| Last week we discussed the Mission Statement and how it is the WHAT and WHY of your organization. Mission Statements don’t drive productivity, they merely point you and your team in the right direction. STRATEGIC ANCHORS, however, focus and drive HOW you’ll succeed. We’re moving this week from identity to behavior. Let’s look at it this way: If you are taking a flight on Southwest Airlines, and you are told during the flight they don’t have milk for your coffee, you might get frustrated. The flight attendant tells you that the plane’s refrigerator is broken, but because they value departing on time to ensure travelers arrive on-time, they decided to stick with the schedule instead of delaying the flight to repair it. This flight attendant didn’t have to redirect your question to a supervisor or tap-dance around the question. She was free to address your concerns because she is empowered by Southwest Airline’s Strategic Anchor of “Always On-Time.” It is the responsibility of an organization’s leadership team to identify a few Strategic Anchors that are used as a lens through which every decision must be viewed. Some examples of Strategic Anchors are: Product Superiority, Lowest Price in the Market, and Personalized Service. Notice that Anchors provide guidance at EVERY LEVEL of the organization as well as a simple approach for establishing whether an employee’s decisions are in-bounds or out-of-bounds of policy. They serve as a litmus test for making decisions. It enables decision-making across the organization and CREATES a PERMISSION GIVING CULTURE. An organization is only as sturdy as the foundation it’s built upon. A strategic Anchor keeps you grounded on that foundation. Does your organization have Strategic Anchors built into your foundation? How much more productivity can you produce by eliminating the unnecessary “Channels”? Did we learn anything from our talk on Self-Sabotage? Remember, the world needs HITTERS! |
| Quote of the Day: “Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, strategic planning, and focused effort.” – Paul Meyer |
 |
Embrace the Suck Podcast Episode 14: Embrace the Suck: Revisiting Our discussion on “You Don’t Want It!” Want more APG Performance Tips, check out our podcast
Posted in Newsletters
