There are no mistakes

 A principal I live by is that everything happening in an organization happens by design. The same applies in Stupid Games. It’s like this: don’t plan, and pay the price. Don’t listen, and pay the price. On the other hand, collaborate, and move the ball. Solve the problem, and be successful. If you put quality into the preparation and planning of the Stupid Game, you will get quality results. Stupid Games can be used frequently to make points and bring a group together. Typically, businesses will utilize outside facilitators and resources to facilitate the games, but internal people can also be trained to facilitate.

One last thought: picture me in a large field by a hotel; we are not talking Kansas here, the day before I cavorted on the Great Wall of China. My company was working with a major cellular communications firm with the goal of enhancing teamwork between various groups of engineers. During the session in the field, an excited Chinese engineer in Beijing emotionally exclaimed, “These are not Stupid Games! These are good games!” Yes, indeed.
Learn more about CMI and our services >>

Planning

Planning and great execution make the difference both in Stupid Games and in the real business world. Dwight Eisenhower said something to the effect of, “During the battle, I have always found that plans are useless, but prior to the battle, planning is indispensable.” Stupid Games teach groups this lesson.

In some of the games, as in life, you can wing it and still be successful. In the business world there are definite times where winging it can work. However this method can also lead to failure. This is what happens in the stupid game called “The Cube.” 

Picture, if you will, a giant cube made of white PVC pipes. The cube is perched on top of a bucket. It looks like it belongs in Chicago’s Millennium Park. The objective is for participants to move through the cube to earn points without knocking the cube over. The consequence for knocking the cube out of place is that you lose all your points and the group must begin all over.

Groups must plan in order to be successful at the Cube. Everyone needs to know when he or she is making the pass and exactly what technique will be used. Even if the group does not follow the exact plan, the planning supports the group’s success. Making time to plan is an invaluable lesson that, when utilized back at work, will support improved team performance.

Learn more about CMI and our services >>

Seven Rules of Strategic Guessing

Rule Number Seven

Rule number siete is by far the coolest. This reglo says: It is critical that the team show discipline and do the work. Remember the saying, “Garbage in, garbage out.” It is important that the leadership team does complete work. In this endeavor, it is better to do less with better quality than to do a lot with mediocrity.

Some companies have a heck of a time getting out of the firefighting mode. Others never do get out of that stage.

Sometimes members of the leadership team are addicted to firefighting. They are addicted to the way things are and not to dreaming up ways the company could improve. To participate in a good breakthrough planning/guessing process, the planning team must commit time to this endeavor. Real thinking and dialogue must exist.

Once you have created the plan, you need to make sure it is acted upon. Monthly meetings of one to three hours and spending time on objectives and action plans will ensure focus. Then, once a quarter, the planning team should meet offsite, preferably with a coaching resource like yours truly. (Bonus points if the coach is bald-headed. It makes the coach smarter and buffer—really.) At the session, the group will look at what happened in the quarter and then focus on what needs to happen in the next quarter. This will keep everyone aligned on what needs to take place to push the company forward.

Well, there you have it: seven rules that will support you in establishing a successful planning process. Put another way, it is the plan to producing and implementing good strategic planning/guessing. Using these rules will help you create a bright business future—and when you get there, let everyone know that the Brucie sent you.

This series of blog posts are excerpts from the chapter “Seven Rules of Strategic Guessing” from Bruce Hodes first book Front Line Heroes: Battling the Business Tsunami While Developing Performance Oriented Cultures.

Seven Rules of Strategic Guessing

Rule Number Six

El fantastic numero seis is that the planning group must be able to actually work and create together. This has to be much more than “plays well in the sandbox” kind of behavior. The planning group needs to be creative, productive, and able to move quickly to implement change. They have to be collaborators, problem solvers, and change agents within their organization.

A company with a high-performance planning/guessing team has many advantages over its competition. One of my clients has grown remarkably in these past, very challenging, business conditions. This company experienced growth of 60 percent in spite of changing marketplaces and customers. Members of the high-performance leadership planning team at this company trust each other. People can speak their minds, and communication is taken as straight communication about the business, rather than as personal commentary. This type of focus gives the leadership team a great advantage when competing against other business leadership teams that are rife with gossip, mistrust, and miscommunication.

For more information about creating the optimal planning team click here

Seven Rules of Strategic Guessing

Rule Number Five

 

The incredible rule number five is that you must face the brutal facts confronting your company. This is a command, if you will, given to us by Jim Collins in Good to Great. It means honestly facing the issues that challenge your organization, determining solutions, and implementing them in an intelligent way.

 

Your planning team can do this by defining critical issues facing the growth of the company both now and in the future. Let’s say you’re a training company that utilizes technology. Some of the questions you ask your planning team might be:

1. How is the organization going to transition from our old CD-ROM technology to the new “streaming” technology? How are we going to fund this transition?
2. What new products are we bringing out in the next year?
3. How are we going to grow 20 percent per year for the next three years?
4. What improvements do we need to make for us to reduce costs by 10 percent?

Typically, these types of critical issues are addressed by writing a white paper.

 

“What is that?” you ask.

 

“Good question!” I respond.

 

A white paper is a three- to five-page paper that addresses the critical issue. Sometimes a white paper will take on a number of critical issues that are similar in nature. For instance, the white paper “What is Our 2012 Sales and Marketing Plan?” might address the issues of (a) what new products are being introduced next year and (b) how to grow by 20 percent. However, it would not explore the question of what improvements need to be made in the plant to reduce costs by 10 percent. This issue would need a white paper of its own.

 

White papers are written between planning sessions by the members of the leadership group who are best suited to address the problem. This group can also include members outside the planning team who have useful knowledge to contribute.

 

The paper outlines research and analysis for the issues and provides the “answer” submitted by the smaller group to the entire planning team. The entire planning team will read the paper prior to the second session; everyone is invited to bring feedback, questions, and concerns. In the second session, the critical issues are dealt with and problem solving can occur.

 

For more information about writing white papers click here.

 

 

Seven Rules of Strategic Guessing

Rule Number Four

By far, my favorite rule is el grandote numero quatro: start big by creating a vision of the future of the company. It is important that the breakthrough guessing/planning process allows for dreaming and looking at what is the organization needs for a bright future. This is critical. When you have a vision, you are creating a future for the company that employees can then fulfill.

Typically, I do this by asking the group to envision three to five years into the future and record their thoughts on a flip chart. I ask the following questions to arrive at a future vision. If you were already standing three to five years in the future, what would the world look like? What are the important trends affecting your industry at that point?

Once a futuristic scenario is developed, the group should look at what it would like the organization’s image to be in this future. What are customers saying about the organization? Why are customers loyal four years from today? What goods, services, and new products have been brought forth? How much revenue will the organization bring in, and how many employees will it have?

This part of planning can be used to run growth scenarios. Have at least one for aggressive, medium, sluggish, and no growth. Play with the numbers and have some fun with what could be. The planning team should get familiar with the possible territories and futures that could be facing the organization.

For more information about creating a company vision click here.

Seven Rules of Strategic Guessing

Rule Number Three

For the third amazing rule, it is important that you complete the previous year. A powerful completion process will allow you to put that year behind you as you welcome a new one. It’s important for the organization to distinguish the previous year and discuss what occurred during that time, good and bad.

At the very first session of the planning process, the past goes into the past. When I coach these sessions, the group lists the previous year’s information on flip charts. The past is broken down into a number of categories, such as BREAKDOWNS FOR THE YEAR, BREAKTHROUGHS, FIASCOS, DISAPPOINTMENTS, ACCOMPLISHMENTS, and the like.

One of the great aspects of this exercise is that the executives and key employees of the organization get to review all the work that was accomplished during the past 12 months. What aspects of this year are we taking into the next? What aspects are we leaving behind? It’s all included in the meeting minutes and brings completion to the year. One season completes and the next opens up. Excuse me while I get a little weepy. This exercise is worthwhile and useful; everyone is now ready to invent the organization’s future.

For more information about CMI's strategic planning process click here

Seven Rules of Strategic Guessing

Rule Number Two

The second golden rule of planning is to make sure the design of the planning is one that will yield a good result. I am not a believer in leadership teams locking themselves in a room at a resort for two or three days. This type of planning may be sprinkled with some golfing, gambling, or other “fun stuff.” From this design, a strategic plan is supposedly born and created.

The problem with this design is that it curtails critical thinking. This process begins to smell of Plan-In-Binder Syndrome, which is exactly what it sounds like: the leadership group ends up developing a “plan” that then ends up securely contained in a nice plastic binder that is then lost and forgotten. These binders tend to become nestled in the executive bookcases. After the year begins and the fires start raging, no one looks at the plan. Poke me in the eye with a hot stick; Plan-In-Binder Syndrome is such a waste of time and resources. In addition, if you do all your planning during one session, you risk just doing more of what you are currently doing. There is no opportunity for research or involving other employees within the organization who are not at the planning session. I find that these plans run the risk of superficiality and being UN-implementable. Is that a word?

Here is what to do. The process should take place over two to three months and take three to four days. It is predicated on white papers and dialogue. Listening and understanding are critical. Better research ensures better debate and thinking. “What is a white paper?” you ask hysterically. “Hang tough,” I say. That is covered in rule five.

For more information on designing your strategic planning process click here.

Seven Rules of Strategic Guessing

Rule Number One

The first rule is always pick the right team for planning. It is crucial that planning team members are people who are committed to and can add value to the conversation about the company’s growth. The only exception is if there are key employees or managers you want to train. If you want them to better understand the strategic issues facing the company, it might make sense for them to be a part of the process. In addition, you can have members of the planning team who are outside the leadership group. These could be sales-people and other key employees. It is important that you vet them and ensure that they are of the quality and stature required for being a part of the planning group.

A number of times over the years, I have seen the wrong leaders and key employees involved in planning. Their participation actually hurt the effort. Take Carla, an HR manager that was naturally included at a manufacturing plant’s planning sessions. After the planning sessions, she took employees into her office and gossiped about managers. Then she left. (Thank goodness.) After her departure, the plant’s CEO added Lucinda, the new HR manager, to the team. She was young, energetic, knowledgeable, and had a clear vision of what the company could be. Her role was completely different than the first HR manager’s was. Lucinda’s addition to the planning team was constructive and positive.
The message here is to pick wisely and selectively. Members of the planning team must be able to maintain complete confidentiality and be fully engaged in the growth and well-being of the company. Select employees who are passionate about growing the company, developing an extraordinary organization, and, essentially, being the CEO’s partner. Don’t accept mediocrity or include people in the planning process simply because of their positions.
For more information about picking the right team click here.

Seven Rules of Strategic Guessing

A few years ago I stood facing a group of well-heeled executives and CEOs at a conference to deliver a talk on strategic planning.

“Which of your companies plan on an annual basis?” I asked.

Only a quarter of my audience raised their hands. I opened my eyes in shock.  

“To those of you who don’t plan on an annual basis, why not?” I pressed.

In one way or another, they answered that they were too busy fighting fires to have time for that. This same group of executives then complained about low growth and no profits. They blamed the economy for their problems. With that, I suddenly understood: clearly, they were nincompoops. These CEOs did not make the connection that planning helps you deal with the economy and the issues that challenge your business.

Before we go further, let’s define what we mean by strategic guessing/planning. Rework, a book written by successful software entrepreneurs Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, declares that planning has been replaced by guessing. There is something to this. The past two years have presented a very uncertain climate for most businesses. If guessing has become “as good as it gets”, then you absolutely need a process by which to look at the future and make educated and measured calculations about creating a bright organizational future. However, while tactics are a part of this process, strategic guessing/planning focuses executives on the strategy and future moves that the company will take to achieve its health and growth.

The fact is that many small- to mid-sized companies do not have a structured process from which to conduct strategic planning. This is like many adults who do not exercise, despite knowing it’s good for them. Perfect health isn’t guaranteed by regular exercise, but the likelihood of attaining good health is dramatically increased. Strategic breakthrough business guessing/planning works for businesses in much the same way as exercise works for the individual.

Over the next few weeks I will present a streamlined list of my company’s most critical rules for strategic guessing/planning. There are only 120 of them. So, music please! What? Okay! Take it easy! (You get overwhelmed so easily.) We will go over just seven rules of planning. Is that better?

Going To Ecuadorland: Snippets from a Trip

I went to Ecuador not for pleasure but for a client. Gosh that sounds romantic. CMI has a client in Ecuador; sweet. Finally I had outgrown the constraints of North America. Traveling there was like going to a new world. The transition, twelve hours of travel and the hour standing in line to get out of Ecuadorian Customs, solidified that I was no longer in Kansas. Not to mention, everyone spoke Spanish.

Was that really a bullet proof vest on that security guard who took my suitcase out of the car? He also wore a pistol. What was that about? I assumed that the pistol was for protecting me in my hotel room. Oh dear; what had I gotten myself into? 

Dinner was served in a small dining room perched overlooking mountains. As I enjoyed the freshest shrimp ceviche ever and the most exquisite wine, I knew I was in a new world. 

In the morning I took a quiet walk around the hotel. There were a few people on the street. I did see two dogs. Walking around at 10,000 feet elevation is what I imagine walking around the sea bottom in a full-blown diving suit is like. It feels like you have fifty pounds attached to your legs and you cannot move. If you do move, you turn into Mr. Huffy Puffy. I could not catch my breath. 

In Ecuador I instantly related to everyone. Everyone looks you in the eye. It does not matter who they are, Waiter, campesino, the wealthy, everyone has a presence. Everyone is sincerely courteous, in a way that I do not experience here in Illinois.

I instantly related to my clients. We did not have time for pleasantries. There was work to be done. Three years of planning to be accomplished in three days. We worked in the CEO’s apartment overlooking hills covered with farms and trees. Yet we were located in the middle of Quito with a population of two million and really horrible traffic. How did all that manage to co-exist? 

The visiting cook and her company made a catered lunch right there in the owner’s apartment. She prepared empanadas, a staple of Ecuadorian cuisine. Empanadas come in various shapes, sizes and flavors as do the avocados. Ecuadorians can talk about the distinctions and differences of their avocados and empanadas with the same rigor that the Argentinians talk about beef and red wine. Who knew?

I spent Saturday with my new Ecuadorian family. Not my clients, but a different family who adopted me. I got new aunts, uncles, cousins and even parents. I was instant family. Familia is all important in Ecuador. The love of family is palatable. The high point of the evening was eating cuy, Ecuadorian guinea pig, a delicacy which a number of us had never partaken in. It’s delicious. I highly recommend it. It tastes like pork; who knew?

Sunday was corporate team building with 38 Ecuadorian participants. A German woman in her twenties that I just met assisted me. The participants had never played stoopid games before. They loved it and threw themselves into it with a passion. That engagement and enthusiasm was present in the meeting where the participants played full out. We laughed a lot together and I loved that. My Spanish was not perfect or entirely adequate, but the participants made it work. Nothing got in the way of this company laying new tracks; impressive.

The evening before my midnight departure we went to artesian market in Colonial Quito. They call it old town. The shopkeepers tested my Mexican bargaining skills and I walked out with some really great stuff for family, friends and colleagues. Am I full service or what?

The transition out of Ecuador also included waiting in a line. I was in first class and waited an hour. I love how no one is discriminated against standing in line in Ecuador. Long lines include everyone. At midnight I walked back on to the plane. The stewardess recognized me from my previous flight to Ecuador. At that point I knew I was coming back to Kansas.

Concluding Words for building Performance Oriented Cultures

So there you have it -  four steps towards building a high performance culture - staffing, teams, mission & values, and planning.  Any movement up the slope to establishing these cornerstones will prove valuable. You will also learn by doing. So do not contemplate your next steps – get going! Let us know how you do and what you are learning and developing.

Please leave your comments below or email us.

Planning: The 4th Cornerstone of Performance Oriented Cultures

Strategic planning creates the platform for a healthy company.

Strategic planning is a critical part of growing a successful business. A high performance work culture needs a system that makes sure that employee goals are aligned and everyone is focused on the right stuff.

The fact is that many small- to mid-sized companies do not have a structured process from which to conduct strategic planning. This is like many adults who do not exercise, despite knowing it’s good for them. Perfect health isn’t guaranteed by regular exercise, but the likelihood of attaining good health is dramatically increased. Strategic breakthrough business guessing/planning works for businesses in much the same way as exercise works for the individual.

The process should take place over two to three months and take three to four days. It is predicated on white papers and dialogue. Listening and understanding are critical. Better research ensures better debate and thinking. “What is a white paper?” you ask hysterically.

A white paper is a three- to five-page paper that addresses the critical issue. The paper should deal directly with the issues. It is, with research and analysis, the “answer” submitted by the smaller group to the entire planning team.

Once you have created the plan, you need to make sure it is acted upon. Monthly meetings of one to three hours and spending time on objectives and action plans will ensure focus. Then, once a quarter, the planning team should meet offsite, preferably with a coaching resource like yours truly. (Bonus points if the coach is bald-headed. It makes the coach smarter and buffer—really.) At the session, the group will look at what happened in the quarter and then focus on what needs to happen in the next quarter. This will keep everyone aligned on what needs to take place to push the company forward.

For more information about CMI's Business Planning Process click here.

From Good to Great

Want to know how companies go from Good to Great?!

It isn't the health care, the 401Ks, or the child care...but it may be the brand that the company creates!

Read an article by Deborah Campbell: What Great Companies Know About Culture

In Bruce Hodes' new book Front Line Heroes: Battling the Business Tsunami with Performance Oriented Culture, he discusses the importance of a kick-off meeting to get everyone on the same page about values, boost morale, and more!

Get a signed copy of Front Line Heroes at CMI's Website.

Visit the website or email us for more information!

The Top 5 Reasons to Read Front Line Heroes

(5) It is fun, entertaining and informative. This book’s chapters include, “Posters, Plaques, and Horse Manure,” “Go Live with Whales” and “Why Stoopid Games?” which describe how values, teamwork, communication and your own potential can make your company successful.

(4) It is universal. The stories described in Front Line Heroes are based on real companies and real people from business groups of large corporations, non-profit organizations and family businesses, to name a few.

(3) It is practical. The book offers concrete advice and ways in which to use it. Most business books talk about what other companies did to succeed and not about how to do it. Front Line Heroes is all about the “How.”

(2) It really works. Front Line Heroes is based on 30 years of real life experience. Since 1984, Bruce has helped companies develop and grow with strategic business planning and team building programs.

(1) It is personally signed. Autographed copies are available for purchase on the CMI website.

Irreverent New Book Shows Business Owners & Executives How to Thrive in Changing Times

Front Line Heroes: How to Battle the Business Tsunami by Developing Performance Oriented Cultures by Bruce Hodes is now available

Oak Park, IL, February 3, 2012—In his new book, management consultant and teambuilding expert, Bruce Hodes shows business owners how to grow despite the tsunami of recent economic events with strategies for execution management, business planning and building a high performance culture.

As a business owner himself and having worked for his family’s company in his formative years, Bruce shares stories and best practices resulting from his work with clients over three decades. Each tale enlightens business owners with the steps necessary to implement positive, sustainable change that leads to increased revenue generation, employee engagement and profitability.

Most business books talk about what other companies did to succeed and not about how to do it. Front Line Heroes is not only all about the “How” but also bold, cheeky and accessible. This book’s chapters include, “Posters, Plaques, and Horse Manure,” “Stop the Past & Start the Future” and “Why Stoopid Games?”

According to author Bruce Hodes, “In the face of the business tsunami we’re in—meaning the financial calamity of 2008 and subsequent recession—it’s hard to acquire credit and customers. Businesses and organizations are faced with doing more with less or going out of business.” Hodes asserts that if your business lacks a performance-oriented culture, and you do nothing to change that, your business conditions will worsen.

“I wrote the book because I’ve acquired knowledge and developed tools that can make a big difference in improving the performance of organizations, business owners and executive leadership teams. This book is a good way to reach more people than we do in our practice at CMI,” reflected Bruce. “My favorite chapter: the Lucky Sperm & Egg Club, which is about taking the family out of family business.”

According to Corey Michael Blake, founder of the book’s publisher Writers of the Round Table Press, “For those in the business of leading people and growing companies, Front Line Heroes is a must read; the kind of book that has you jotting down notes in the margin to put into action. Bruce's depth of wisdom comes shining through, as does his quirky sense of humor. Any business owner, entrepreneur or manager would be well served by reading this book.”

Front Line Heroes: How to Battle the Business Tsunami by Developing Performance Oriented Cultures carries a cover price of $14.95 for the paperback version. The digital version is priced between $6.95 and $9.95 for use with Kindle, Nook and iBooks. Autographed copies are available on the CMI website. It is also available at all online retail sites including Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Powell’s.

About the Author
Since working for his family’s boating business to founding his company CMI (Crusading, Marauding Interveners), Bruce Hodes has dedicated himself to helping companies grow by developing executive leadership teams, business leaders and managers into powerful performers. Bruce’s adaptable Breakthrough Strategic Business Planning methodology is specifically designed for small-to-mid-sized companies and is especially valuable for family company challenges. With a background in psychotherapy, Hodes also has an MBA from Northwestern University and a Masters in Clinical Social Work. Front Line Heroes: How to Battle the Business Tsunami by Developing Performance Oriented Cultures is Bruce’s first book. More information is available at the CMI website.

Front Line Heroes

Front Line Heroes: How to Battle the Business Tsunami by Developing Performance Oriented Cultures by Bruce Hodes is going to be available so soon! Read the back cover below.

It is possible to develop and grow powerful organizations in challenging times—it just takes courage, determination, and actionable techniques that work. In Front Line Heroes, Bruce Hodes offers executives and business leaders advice culled from 30 years of coaching privately held companies ranging from $5 million to $100 million in size. With humor, real-world examples, and step-by-step guides, the book explains:

• How to make mission, values, and BHAGS relevant to daily organizational life

• 7 essential rules for effective strategic planning

• How to transform groups into high-performance teams

• 4 organizational enigmas and the missing link that solves them

• How to eliminate mediocrity from employee performance—for good



If you are ready to stop playing victim to the times, Front Line Heroes will arm you with the tools you need to achieve sustainable business growth.


For more information visit our website here.
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The Seventh Rule of Planning

Rule number siete is by far the coolest. This reglo says, “It is critical that the team be disciplined and does the work.” Remember the saying “garbage in, garbage out.” It is important that the leadership team does complete work. In this endeavor it is better to do less with better quality than to do a lot with mediocrity.

Some companies have heck of a time getting out of the fire fighting stage. Some never do get out of the fire fighting stage. I have seen that sometimes members of the leadership team are addicted to fire fighting. Now that is hot. Another way of saying this is that they are addicted to the way things are and not to the way that the company could be.

To really participate in a good breakthrough planning/guessing process, the planning team has to take time and give it time. Real thinking and dialogue has to exist. Once you have done the plan, then you need to make sure that it is acted upon. Monthly meetings of one to three hours and spending time on objectives and action plans will ensure focus.

Then, once a quarter go off site and meet preferably with a “bald headed” coach. The “bald head” makes the coach smarter and buffer. Really. At the session review, the group will look at what happened in the quarter and then focus on what needs to happen in the next quarter. This will keep the everyone aligned on what needs to take place to push the company forward.

Well there you have it: seven rules that will support you in having a successful planning process. Put another way, it is the plan to good strategic guessing. Use or lose it. Using these rules and you will cause a bright business future. When you get to that bright business future let them know that the Brucie sent you.

Let us know what you think.  Write to us at info@cmiteamwork.com 

The Sixth Rule of Planning

El fantastico numero sies is that the planning group has to be able to actually work and create together. For good productive work to be done, there can be no pretense here. The group has to be able to implement the plan. They have to perform together.

This has to be much more than “plays well in the sandbox” kind of behavior. The planning group needs to be creative, generative and able to move quickly to implement change. They have got to be collaborators, problem solvers and be change agents within their organization.

Implementation is the key to planning success. This is not about producing a document that is pretty and will sit on a shelf. This is about implementing actions and activities that will steer the company in a healthy and profitable direction.

Committed action is key to the success of the planning endeavor. Part of the process is to focus the leadership team on becoming a high performance team. This is done by experiential exercises and measuring for high performance team behavior.

A company running with a high-performance team has many advantages over its competition. I have a particular client in mind. This company has done a remarkable job of growing in very challenging business conditions. I have seen them change marketplaces and customers.

Recently, this company had growth at 60% and they continue to hire and retain great people. Part of how they have done this is by having a fun committee and by paying attention to whether or not their people enjoy their work and being at the company.

There is trust in this planning team. People can speak their minds. This communication is taken as straight communication about the business and not taken personally. They are playing a business game of growing a great company. This team is not engaged in petty issues, nor are they interested in who gets along with and agrees with whom.

Their corporate culture is not a smelly, gossipy political environment. This type of focus gives their leadership team a great advantage when competing against other business leadership teams that are rife with gossip, mistrust and miscommunication.

For more information about CMI's planning process visit our website: www.cmiteamwork.com

The fifth rule of planning

The incredible rule number five is facing the brutal facts that confront your company. This is a distinction that is given to us by Jim Collins in his book Good to Great. It means honestly confront the issues that confront your organization and truly dealing with them. Do not deny them or sugar coat them. Deal with them in an intelligent way.

Your planning team can do this by defining critical issues facing the growth of the company. These are issues that will be, or presently are, confronting the company.

“Examples puleeeees!” you demand. Coming right up.

• How is the organization going to transition from our old CD-ROM technology to the new “streaming” technology? How are we going to fund this transition?
• What new products are we bringing out in the next year?
• How are we going to grow 20% per year for the next three years? 
• What improvement do we need to make in the plant for us to reduce costs by 10%? 

Typically these types of critical issues are addressed through the writing of a white paper. “What is that?” you ask. “Good question!” I respond and if you had not brought it up I simply could not have continued to write this book, so thanks for the question.

A white paper is a three- to five-page paper that addresses the critical issue. It is written between planning sessions by the members of the leadership group that are best suited to address the problem. This group can also have members outside of the planning team who have useful knowledge and thinking to contribute .

The paper should deal directly with the issues. It is, with research and analysis, the “answer” submitted by the group. The entire planning team will read the paper prior to the subsequent session and then debate it during the session. Problem solving ensues. Everyone is invited to bring their feedback, questions and concerns to the next session. This is where the critical issues are dealt with and a direction is hammered out.

For more information about CMI visit our website: www.cmiteamwork.com