Here’s what they get wrong: ❌ Taking months to finish the process❌ Distracting their already busy team with endless ‘planning days’❌ Drowning in analysis before even starting the plan❌ Spending a fortune on strategy consultants The truth: ✔️ You can create a solid strategic plan… I get frustrated when I see leaders overcomplicate their strategic planning
Here are some of my favourites: No shame if you use these. I do too. They can be handy shortcuts. Once I got past the vagueness, I found most of them useful. My top piece of business jargon? “Organisation Strategy” Here’s why: So, what is… Businesses are stuffed with vague, pretentious-sounding jargon
(And you should still do it) Conventional wisdom suggests that goal-setting is fundamental to success at work. But there’s a growing trend against goal-setting. Some business leaders, like 37signals CEO Jason Fried, avoid setting goals altogether. I understand the sentiment. Goal-setting can be counterproductive, and… Goal-setting matters less than you think
I’m continually reminded that clarity is a fundamental element of great organisations, relationships and, ultimately, a great life. When we have clarity, we are more fulfilled as individuals and our organisations and communities thrive. Method 1 Do you know what you want to do and… Three methods to get clear on what you want (in life and at work)
What’s the number 1 reason that most people can’t find the time to get organised? Because they’re too busy being disorganised! Many people can’t get organised, simply because they’re too busy being disorganised. As author Patrick Lencioni says in his book The Advantage, sometimes we… Most people can’t get organised, because they’re too busy being disorganised
Need a straightforward strategic plan for your team or organisation? All it takes is six simple questions… In @Patrick Lencioni’s book, The Advantage, he says that the best performing teams have extremely clear answers to six questions: We’ve developed a simple tool to capture and… Need a straightforward strategic plan for your team or organisation?
We’ve built a Strategic Planning Toolkit so any leader can create a plan for their team or organisation in a few weeks. A free sample is available to download now. Many managers want a plan. But they don’t know how to build one or where… Introducing the Strategic Planning Toolkit
Overload is something I’ve struggled with at work, particularly in management roles. Here’s a fairly typical situation for me. I’d find myself running 7+ projects at once. Some were just kicking off, and others were close to being finished. Some of them were ‘paid’ projects… Overloaded at work? Try working dumber, instead of smarter.
I’ve trialled a number of planning journals in the past. None of them really ‘stuck’. Sometimes the planning system didn’t work for me. Or I didn’t like the physical design. Or both. But I remain attracted to the idea of finding a planning journal that… Road testing the MiGoals Progress Journal
In fact, it turns out that organisations deliver better financial returns when they focus on purpose over profit. You don’t have to take my word for it: recent survey by PwC showed that 79% of business leaders believe that an organisation’s purpose is central to business… You don’t need to trade-off purpose against performance
Let’s dive into the world of objectives and key results (OKRs). Some say it’s just another goal-setting approach, but for me? OKRs have become one of the most valuable tools that I’ve adopted in both my personal and professional life. I’ve been using OKRs for… How I roll with objectives and key results (OKRs)
What are the most important problems in your field? Why aren’t you working on them? If you don’t have any great answers to that second question, perhaps consider: maybe I should be?
A daily review is an integral part of my overall ‘impact system’. It sits alongside other key parts of my system, including a weekly review, which I’ll cover in a separate post. My daily review has two primary objectives: My version of a daily review… My simple daily review
Most managers feel relentless time pressure. We think, if I can just get over this hump, then I’ll get on top of things…. but the hump never passes. Fortunately, there’s a solution that doesn’t require killing yourself with more work. Here’s how. The answer is… Struggling to get everything done?
The strongest organisations are those that are healthy, not just smart. Organisational health depends on four disciplines: developing a cohesive leadership team, creating strategic clarity, over-communicating that clarity throughout the organisation, and reinforcing strategy through systems and ways of working. Clarity doesn’t need to be complex and abstract, instead it can be achieved by answering six questions for any organisation: Why do we exist? How will we succeed? What do we do? Who does what? What’s most important, right now? How will we behave?