I was talking with two C-level executives about their strategic planning process. They shared that they've created a fantastic discipline within their organization: they have only two major initiatives each year.
The objective is to focus the organization and orient everyone to what he or she is actively doing to bring the major initiatives to fruition. When team members aren’t focused on the major initiatives, they are expected to address overall business improvement and creating value for customers and stakeholders.
How few major initiatives does your organization have this year?
I'll bet it's more than two!
I told these two executives how much I admire their focus. Sticking to only two major goals at one time is a big challenge.
Reflecting afterward, I saw that some of the most successful implementations during my corporate career occurred when we were able to generate intense focus and mass our resources on one thing. Sometimes that intensity was thrust upon us by external forces (the union went on strike and everyone still working was focused on winning back customers when the strike ended). Other times, the focus came from spending millions of dollars in just a few days on an employee and customer conference that HAD to be everything everyone expected.
Does Your Strategic Planning Process Limit New Goals?
It's hard to beat the approach in their strategic planning process:
Fewer Big Goals > Greater Focus > Significant Opportunities to Improve Things
The question we can all ask: What can we do within our strategic planning process and implementation to focus on only two major initiatives?
Figure out what you want to accomplish, but even more importantly, determine all the things you’ll pass up or delay until later without looking back. – Mike Brown
