(Picture: From the hospital in 2020)
Strategy 4 Saturday (<4 minute read)
Welcome to our expanding Strategy 4 Saturday blog community! If you find value in our weekly blog, please continue to read, provide us comments and share with others. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Happy Holidays! As scheduled, this is our final blog for 2023! Thank you for your support, and we look forward to bringing you new materials starting Saturday, January 6th, 2024! We hope you have an enjoyable and safe holiday season!
Single Source of Failure
In September 2020, my appendix burst, 100 miles from my house. During COVID, I was stranded alone in a remote hospital for a week.
At that time, I was a solopreneur in my first year at 40 Strategy. As a result, client work did not get done and marketing was shut down. All schedules were just simply delayed until further notice. In between medically induced naps at the hospital, I sent one too many medically fragile texts to clients. Fortunately, they appeared to understand and probably had a good chuckle. However, I wanted to prevent being the single source of failure in the future.
This past week, we had the first opportunity to test our improvements over the past 3 years.
I was scheduled to be in Long Beach, California for a strategic facilitation with a client. However, I was hit with a sickness that knocked me down for nearly a week.
From a business perspective, what happened this time?
Everything was rescheduled within 24 hours. Supporting client work has been delivered. All marketing efforts continued moving forward.
My efforts to start the process: One Text.
Now, this was not perfect. I could have had another resource available to take my place at the facilitation and other key meetings. There are a couple of key tasks, that I have not been able to complete.
But, what a huge difference from three years ago. Our people, process, and systems have improved significantly. Folks, I understand the allure of a Solopreneur business, but is your company still moving forward when you are not?
This logic applies to you whether you are a Solopreneur, owner of a small to mid-size business, leader, manager, or line worker. Untimely events happen to us and our loved ones.
What is your single source of failure?
How do you prevent yourself from being the single source of failure?
What can you start doing in 2024 to radically change what it would look like three years from now?
Ten Ways to Measure Your Strategic Plan
If you have a strategic plan, it’s time to review your annual progress. Are you able to measure its success?
A world-class strategic plan is designed so that its progress can be measured. In our Captain Strategy terminology, you should be able to answer the following 10 questions in terms of progress over the past year:
- Are you closer to reaching your long-term vision?
- Are you on-track arriving at your long-term destinations? (goals)
- What percentage of the journeys (strategies) started on time?
- What percentage of the journeys were completed?
- What percentage of the completed journeys met or exceeded your expectations?
- Why were the uncompleted journeys not completed?
- Did you celebrate your wins?
- What did you learn from your wins and uncompleted/unmet journeys?
- Did your strategic initiatives support your annual financial results?
- What are you changing in 2024 to improve your performance?
Measuring 40 Strategy Accomplishments in 2023
Our four major strategic initiatives:
- A) Create New Website
- B) Publish Lost at CEO Book
- C) Start “Strategy 4 Saturday” Blog
- D) Launch Captain Strategy Course
We will answer our progress in terms of the same questions.
- Yes
- Yes
- All
- 100%
- 75%
- N/A
- Yes
- The Strategy Course was piloted successfully. However, our sales and marketing efforts were not fully developed because our historical sales have primarily been referral.
- Yes, except for the course.
- As the result of our strategy course marketing lesson, we are developing a new sales and marketing process that will launch by the end of Q1, 2024.
(Picture: Measuring NW Snow)
A Special Thank You for 2023
Here’s the moment when I can get a bit emotional. I am so grateful for the hard work and inspiration for our team and key partners in 2023. Overall, the 40 Strategy team exceeded my expectations so that we can move forward to reach our long-term vision. Here’s my shout-out and special thank you to our direct team and key partners who helped us get stuff done:
- Tonya Smith
- Ashley Scoby
- Erin Gibney
- Cydney Watts
- Jason Lindley
- Amanda Philips
- Cris Cawley, Game Changer Publishing
- Daniel Patton, Rothbright
Last, but not least, our clients, who have trusted us to make a strategic difference for them in 2023. This partial list of strategy, coaching clients, and partners is NOT complete due to confidentiality, but a sincere thank you even if you are not listed.
- Kenny Green, CEO, Terrane
- Brad Triebsch, Manager Partner, CVF Capital Partners
- Gayle Hughes, Partner, Merion Investment Partners
- Brett Palmer, President, Small Business Investor Alliance (SBIA)
- Dane Groeneveld, Group CEO, Dustin CEO, PTS Advance
- Christian Agulles, President & CEO, Paul Schwer, President Emeritus, PAE
- Lindsay Johnson, CEO, Andrew Johnson COO, FitPROS
- Adam Ghiglia, CEO, Valley Pacific Construction
- Chris de Recat, CEO, Magma Products
- Grant Stockton, Managing Partner, Brisbee & Stockton
- Don Lindsey, CEO, Precision Manufacturing
- Lindsey Charlet, CEO, HUB
Picture below: Christmas from the Bellagio in Las Vegas |
|
 |
|
|
Brad Ketch I “Giving Back” Episodes: How to Stimulate Human Flourishing
When it comes to solving the huge problems in the world…
(And yes, in business too)…
There’s a big difference between:
- Eliminating short-term suffering, or enacting a Band-aid solution, vs
- Fixing the underlying, root issues that cause those problems in the long term
It’s a crucial distinction to make, whether you’re running a charity or a business.
This week on the Measure Success Podcast, I invited someone who’s learned that difference — and now uses those lessons as he leads one of the largest nonprofits in Oregon.
This episode is part of our holiday “giving back” episodes. I talked with Brad Ketch. A global advocate and former tech CEO, Brad steers both grassroots and executive efforts on poverty, justice, and reconciliation initiatives, catalyzing community rebirth internationally, and now within Oregon’s poorest community, through a profound fusion of “bottom-up” and “top-down” methodologies for transformative change. He’s also the author of “The Flourishing Community.”
Tune into the full episode to learn why poverty is so pervasive in some areas, what regular people can do to help alleviate it, the importance of identifying with the people you want to help, ways to support Brad’s organization, more about the work they’re doing in Oregon, and more.
As our podcast and blog are free for you, here is the link to share with someone else to sign up.
Bert Waugh I “Giving Back” Episodes: How to balance purpose and passion
As an entrepreneur or business leader, how do you balance both passion and purpose?
DO you balance them?
And how can you use both to make a real difference in the world — through your business or otherwise?
Those are questions that Bert Waugh, my guest on the Measure Success Podcast next week, has been able to answer a resounding “yes” to — even after his retirement from an extremely successful career in real estate.
Bert Waugh Jr. and his wife, Susy, began taking street youth into their home in the 1970s. In 1991, Waugh founded Transitional Youth, a nonprofit organization that provides housing, outreach, and support to young people who otherwise would be living on the streets.
Tune into the full conversation at the link below or wherever you get your podcasts for more on how Bert got started with helping kids transition from living on the streets, what makes his organization different from others, why his focus is on youth mostly in the 18-24 age category, what others can do to help youth in need, and more.
This is also one of our holiday “giving back” episodes, so if you haven’t listened to the others in this series and are still looking to give a little this holiday season, I encourage you to go back and listen to the rest of December’s episodes.
As our podcast and blog are free for you, here is the link to share with someone else to sign up.
And While We’re Away, Don’t Miss:
Paul Young I Writing your story, owning your truth, and finding success, with “The Shack” author William Paul Young
One of the highest selling books of all time started out with just 15 copies printed at Office Depot. Paul Young wrote “The Shack” expecting to just give copies to his children — but the book quickly grew past even his wildest expectations. His journey to best-selling author is one that anybody can learn from, whether you’re a high-performing CEO stuck in “production” mode, or simply anybody who wants to leave an impact on the world.
Paul Young is the author of “The Shack,” “Cross Roads,” “Eve,” and other books. He was born a Canadian and raised among a Stone Age tribe with his missionary parents in the highlands of what was Netherlands New Guinea (now West Papua). He suffered great loss as a child and young adult, and now enjoys the “wastefulness of grace” with his growing family in the Pacific Northwest.
Tune into the full conversation for more on the backstory behind one of the most successful fiction books of all time, Paul’s definition of success (and why so many leaders fall short of that definition, even without realizing it), his top book recommendations, and a lot more.
Listen in as a former NFL offensive lineman, Marques Ogden shares how his business went bankrupt, losing almost 2 million dollars on one project in a matter of 90 days. During his darkest hours, he pulled himself together, got a part-time job as a custodian and with hard work and determination became an inspirational keynote speaker, executive coach, and marketing leader, helping to build the success of others. He is the author of Sleepless Nights and The Success Cycle.
As our podcast and blog are free for you, here is the link to share with someone else to sign up. |
|
|
