I’ve been lucky enough in my career to work with many outstanding business leaders and CEOs, and one of the many areas I admire is that they know precisely when to plan for change.
Jack Welch once famously said, “Change, before you have to”, but for many businesses in today’s economic climate, the need to address change now and plan effectively for the next 12 months has never been more vital.
There are 3 common areas that we come up against time and again when working with Executive Teams on future planning:
- A SHARED VISION, YOUR GUIDING LIGHT
Vision statements are a company’s roadmap. They define the direction of a company’s growth. They often inspire the team, provide clarity, enable focus and continue to motivate employees and customers alike. Vision statements rarely change, but in these uncertain times, now is the perfect time for CEOs to revisit and reinforce the company’s vision and incite action wherever possible.
- A STRATEGY FRAMEWORK THAT WORKS.
McKinsey’s 3 Horizons of Growth framework provides a robust structure, especially in uncertain times, for companies that need to balance immediate concerns around maintaining existing business over the next 12 months, while also assigning resource and executive time to maximise opportunities for growth in years 2 and beyond.
The 3 Horizons are defined as;
Horizon 1: Maintain and defend core business
Horizon 2: Nurture emerging business
Horizon 3: Create genuinely new business
- A PRIORITISATION MODEL THAT’S SIMPLE TO USE
There is no one best fit here. There are many prioritisation models in the market that will align your objectives and assign accountability to a manageable number of actions. Some of the common prioritisation frameworks include RICE, Kano and MoSCoW.
Some of the key factors to consider when scoring for prioritisation include:
- The impact of a particular action or objective on, for example, your Horizon 1
- The confidence to deliver the objective, based on resource, budget and skills
- The effort required in delivering the objective
Once the scores have been processed, prioritisation of objectives and actions in line with your strategy and vision will rise to the top. These can then be assigned to your teams with accountability and timelines defined for successful delivery.
At TKM, many of our consultants have grown their own companies and successfully exited businesses. We apply our experience and pragmatic approach to business to support CEO and executive teams around the world in defining their vision, strategy and prioritisation in order to adapt successfully to a changing world.
Stay safe everyone,
All the best,
Anil, Managing Partner, TKM
For more information, email us at hello@tkm-consultants.com or head over to www.tkm-consultants.com.