Focus on what matters…

I get to be in some incredible discussions.  This week I sat in on a Crew Leader’s Meeting (Crew Lead, Product Owners, Tech Lead, Area Chapter Leads and Coaches.)  The Crew is refining their various roadmaps and aligning them to focus on Crew Goals.  The Crew Lead kicked us off with a review of our company’s Five Business Priorities.  The discussion that followed was nothing short of inspiring.  

While there is still work to do, I feel like everyone is aligned with the business priorities and the crew goals.  They are editing their individual priorities to better align together, and are putting in place a solid approach to work together to achieve their goals, and contribute to the things that are most important for the company!

Row in the same direction…

Imagine you’re in a canoe on a small lake with your friend.  You both decide you want to visit the shore, and start paddling. After a while, your arms are tired and, strangely, you haven’t made any progress toward the shore.  

You look back at your friend to comment, and notice that they too have been paddling like crazy, but in the opposite direction that you were!  Both of you were working incredibly hard, yet because you didn’t have the same outcome in mind (the same spot on the shore) your efforts didn’t get you where you wanted to be.  You both had the right idea, and the best of intentions – but because you weren’t transparent with your plan, and aligned in your direction – your efforts were wasted.

Transparency and alignment are key…

Just like the canoe example, our squads and teams can get so focused on their objectives, that they miss opportunities to align on their shared goals, and change the direction they are “paddling.”  By looking for ways to align the objectives of the work we’re doing with the overall objectives of the crew (or business unit) we can regularly inspect the work we’re doing and making sure we’re contributing as effectively and efficiently as we can.

• Size the Prize.  Be crystal clear about the goals and objectives are of the crew. Measurable goals that are quantified and regularly inspected are key to helping team and squad members prioritize.  (Use numbers. “We want to add XXXXX new customers this quarter.”  “We want to reduce truck rolls by XX%.”  We want to shorten call times by XX seconds.”  “We want to reduce administrative time by XX hour per week.”)

• Align the work.  Initiatives, projects, epics, stories… anything on your backlog needs to align with the crew goals! Quantify the lift those efforts will contribute to the overall goal, and by when.  Consider using the phrase “so that…”  “We are deploying updated FAQs so that we can reduce calls to the call center in XXX categories so that we can shorten our overall call times.”  As Fred says, “Value over volume.”  

• Small increments.  Size your work so that you can get incremental gains as soon as you can.  This will help your team, squad and crew identify early, what might work and what might not work, and if a pivot is necessary.  Frequent and early feedback can help you maximize the value you’re creating!

• Experiment and learn quickly.  If your squad has an initiative to reduce truck rolls by creating more self-serve options… try something small.  Pick ONE thing and put it in the market – see if it has the impact you expect.  If it does… do more!  If it doesn’t maybe there are better ideas to try!  There is no better way “to take action to drive our performance.”

• Inspect regularly.  Get together with your partner squads, teams and crews and be transparent about your progress toward your shared goals.  Rebalance your priorities so you are focusing your most limited resources toward the ideas that will produce the best results. This helps us to build, and “keep the momentum going.”

• Don’t be afraid to say “no.”  Stopping something that is under performing and saying “no” to non or low-value efforts frees up our resources to do the “fewer, bigger things“ that WILL move the needle the most.

I say it all the time.  “We all win together.”  By understanding our priorities, and aligning our work to our shared goals, we set a solid foundation for success.  By focusing on the outcomes, and adjusting to ensure we’re putting our resources on the things that matter the most, we multiply our changes for success.  If you’d like help getting started, or improving the way you create alignment and transparency, reach out to your Coach.  We’re here to help.  Now decide on which shore you want to visit, and start paddling together!

#WeAllWinTogether