Orchestrate
A colleague and I were discussing our career paths the other day. Both of us are musicians. He is a professional and I am a serious amateur. We were talking about the power of music to coordinate individuals and teams.
One Minute
I exercise every morning before work in order to power up for the day. I recently started a new boot camp at Vancouver’s Vanier Park. Located near Kits Beach, with views of the water and apartments in Vancouver’s West End, it is a beautiful place to exercise. The natural setting helps to energize me.
We Have Alignment
I sometimes volunteer to drive race officials at Dragonboat regattas. This gives me the opportunity to sit back and observe the start of a Dragonboat race. After the on the water umpire hands the race over to the starter, the starter brings all the Dragonboats up to the start line. Once the starter gets every boat in position in perfect order on the start line, they call out:
Which Direction?
In business, we are always looking for feedback on where we are and how we are doing in order to plan our next steps in where we are going. All too often I see entrepreneurs pouring over financial statements hoping that they will predict the future. I think there are many challenges in using traditional financial statements to help in the operations and vision for your business.
Move the Average
I last wrote in Red, Orange, or Green that top performing organizations find one or two critical numbers that drive all organizational results. Rather than tracking tens or hundreds of numbers, there are always a handful of critical ones that all the others depend on. Focusing on those few critical numbers creates rhythm and momentum. I want to give some concrete examples of how this works for me.