Colleagues,

We are picking back up on our strategic leadership plan again today. A couple of things before we dive in:

• It’s okay if you are too busy, at least read and think about the prompts
• The big benefit of the process is that it focuses you on the actions that you should be taking on a daily basis
• This is about you and your leadership, not your organization
• You can find last week’s tasks on my blog here

 
On page two of the worksheet (get one here), there is a modified SWOT table. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
 
Today’s task:
Add your three goals to the table (1st column). For each goal, think about the strengths (facilitators) and weaknesses (barriers) you have that will influence your ability to achieve your goals. These include a wide variety of things such as your own leadership traits and knowledge, workload, others in your workplace, and even the structures in your organization.

Colleagues,
 
Most strategic plans include objectives. Traditionally, objectives are the steps that lead to completion of the goal. 
 
For example, my first goal (shared yesterday) is:

1. Grow email list to 10,000 subscribers with 25% open rate

 
A traditional set of objectives would be something like:

• Increase list to 500 by end of 2021
• Increase list to 1,000 by end of 2022
• Increase list to 5,000 by end of 2023

 
Essentially, this form of benchmark serves as an evaluation measure to see whether or not we are on track.
 
Again, that is an outcome focused approach, but our MVP is a process-driven effort, so we aren’t doing objectives that way! In fact, my personal MVP has no objectives. Instead, I used multiple sets of goals:
 
Goals (12 months)

• Create a positive growth trend for the email list
• Increase number and diversity of clients
• Refine APEx model

 
Goals (Immediate)

• Establish and execute writing/publication schedule
• Establish and execute marketing plan
• Break out of comfort zone

 
Some of them read a bit like traditional objectives, but they aren’t. My 12-month goals aren’t about reaching hard targets, they are about establishing a direction.
 
In contrast, my immediate goals consist of the three things I must do in order to start moving forward.
 
As you can see, we don’t need to be overly concerned with the technical accuracy of our goals and objectives. This is an MVP and if the “goal” works for you then it is fine.
 
Step 1: Review your goals from yesterday. If you did 3-5 year goals, consider establishing some shorter term goals/objectives. An easy way to do this is to think about the initial things that need to happen in order to start progressing.
 
Cheers!
 
Frederick

Colleagues,
 
After creating a mantra, mission, and vision, we are now ready to dive into goals. Goals are the things that, if you achieve them, will lead to making your vision a reality. Goals lead to fulfillment of the vision, not the mission.
 
Goals should be few (three). SMART goals are nice, but not necessary for an MVP. In a traditional strategic plan, SMART goals are essential because they provide measures for determining success. However, the MVP is process driven and we will focus more on what we do daily than on the outcome at the end.
 
Step 1: Ask yourself what needs to happen in order to achieve the vision. If I do x, y, and z, that should lead to the vision. Try to keep it to three. You will need to decide how far out you want your goals to be. Typical timeframes are 3-5 years, 12 months, 3 months, and 1 month.
 
My goals:

1. Grow email list to 10,000 subscribers with 25% open rate
2. Publish consistently in a variety of formats
3. Grow APEx into a sustainable subscription program with 100+ users 
4. Remain engaged in the field (direct consulting)
5. Diversify and stabilize income

Obviously, I broke my own rule of three, but in this case, it works for me. There is some interplay in my goals. For example, goal 2 actually is essential for achieving goal 1.
 
Before you go… one of the most difficult things about writing the daily email is knowing whether or not my efforts are fulfilling my mission of helping you lead strategically every day. Please consider hitting reply here and letting me know what you think of this week’s activities.
 
Cheers!
 
Frederick

​Colleagues,
 
Vision: What the future should actually look like. It is the impact that completing your mantra will have.
 
Step 1: Consider how the world (or those you serve) would look like if you fulfilled your mission. This is your vision.
 
My vision: Become an established “authority” able to reach and help a large audience. Note that my vision is for myself and my organization, not so much about the outcome of my mission. This is because I need to make my vision a reality in order to have the impact I want. Like I said, it is an imperfect science. What is important is that the pieces work for you.
 
Remember that this is an MVP. This is a minimally viable plan that will help you be better without spending a lot of time writing stuff down. 
 
Less is more, so that’s it for today.
 
Cheers!
 
Frederick

Colleagues,
 
Yesterday you dusted off your strategic plan and watched a 5-minute video on making mantra. 
 
Before we get going, you might want to download my MVP strategic Plan document here. It is just a simple word document to save you a few minutes.
 
One word of caution: This is an imperfect science. The most important thing is that what you develop works for you. If some part of your plan isn’t technically correct, don’t sweat it.
 
Mantra: What you focus on each day.
 
Mission: Why your organization exists or why you lead.
 
Step 1: Review your list of whys and whats from yesterday. 
 
Step 2: Prioritize 3-5 words and arrange them into a statement that describes what outcomes you want from your leadership. This is your mantra.
 
My mantra: Lead strategically, every day. This mantra captures what I want the people I serve to do.
 
Step 3: Adapt your mantra into a one-sentence statement that states what you do related to your mantra.
 
My mission: Help leaders practice strategic behaviors daily. In my perfect world, I get to help leaders all day and I help them to specifically engage in daily strategic actions.
 
Optional: for fun, you can contrast my mission statement with a variety of school mission statements here.
 
Tomorrow: Vision and goals.
 
Do you like your mantra? If so, please share it with me by clicking here. 
 
Cheers!

Frederick