The Discipline of Getting Things Done

Examine all your strategies and determine the sorts of skills you need for these plans. If you can’t develop the right people in time, determine if you need to hire from outside. Identify which jobs are critical, and which ones will be critical down the line. Are they filled with the right people? Monitor also the top positions in the company and spell out criteria for filling them. If there is a sudden vacancy, is there someone you haven’t considered who might be more than qualified? If you know your people and their capabilities, filling the vacancy should be a small problem, especially if you’ve done your job in developing them for leadership.

The Importance of Hows

Even brilliant strategies are bound to fail if not grounded in realities—regarding the competition, the capabilities of the company’s own people, the market, the product offerings. When creating strategies, consider not only the current realities of all relevant factors, but also unexpected—if unlikely—turns of events. There must always be backup plans, or at least people who can quickly think up alternative plans to make the best of a botched situation. Adaptability to change should always be a consideration: constantly review your plan to see if it is being executed properly, if current and future steps are still feasible, and if the people in charge are still getting results.

Building the Operating Plan

1. Set the targets: Keep your targets realistic. Base them on track records and histories. 2. Develop action and contingency plans: Study the possible outcomes that might leave the company most vulnerable and base your contingency plan on that. In other words, plan for the worst. 3. Get agreement and closure from all participants: Communicate agreed-upon goals to the people concerned after the meeting, to reiterate your expectations and what they promised to deliver.

Outcomes of the Operations Process
Think carefully: what does your business want to achieve? Think of this vis-à-vis what your company is likely to achieve. Watch how the operations affect your company, especially for the need to reallocate resources. Conduct quarterly reviews to see if you’re still on track, who’s keeping you there, and if you should even be there in the first place.