By Ken Rosen
[If needed, see our Performance Portfolio intro…and each sector has one descriptive post]
Every competent manager must be able to plan the use of internal resources. Call it a plan or a budget, but being able to say “Here is what I’ll do next year with my team and budget” is the ultimate in executive tables stakes. It maps internal resources to how you will execute. Resource planning is the heart of the Performance Portolio Sector 1 and if you can’t do it, you need not apply for a senior position. (Click here for an introduction to the Performance Portfolio)
Sector 2—internal focus/medium to long term—is so fundamental, it begs the question: how do you differentiate and become an organization that matters? Two ways: contingency plans and constantly asking “Why?”
A CEO of a $4 billion organization recently told us: “My people know nothing bad should ever take us by surprise. Bad things happen. But their job is think about anything that might happen and have a plan on the shelf.” Contingency planning may not always be glamorous, but responding to an emergency with a plan created during calm is a wonderful feeling.
Asking “Why?” is the second source of differentiation. We have done far to many budgets to claim with a straight face everyone should do zero-based budgeting for everything. But if you aren’t asking for every single budget line item in every planning cycle: “How does this contribute to our top-line goals?”, you are not working at your potential and you won’t stand out as a leader.
Takeaways:
- Spotlight processes with the greatest impact on your performance.
- Never stop trying to optimize these processes.
- Demand Learning Curve improvements over time—never be satisfied that a critical process is as effective and efficient as it can be.
