Welcome to Q4, the quarter in which what is done, is done.
These last 3 months of work mark the final sprint for many teams that need to materialize their results in high acceleration. Those in this situation need only two things:
1-stay focused, together with your team on a handful of priorities,
2 – conclude them.
I have prepared a tool for you, which you can download and use, as early as the end of reading this short guide.
It’s called the Team Focus Planner. It is a simplified version of one of the tools that makes up theOKR Toolkit from MAKE PROGRESS®, the only certified business growth system based on accelerating growth and using OKRs.
This version can be used by anyone, even if they have not adopted our Method or OKRs.
| Want to help your company, team or clients accelerate results with our tools? Consider becoming a Qualified Coach MAKE PROGRESS® It is about the presentation webinar. |
How to use the Team Focus Planner
Step 1 – Get the template
Visit this page to request the template. You will receive a link via email that will automatically create a copy in your Google Drive. Save the email in a safe place so you can create a new document for each work cycle.
On the “Instructions” sheet, in the “Start” cell you will need to specify the first Monday on which you will start using this tool. Here you will find an additional checklist directly from our procedures.
Step 2 – One paper per team, every 30 days.
The sheet where the action will take place is the one called [Team]. Create copies and rename them. On each sheet you must enter the name of the Team Leader. Remember to share this document with each of them.
Dates for the next 30 days will also be automatically filled in. At the end of the work cycle, create a new one and repeat the steps up to here. It will help you keep the sheet from becoming chaotic and, most importantly, force you to stop and reflect on the work.
Step 3 – No more than 3
The tool is based on the notion that if all teams focused on just 3 important activities per day and concluded them, there would be an undeniable acceleration in strategy execution. Do you agree?
Set a recurring appointment in your and each team leader’s calendar of no more than 15 minutes at the beginning of the day. In this micro-check-in everyone should enter the 3 most important tasks of the day, the ones they are committed to completing.
It is an activity that can also be conducted asynchronously, it is not important to meet physically, it depends on the maturity and culture of the teams. The important thing is to make a commitment to yourself and to colleagues.
If the tasks seem foggy, unclear, or trivial to you, I invite you to read this note; it is a cornerstone of the newsletters of STRTGY:
| №61 How to use OKR Micros. Rewriting tasks as small OKRs improves understanding and quality of work, execution, and team impact. This method helps teams think by objectives, eliminating confusion and facilitating delegation and accountability. It can be considered the first step in educating teams to adopt the methodology. |
Step 4 – Connections, not justifications
One can consider strategic an activity that is connected to the strategy and not simply the feeling that it is important, otherwise the word “strategic” becomes the justification for getting the resources to work on that project. But in a system with finite resources, the risk of taking them away from something more important is very high.
A rule of thumb when using the Team Focus Planner is that each priority must be linked to at least one element of the strategy.
I have provided two alignment models, which for those implementing MAKE PROGRESS could be used simultaneously for greater effectiveness:
1 – alignment with enterprise systems
2 – the alignment with the Growth Machine gears.
Alternatively, you can use your strategic pillars as an alignment mechanism.
You can change the settings in the “Utilities” sheet.
If you want to learn more about the relationship between Teams and Business Systems you can read this note:
| № 180 – The Power of Enterprise Systems to Grow Faster (plus 10 KPIs to measure now) Working by Systems rather than by Teams increases efficiency, stability, and decision-making speed. Key Business Systems include Awareness, Lead Generation, Sales, Operations, and others. Each system has a key metric to monitor, such as Total Organic Reach for Awareness or Revenue Growth Rate for Finance. These KPIs improve strategic execution and enable faster and more sustainable growth. |
Step 5 – Fast pace
At the end of each day, return to this sheet to mark as completed the priorities that you and your team will have succeeded in achieving. If possible, fill in the notes with information that will help you understand your progress.
Unfinished priorities are rewritten immediately on the following day, so you will avoid adding more meat to the fire. I strongly encourage you to avoid leaving unfinished business that would accumulate with no chance of self-extinguishing without your attention.
Remember that this document is not a substitute for your backlog, wherever it may be–on Trello, Notion, Click Up, Asana, Jira…
This is a tool for filtering out activities that cannot be failed.
Close-knit teams could meet a micro-check-in, like the initial one, to end the day and realign priorities, especially cross-functional ones.
Marking the appointment on everyone’s calendar will work as a wake-up call.
Step 6 – Removal of Roadblocks
It is inevitable that in the execution of the work, teams will encounter obstacles.
What is not acceptable is for obstacles to remain unresolved and block progress for colleagues, especially when it is important to go fast.
Next time someone is stuck running a task invite them to access this file and describe not only the problem in detail, but also propose a solution.
This way, during the next review you will not only have a list of problems on your table, but a list of potential solutions. A nice change don’t you think?
Roadblock elimination is a very important element of the MAKE PROGRESS Method, and it brings many benefits, all of which are described in our manual. Those who use our tools are enthusiastic about it; in this commentary among CEOs, its use was suggested.
How to identify priorities
Any project management tool such as this is ineffective without first identifying activities with an effective prioritization system.
Those who use MAKE PROGRESS are at an advantage because at any time they can understand their position on the strategic map through numbers and goals and consequently connect activities to the most important elements of their business-the cogs in their growth mechanics.
Where to delve into these concepts? I invite you to read The Playbook for Combining OKR and Growth for a bignami that will help you understand the key concepts of MAKE PROGRESS.
Have you not yet adopted MAKE PROGRESS? No problem !
I have selected from our archive 2 Strategy Notes that address the topic of prioritization from three different angles. Have a seat.
| №81 The September Checklist To approach September with order and focus, follow the “Follow the money” principle by focusing on five areas: current customers, future customers, products, processes and people. Prioritize what generates results and optimize resources. |
| №151 Entering Execution Mode Successful companies go through a virtuous cycle called the “Progress Loop,” which includes how they learn, generate new ideas, plan and execute. This approach ensures steady progress, forever moving out of a negative cycle of reactivity and survival. Effective execution requires discipline and the use of tools such as OKRs, allowing teams to focus on concrete action and optimize results. |
What to bring to the office TL;DR:
- Keep the focus: concentrate yourself and your team on a few key priorities to maximize effectiveness in the final period of the year.
- Use the Team Focus Planner: leverage this tool to organize and manage daily team activities, ensuring that priorities are completed.
- Implement micro-OKRs: turn daily tasks into measurable and clear objectives to improve work quality and execution.
- Align activities with business strategy: ensure that each priority is directly linked to strategic goals to avoid dispersion of resources.
- Remove operational roadblocks: quickly address and resolve obstacles that block team operations, promoting a culture of problem-solving.
- Manage strategic priorities: use an effective prioritization system to identify and complete the activities that most affect business growth.
