Design and Communicate the Big Picture

At the end of each year, I ask each of my members to go through a focus process and construct their “Big Picture” for the upcoming year. This includes (re)envisioning a point in the future and selecting what actions (also called strategic initiatives or multi-term goals) will move their organization closer to it.

To help with this focus process, I designed a “BigPictureForm. My form helps me to understand what is important to each of my members, and it helps my members to communicate their priorities within their companies.  I invite you to download and use my form.

After the form is completed, review it and change any strategic initiatives that:

• no one, especially you, wants to do.  These are easily identified as they usually start with, “We should…”  These goals have a near-zero rate of completion.
• are difficult to measure.  Without clear metrics, an unclear goal yields no accountability.
• don’t support or enhance your competitive advantage.  Why put so much effort into anything that doesn’t make you or your company special?

This form works just as well for personal planning.  For the best effect, I recommend that you complete both a business and personal form and then see how well they fit together- or don’t.  Keep reviewing and revising until you feel excited, motivated and focused.

When you spend time to identify and communicate your most critical initiatives, your whole organization becomes aligned, working together and working on priorities only.  This process requires discipline and must be re-worked again and again until the end product is so clear that everyone in your organization understands that only efforts related to your strategic initiatives deserve attention.