Symptoms

Most management teams don't have a systematic approach to goal execution. This results in a set of normal, although avoidable, symptoms:

Schedule Symptoms

• Everyone is frantically busy with urgent work
• Every day is a mad scramble — there's no time to work on anything that isn't immediate
• The sheer volume of day-to-day work makes it nearly impossible to slow down and reflect on longer term plans
• It is difficult to focus and finish things because there are so many projects on the go

Goals Symptoms

• There are mainly just revenue related goals
• Non revenue goals are ambiguous in terms of a) measurements of success and b) time-frame
• Goals feel arbitrary and/or vague
• There's little accountability to hitting goals
• Goals are regularly delayed or missed

Communication Symptoms

• Team experiences confusion and misunderstandings about which projects to prioritize
• There are frequent changes in direction that not everyone understands or agrees are necessary
• People are unsure of who is doing what and why
• Leaders don't want to micromanage but feel unsure that strategic projects are going to get done otherwise
• There are long discussions about big picture strategies, but few firm decisions