questions
a) Other than financial results, such as Sales, are any of your Strategic Objectives identified in #1 (and the steps leading up to this post) – or the Priority Steps needed to meet them – clearly represented in #2-5? Which ones are not represented? Is there a commonality between the Objectives and Steps from #1 that are not represented well in #2-#5?
b) Does any aspect of the Performance Review (#4) process connect people Strategy (#1)?
I care about how you are doing with this, and the health of your organization in general. Please feel free to comment or Ask Lori. Or simply come back to visit in about a week for the next post!
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And as promised, here’s the recap of prior posts.
In Step 1 you selected up to three critical strategic themes or objectives.
In Step 2 you mapped these themes to your Strategy so that key objectives can be prioritized and contrasted (it is not uncommon to have conflicting objectives that need to be sorted out).
In Step 3 you prioritized so that you’d be sure that what is most important gets done.
And in Step 4 you considered your roadblocks and took action so to clear your path (no goal-oriented person welcomes a stall or interruption, which can kill momentum, accuracy and focus).