Getting better at getting better is what RiseWithDrew is all about.
Monday through Thursday, we explore ideas from authors, thought leaders, and exemplary organizations. On Friday, I share something about myself or what we are working on at PCI.
Over the past several weeks, we’ve been exploring (1) the key ingredients of a great annual planning meeting and (2) the importance of holding a full-day planning meeting every 90 days to assess progress and outline goals and initiatives for the coming quarter.
At PCI, we are big believers in this type of structure to create discipline and accountability across the organization.
One of the ways we are looking to improve our process in 2023 is to implement an idea from Mark Moses and his co-authors in Making Big Happen: For each of our “Boulders,” our five big one-year goals, we will create a cross-functional team responsible for achieving that goal.
We plan to follow Mark’s recommendation and create an “Initiative Charter,” which outlines the desired outcome and metrics for each annual goal.
Mark warns us that one mistake leadership teams often make “is to put too much detail into the initiative charter. It is a charter, not a detailed step-by-step plan. All too often, we come into an organization that is led from the top down with tight controls to ensure the team does what they are told,” the authors write.
Our job as a leadership team is to create clarity around the desired outcome. Then, we give the cross-functional team the autonomy to make it happen.
If the leadership team has “already broken down a challenge into the lowest-level tasks to perform,” Mark and his co-authors write, then there is little challenge left for our top performers to get excited about and to leverage their skills.”
In their extensive experience working with companies, the authors note the fastest-growing and most profitable organizations are intentional about capitalizing on the skills, knowledge, and expertise of those in the “trenches.”
“The day-by-day incremental improvements coming from all levels of the organization and from all departments,” they write, “add up to tremendous change over the year.”
More next week!
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Reflection: What opportunities do I, my team, or my organization have to push down responsibility and empower teams to take ownership of essential initiatives?
Action: Discuss with my team or with a colleague.
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