Very important, this doing of things. Without action, very little manifests, no matter how clear your intentions are.
And yet, will next year look different? What's more, you may find yourself spinning your wheels some, lackluster, running the gerbil wheel.
What gives? Is it too much action?
Not exactly. It's just that something's missing.
You need a learning project.
Every business is either developing, or dying. Now, 'developing' doesn't always mean 'growth'- but it does mean changing, living, becoming a new version of itself. Otherwise stagnancy sets in, after which comes dying, and death.
Want to avoid that kind of stagnant business death? Then, add a learning focus to your strategic planning.
A learning focus is when you identify some aspect of your business that you're really curious about, and with which you want to have a healthier, more robust, more functional relationship.
Some examples of past learning projects at Heart of Business.
- Money. I declared one year to be the year I was going to learn about money. And that was my focus. The Heart of Money Transformational Journey was the course that was born from that.
- Systems and structures. Another year, I declared to be the year of learning about systems and structures. How do systems really work, and how can they be implemented to support the business, without dehumanizing it?
- The current focus. Teamwork and leadership. I had always struggled with incorporating assistants or collaborators with Heart of Business, Inc. This past year I declared that I wanted to learn about healthy teamwork and leadership.
Before action comes learning.
Without first taking the time to learn, it's really hard to know what will be effective action. Kinda obvious, I know, but it's really easy to slide over this and just want to jump in with both feet.
I'm a big fan of just jumping in. And yet, when the stakes are high, or when you care about something a lot, even just starting a learning project before jumping can save you a lot of grief afterwards.
So, how do you select a learning project? And, more importantly, what do you -do- with a learning project? Well, let me share what I've learned with you.
Keys to Learning Projects
* Many from one. One business. Many needs. What are all the things you are striving to do in the business? Make a list? What are all the areas in your business where you are struggling? Make a list.
Here are some ideas to spark your brainstorm: money, accounting, delegation, systems, marketing, sales, technology, writing, websites, blogging, dealing with upset customers, leading teleclasses, product creation, strategic planning, setting goals...
Any other areas of business you're struggling with? Take a few minutes and jot them down onto the list.
* One from the many.
There may be a lot of things that your business needs, but just pick one. And make it your intention and focus over the course of the year to get comfortable and familiar with it. To learn about it.
* Now, learn!
With a learning project or focus, you don't set outcome-based goals for yourself. There isn't a big to-do list, or that many measurable results that you set. It's about setting an intention and learning.
First, set the intention to have beginner's mind, and to take the pressure of creating specific results off yourself.
Second, canvas your resources. Make a list of books to read, websites or blogs to connect with, people to interview or otherwise. Start with one book, and making a lunch or tea date with one person.
Third, once you've gained some familiarity with it, I would suggest even looking for a class to take, some place where you can be guided to integrate your self-learning.
Slow down on some of your to-do's, and add a 'to-learn' project to your list for the year. And don't be surprised if at the end of the year you've accomplished some very concrete outcomes, even without planning for them.
You'll find that instead of recycling the same problem over and over again, the next will find you and your business in new territory in a very satisfying way.
What Is Hoshin Planning?
Hoshin planning comes from the original term Hoshin Kanri. It is a systematic planning methodology to define long range and key entity objectives. Without losing sight of the daily measures needed to make the business succeed, it aims at achieving breakthrough objectives over a period of two to five years.
Hoshin ensures that everyone in the organization works toward achieving the same objectives. The plan moves from key top levels to key business players. Ownership is clearly identified at the appropriate levels. Top management identifies the needs or opportunities, a strategically important annual objective, and plans are made to achieve the objectives.
Also, the processes to monitor the actions, metrics to asses the progress and previous experiences are used to improve the planning process of Hoshin.
Relevance of Hoshin planning
The plans are based on the annual state of business reviews and Hoshin objectives. The most senior leaders of the organization conduct a review of the internal and external factors that affect long-term plans.
The output, or business situation, is a smaller version of the major business issues that the management has to deal with in the upcoming years. It serves as the reference point for the many plans and strategies of the business. The Hoshin objective is the annual stretch goal, once achieved, can have significant impact on the annual review.
It expresses the outcome with reference to the metrics to measure progress. It also includes a timetable for completion and the person responsible for its completion.
-The Hoshin plan consists of series of hierarchical objectives derived from various analysis. Typically, there would be a base objective followed by multiple 3 or 4 sub-objectives that have to be achieved in order to achieve the basic one.
Each sub-objective will have its own set of metrics and timetable for completion.
-The 'catchball' process is the next stage wherein information-sharing occurs among the parties involved. The purpose of this exchange is to build a consensus among everyone to arrive at the best approach.
The catchball is based on the notion that the best approach will be arrived at by exchange of ideas between those involved. Another belief is that this will also ensure commitment towards achieving the objectives.
-Communicate: The next important step is to communicate the plan to all members involved in achieving the objectives. This helps ensure that all team members are aware of the objectives and the tactics to achieve them.
This is useful to keep everyone on their toes towards achieving continuous improvement.
-Regular Monitoring: It is necessary for the plan to be monitored regularly. Some plans require monitoring to be done during reviews, which can be on an early, quarterly or monthly basis.
There are some plans that may even require daily monitoring.
-Review Meetings: Reviews with the senior leaders of the organization are also very important, so that if there are any issues, they are resolved on a timely basis. If any intervention of the leaders is necessary, it can be done to keep the plan on track.
All these factors are pretty obvious, but may be overlooked. Hoshin planning provides a long term direction for organizations to undertake plans to successfully carry out projects.
Tony Jacowski has sinced written about articles on various topics from University, Six Sigma and Information Technology. Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solution's Six Sigma Online offers online and certification classes for six sigma pro. Tony Jacowski's top article generates over 90500 views. to your Favourites.