Radical Focus – Christina Wodtke
Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what you need done and let them surprise you.
Ideas and Systems
Ideas are easy to come up with. What is difficult is moving from an idea to reality. We need systems to keep us, and our teams focused on the goal.
Systems are divided into three parts:
- Setting inspiring and measurable goals.
- Ensuring you and your team always make progress toward that desired goal.
- Setting the cadence to ensure the group remembers what they are trying to do and hold each other accountable.
The Path To Success
The first step to success is creating a mission statement. A good mission is short and inspirational. Try to make it remain valid for at least five years by making it broad.
“We [improve life] in [market] by [value].”
Then motivate people to get them to do their best work and meaningfully measure progress using the OKR system – Objectives and Key Results.
Why We Can’t Get Things Done
- We don’t prioritise our goals. Setting a single objective with three key results can provide the necessary focus.
- We haven’t communicated the goal persistently and comprehensively.
- We don’t have a plan.
- We haven’t made time for our goals. Committing a specific time to work towards the objective will ensure progress.
- We give up instead of iterating. Successful teams may get it wrong at first but then try again.
Setting Objectives
To start with setting your OKRs, set a very high, single objective for a fixed time, such as a quarter.
- An objective should be qualitative and inspirational and motivate people to work on the challenge.
- It should be time-bound.
- It should be a clear sprint, not last too long.
- Directly actionable by the team, not dependent on other teams.
An example of a good objective: Launch an awesome MVP.
Key Results
The key results are tangible and quantitative. They are difficult to attain, but not impossible.
You will generally have three key results that are based on anything you can measure, such as growth, engagement, revenue, performance, and quality.
Creating a Cadence
Create a weekly cycle. A Monday check-in is a conversation across the whole team that shows the group’s OKRs.
On Fridays, teams can celebrate their achievements. Each team should share something. The goal is to feel like a winning team.
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