Where do we go from here?

Where do we go from here?

NOW, is the time to get clear on what needs to be done in our businesses and make meaningful progress over the next three, six and 12 months.

At the moment, we may feel like we’re looking at the GPS map in front of us, but the physical road structure is completely different. The map is not reflecting the territory. That can leave us feeling a little frustrated, anxious or overwhelmed. Know anyone who might be feeling a bit like that?

Now is a time for us to gain clarity about what needs to be done. This may look completely different to what we thought we would be doing five weeks ago! Regrouping and getting clarity on our priorities and taking consistent action will enable us to make the progress we need and want to make.

Talking with a few leaders they mentioned they have been questioning what they should be focusing on, particularly with so much uncertainty. At a deeper level, this can sometimes cause us to allow our internal critic to get a bit too much airtime and we start to question our capabilities. One of the key things to remember if you are feeling a bit like this, is you are not alone! You are in good company! Most leaders, if totally honest, would admit to having a few moments of self-doubt over the last five weeks.

So, we know where we are now, and it maybe feels a bit ‘icky’ and overwhelming. If I were to map out our journey over the next three, six and 12 months, and consider the stages we will go through and how that may make us feel, it may look something like this:

We may all be in slightly different places on this journey depending on our industry; whether we have been classed an essential service; how well established our business is etc. The key is to not allow ourselves to get ‘stuck’ where we are. We need to find a way to revisit and re-code what our strategy might need to look like now, so we can get where we need to be in the next 12 months.

What we need is to keep things simple, deliberate and practical. The process I work through with leaders unpacks all these key areas to ensure we are focused on achieving results.

1.       The Big Picture:  Focusing on our big picture through the lens of the current climate will be most helpful here. The old lens is a bit out of date now and won’t lead us down the right path. Focusing on the big picture will enable you to consider your people, customers, suppliers, distribution etc. in a way that matches your current reality. This process considers all elements of the context your business operates within and helps define priorities.

2.     Priorities:  Having considered the big picture in all its glory, we are now best placed to restate what our priorities for the next three, six and 12 months might need to be. These may be different to what we had originally stated in our strategic plan because the landscape has changed. The key here is to not have a huge shopping list of items. This will just create more overwhelm. Think of the relevant time frames (three, six, 12 months) and prioritise around those. This is the time to make decisions around what are the most prudent things to focus on.

3.     Execution: With the laser-like focus that we now have on our priorities, we need to be taking consistent action and reviewing how we are tracking in terms of achieving the results we want.

At a time when we all probably feel like we are on the overgrown, meandering path as opposed to the beautifully paved, well signposted and well-lit yellow brick road, revisiting our strategy and repositioning our activities is what we should be focusing on.

So where are you on the current journey and what will you be focusing on in the next three, six, 12 months?

If you’re ready to move forward with a focused strategy, contact me.

Lead with Impact,