[Editor's
Note: As we have worked with companies over the years, one
characteristic we have noted about successful companies is the ability
to prioritize and focus. Many companies have a seemingly endless list of
opportunities; the question is "what do we focus scarce resources on
first." I hope you find this article thought-provoking. - dpm]
Too Many Shiny Objects and the "Not Going to Do Now" List
On
a number of occasions, we have come into new client situations to
"validate" an existing strategic planning process. In many instances, we
find that the company has documented strategies and initiatives too
numerous to fit on an 11X14 sheet of paper - with small font size! We
then proceed to ask each of the managers which is the most important
strategy or initiative for the coming year. Not surprisingly each
manager has a different idea of what is most important.
Too many opportunities... Too little focus
These
are not companies without opportunities. To the contrary, these are
typically companies with compelling products and services. The problem
stems from too many opportunities without an appropriate filtering or
prioritizing process. Sometimes, it stems from a creative/innovative
Founder or CEO who can see potential technologies, products, services,
markets, partnerships, etc. everywhere. In the race to not miss out on
these possibilities, the Founder /CEO can push the organization in many
different directions. This behavior is so common that it has been coined
the "Shiny Object Syndrome." In these situations, the organization
pursues many different opportunities, executes poorly, distracts
management attention, and in many cases, abandons projects partially
completed in order to pursue new ones. Resources are wasted, time is
sacrificed, and most importantly, attention is diverted away from core
activities.
The "Not Going to Do Now" List
In
determining strategic direction for a business, it is far easier to
decide what you are going to do, than what you are not going to pursue
now. The most important tool is the "Not Going to Do Now" list, which
outlines projects, initiatives, strategies, acquisitions, etc. that
might be interesting to explore at some time in the future, but are
distractions to the current strategic direction. During the planning
process, items are added to this list. The management team agrees that
in order for the organization to pursue an item on the "Not Going to Do
Now" list, something must be come off the current strategic planning
list.
Prioritize
There
are a number of techniques to use in prioritizing. Some companies use
the following categories to further delineate priorities. Items noted as
"Critical" are the focus of the business. Once these have been
completed, the "Need to Have" category items are next in priority. It is
interesting to note that companies that use this approach rarely get to
the "Nice to Have" items, and almost never get to the "Can Be Deferred"
items.
|
Critical
|
Need to Have
|
|
Can be Deferred
|
Nice to Have
|
Alignment around the Critical Strategies
It
is our belief that most companies should identify no more than three
strategies. Companies that execute well on two of the three strategies
are usually very successful. The key to success is focusing on a limited
number of strategies, communicating the direction, aligning the team
and incentives around those strategies, establishing solid action plans
and metrics, and holding members of the team accountable for results.
Simple to identify...More difficult to do
Like
most things in business, Identifying the "to do" strategies and the
"Not to do" List is easy to describe and more difficult to achieve. We
spend most of our time working with businesses to help them narrow
strategies to ones they can execute well, focusing and aligning the
team, monitoring the progress, and adjusting course as necessary.
If you would like to discuss this in more detail, please contact me.
