Plan Rather Than React

We need a delivery pulled into this month, cycle time is killing us, subcontractors are not cleaning up, turnover is out of control, the customer wants another change, etc., etc.

This is the reactionary state that most in our industry live with daily. It's the familiar "pay me now or pay me later."

The root of many of these items on your daily to-do list is a failure to discipline yourself and your team to business planning. I'm not speaking about the planning session that typically places six to eight of you in a room to brainstorm about issues and potential solutions. I'm talking about a scientific approach of understanding every business competency that drives your firm, how you currently perform in each competency, and which of the 80 business competencies that exist are essential to your business's vision.

To understand which competencies are mission-critical and where your greatest weaknesses lie within them enables you and your team to have laserlike execution at all levels. You can see the obvious gaps, devote the appropriate resources to a problem and monitor progress. Accountability, measurement and an organizational upgrade follow.

Bill Carpitella can be contacted at bill@sharrowgroup.com.