The City Bin Co. alternates between a Critical Number and Quarterly Theme that are focused on improving the People side of the business (“180 to One,” “Saving Mrs. Ryan”) and the Process side of the business (“Life Begins at 40,” “Bin it,” “Bin’s Health”). It’s important to find the same kind of balance as you sequence your #1 priorities.
Related Quotes
In general, you’ll pick a Critical Number that will address either an opportunity or a challenge on the People/Balance Sheet side of the business (e.g., reduce employee turnover, improve customer service scores, or dramatically reduce a credit line with the bank) or the Process/Profit & Loss side (e.g., improve gross margins, reduce production cycle time, or increase sales close ratios).
Last, choose a handful of Rocks — priorities that must be accomplished to achieve the quarterly financial outcomes and Critical Number. Again, less is more. Finally, place the initials of the person accountable for each Rock in the small corresponding “Who” box.
180 to One
Another lighthearted, betting-oriented theme, “180 to One,” focused on having each of Browne’s 60 employees spend one day a month job-sharing during the first quarter of 2012 (60 employees x 3 job-sharing days = 180), to improve customer service throughout The City Bin Co. “We wanted to get people thinking outside of their own department and get an
appreciation of what the other departments do,” says Browne. That meant having the accounts people work in the call centers, asking the customer center workers to ride around in the company’s garbage trucks, and enlisting the truck drivers to answer the phones at the customer center.
If you’re growing 20% to 100% a year, view each quarter as if it were a year. That means possibly adjusting your strategy every 90 days.
• The annual sets the strategic direction and priorities for the year and beyond.
• The quarterly breaks these longer-term priorities into bite-sized priorities that the company can digest.
• The monthly addresses the bigger issues or opportunities that surface around the strategic direction.
• The weekly keeps the priorities top-of-mind and drives discussions around input from customers, employees, and competitors, which feeds back into the quarterly and annual planning processes.
• The daily huddle tracks progress and brings out sticking points that are blocking execution of the strategic direction.