Operational Planning

Every year, we take time out to create and write a detailed plan for the year ahead.

Our leadership team is very clear about who should do what, by when and it remains clear for at least six months after the plan is finalized.

We use less than ten company level KPIs that tell us if we are successful as a business.

We have agreed upon 4-6 critical strategies that help our company win.

My team has prioritized 2-5 crucial company-wide projects, in writing.

All leaders in our company have agreed to 2-8 written, measurable objectives (KPIs) that track their individual performance (along with the team they lead), with monthly targets.

All leaders have identified and accepted their top priority projects.

All leaders have detailed plans for their key projects.

All tasks/projects have written deadline dates assigned and have been accepted as the responsibility of a named leader.

All leaders have gained the explicit commitment of support functions (i.e. IT, HR, budget) to support their top priority projects.

All leaders understand the priorities of other leaders and know how they must assist in their execution.

The team speaks up about problems and supports each other to recover.

Each leader shares their progress with peers monthly, in written form.

All leaders can see each other’s results as the year progresses.

All leaders feel pressure to perform, and feel uncomfortable when they miss their targets/deadlines.

The leadership team focuses on the most important things.  We don’t get distracted.

Our ability to set plans and stick with them is getting better each year.

Our incentive plans are closely tied to the achievement of our KPIs and projects.