Are We There Yet?

I have triplet three year-old girls. While I avoid long car trips like the plague, they do come up occasionally. When traveling with the girls, the “are we there yet?” question begins in triplicate about the time we reach the end of our street. Thinking about my own horrific road trips with the girls, I began analyzing the way I normally address their questions (at least the first 100 times or so that they ask it).  I usually begin patiently explaining a bit about our route, what they will see and how long it should take to get to our destination. I also throw in some caveats about traffic, how many stops we have to make and other variables…just to couch my predictions with some contingency for the unexpected. Drawing a parallel from that exchange to the world of business strategy, it might surprise you how much they have in common.

The Responsibility of Driving

Successful business executive’s possess a vision for their organization’s developmental journey.  They are tuned into the business strategy and know what milestones they expect to see; holding predictions related to how long each should likely take to be reached.  The top executive is literally in the driver’s seat, controlling the vehicle which is their organization. What if the top executive’s vision for the journey was more widely disseminated and fully understood? What if strategic milestones and the expected timeframes to reach them where communicated frequently, in tandem with the implementation of programs to empower and mobilize our workforce to help us reach them? The answer, of course, is that frustration levels would go way down because people would know more about where they are going and what to expect along the way.

This, of course, requires that we, as leaders, have a clear vision of our intended destination. It requires that we have a strategy for getting there. It also requires time for us to get the messaging we will use for articulating our vision and strategy down into concise language. It also requires for us to have the patience we will need to communicate the message often.

Dealing With Delays and Detours

Milestones and timeframes for our journey in the business world can shift dramatically, with the many moving parts of our business that do not always behave the way we expected them to. Combined with the unpredictable economic and regulatory variables that will impact our plans, you can count on being forced off of your intended fast and easy four-lane express route and onto a bumpy detour road at some point along the journey. At those times, leaders must offer encouragement and updated information related to the strategy, revised milestones and the forecasts they envision for reaching them.

In Conclusion

Barring something catastrophic happening, we do not abandon our intended destination during a road trip. When we are delayed or forced off course, we make adjustments (revise our strategy and/or tactics for getting there), and forge ahead. The same should be true in business.  Yes, we may choose to abandon an unprofitable line of business or exit a declining market where we don’t have a chance to succeed, but in general…we chart a new course to reach our original destination and answer the questions from the back seat on what is going on at this point, why we changed direction and when we should expect to finally get there.

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