Figuring out what the organization should focus on is never easy, but always important.  Our approach helps you create a plan that’s meaningful, actionable, and achievable.

We will customize an approach that takes into account your organization’s unique requirements.  The components of that plan will likely include many of the following activities:

• Interview senior leaders to understand expectations for the planning process and gain their candid perspective about the issues the organization faces.
• Meet with senior team to build consensus on high-level goals for the planning process.  In other words, get everyone supporting the work that’s about to take place.
• Conduct a planning session for the purpose of understanding the organization’s current situation.
• Conduct a planning session for the purpose of talking about people’s hopes and dreams for the planning period.
• Meet with employees, customers, and other stakeholder groups to gain their perspectives about the organization’s situation and where it ought to focus its energy.
• Gather data to respond to early questions that arise during the process.
• Develop a draft of the organization’s goals.
• Gather reactions.
• Refine the goals and begin developing action plans to support the goals.
• Involve the organization in developing operational plans to ensure alignment.
• Develop a plan for measurement and monitoring plan.

How well are meetings handled in your organization? If the answer is less than good, you may want to consider implementing the following rules within the company. They are easy to understand and not that hard to follow.

1.  If there isn’t a good reason to meet, there will not be a meeting.

2.  If there isn’t a good reason for me to attend a meeting, I will not attend.

3.  Every meeting will have the goal of achieving one or more measurable objectives. If they are not present, see rule #1.

4.  Every meeting will have an agenda that clearly lays out a reasonable plan for achieving the objectives.

5.  Every meeting will have one person in charge of leading the discussion.

6.  All decisions and action items will be recorded by one person in charge of taking notes for the meeting.

7.  Meetings will not be scheduled to last any longer than a tightly developed agenda states it will need to last.

8.  Meetings will start on time.

9.  Meetings will not run past the scheduled end time.

10.  If the meeting agenda is completed before the scheduled end time, the meeting will adjourn.

11.  Somebody will pay attention to the clock.

12.  The quality of every meeting will be assessed at the end and improvement suggestions will be incorporated at future meetings.

13.  If there isn’t a good reason to meet, there will not be a meeting.

Wait a minute. Isn’t #13 a repeat? As a matter of fact, it is. Now there shouldn’t be any reason to forget it.

How do you keep people calm when work is pure chaos and the stress levels are high?

The good news is that you are not alone.  Almost all organizations seem to be experiencing extreme change.  The bad news is that knowing this probably does not make you feel any better.

For most people, change means uncertainty and stress.  As the stress intensifies, we become more uncomfortable. While you may not be able to do much about the change, you can act on the stress.  Here are three general approaches that will help you deal with the change.

• Gather information. While much may be unknown, one strategy is to uncover as much of the mystery as possible.  Most people want to know four things.  (1)  Why are we changing?  (2)  What does the change look like?  (3)  How will things work leading up to and after the change?  (4)  What do I need to do?  If you lead a team, share as much as you can.  If you are a team member, keep your eyes and ears open, and start asking questions.

• Take action. During change, much of the stress comes from the feeling of being out of control.  Find things that you do control and take action.  Serving your customers, improving the way you do your work, and jumping on board with the implementation will help you regain your sense of control.

• Practice effective coping. Sometimes you will be in the dark, and you will not have reasonable options.  In these cases, coping is your best strategy.  Take care of your body.  Take your mind off the situation by engaging in hobbies or other fun pursuits.  Use your support system to discuss your concerns.  Be good to yourself.

You can’t keep things from changing, but you can manage your way through it.  Pick your strategy and go for it.