In a meeting the other day, I asked our team of about 26 people this question:
“What are our 3 big objectives for the year?”
Silence.
Crickets chirping.
Blank stares.
To my surprise (and to my frustration), no one could rattle it off.
Quick backstory. For the past few months, we’ve been deep in a strategic planning process at The Soderquist Center. Our guide is a guru in strategic planning. Our plan is simple, it fits on one page. It lists our Objectives, Goals, Strategies, and Measures for our entire organization for the whole year.
Back to the meeting. Now I’m frustrated that our team didn’t know it by heart. And later I received some feedback that I came across as agitated and harsh. To be honest, I was. But saying things like, “This is important, people!” and “You should know this already!” didn’t really help the situation.
As I processed this a little more I realized that in our excitement to create the plan, we missed a big piece. We didn’t make it visible. The document lived in some folder on our server where people would have to dig to find it.
So I decided to fill up my office windows with big bold words and pictures to remind us of our vision and our plan. Some people think I’m a little crazy (which I don’t disagree with), but all in all, it has been well received. Since the meeting, many people have joked with me about being so direct and annoyed, a side of me they rarely see. And most everyone has posted the strategic plan at their desk. They like to wave it around as I walk by.
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