The CEO will be able to monitor their Critical Change Initiatives if sufficient Specific Results have been thought through up-front.
Do you know if the critical changes you are driving are on track? Strategy and Operations are equally important, but how much of your organisation’s time and energy goes into tracking Operational and Financial performance compared to monitoring the critical changes essential to deliver your strategy?
Many Strategic Initiatives have fuzzy plans, focusing on activity and actions rather than results, revealing no real intention to drive them through. The lack of specificity makes it very hard to understand whether the initiative is on-track to achieve the overall objective before it is too late.
Classic project management provides a solution. Identify specific measurable results for each initiative in the planning stage. It should be unquestionably clear to everyone when they are achieved with a clear Yes/No. For example, “Secure Board Approval” is better than “Prepare presentation for Board” – it is hard for colleagues to know what has really been achieved for the latter, and Board approval could still be months away.
For each critical initiative, there should be sufficient specific measurable results, early enough, to allow time for corrective action to be taken if they are missed.
The focus on results and achievement rather than activity will bring great clarity and accountability to the changes critical for the company’s future.
