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. (more…)

In this series we are talking about connecting – connecting to people, connecting people to the business results you want, and getting those results.

Recap:
In Step 1 you selected up to three of the most 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).

Step 3 is to prioritize so that you are doing the right things. (more…)

In this Leadership series we are talking about connecting – connecting to people, connecting people to the business results you want, and getting those results.

In Step 1 you selected up to 3 of the most critical strategic themes or objectives. I offered a few examples and set up the Ask Lori! page to give you the opportunity to share your themes or objectives, or ask questions. Ask Lori! is still open for Step 1 and now also open for our next step: Mapping Strategy. Now you will prepare to share these objectives or themes with those who need to act in order for Strategy to be executed.

I’ve decided to share with you how our company is taking these same steps. I hope this helps clarify the process…

For Abrige & C-Secure the most critical objectives fall into these themes:
“Get Visible!” & “Systematize Everything.” I’ve logged these into Abrige STRATEGY, below: (more…)

Overwhelmed with your days right now? Underwhelmed with your business or job?

Let me re-introduce you to …connection… starting with the people around you…

I’m a bottom-line gal… and I am here to tell you to get social within your organization. I am positive that doing so will improve performance across the organization. No worries if you haven’t really excelled at this to date. We can tell and if you look around you, you are not the only one. (and it’s not your fault entirely… technology, and actually performance management systems specifically, has played a role in this trouble and I’ll get to that later in this series). But you CAN realize improvement quickly, by making a few small shifts in how you connect with people.

So how you do this without changing who you are? (more…)

Here’s the first step to connecting people to and into your performance management system: Asking and engaging.

It seems so simple, yet without a system to help us (leaders) do so, our best laid plans and intentions get pushed aside. And when we make poor decisions, not connecting all the dots is usually why.

To take this step I have good news for you: you do not have to add to the “to dos” for your financial or technical teams to start on this improvement process. And you do not have to be an analyst. You do need to be willing to think through data to get a feel for the cause and effect between what is communicated and what gets done. Think of it as removing the “so?” to get to “oh! Got it.”

(more…)