In North America, the fall season can only mean two things: the time of year when kids head back to school and my Badgers & Green Bay Packers are ready to go.

Traditionally, there are two big cycles of energy release in the workplace:  in January when the new year arrives and the days begin getting longer, and in the autumn, which brings with it a change in climate, harvest season and the impending winter.  It is these months of autumn, leading up to year end, that provide you with the key to execution and preparation.  These energy cycles are more embedded and profound than you might think, and I want to make sure you are making the most of them.

I wrote earlier about how to make full use of the Q1 Ops review and how to get maximum value.  After having written my summer series on long wave planning, I want to take a moment to frame a view for you as you ramp up for the fall:

The two big items that need to move to the top of your agenda are planning for next year and executing the top priorities for this year.

Let’s unpack these one at a time.

First: Planning

Shortly after you return from your summer vacation, you will begin the cycle of detailed planning for the upcoming year.  If you have been reflective this summer, but not specific, now is the time to firm things up.  Schedule some sessions with your team that are targeted at capturing and ranking your objectives for the upcoming year.

The Trap of Incrementalism

Incrementalism is akin to how our arteries harden as we age – it happens very slowly and it’s impossible to blame on any one factor.  In some ways, incrementalism is even worse than hardening arteries, because it generally strikes when things are running well and we think that we only need to make “a few tweaks” to achieve our goals.  It’s so easy to let those few tweaks fall behind more urgent matters – but without action, those goals will remain just out of reach.  Now is the time to tackle those tweaks that persist on your important but not urgent list.  It’s also the time to take steps toward longer-term objectives that embody your long range plan.

In medium and large firms, this often takes the form of distributing a copy of this year’s budgets and sales targets, as well as asking for modifications to be submitted.  This is dangerous ground – these numbers will become more rigid and harder to move quickly as the plan for next year becomes concrete.

Prompts:

Founders and owners need to really take a hard look at the returns they have seen on their investments to this point. Some questions to consider:

• Are there lines of business or customers who simply are consuming more than they are contributing?  If so, it’s time to take the required actions to either get them healthy or cut them entirely.
• Do you know how much business elasticity to build in for economic swings?  A single session of well facilitated strategy work can bring big benefit here.
• Have you reviewed your lines of credit and debt structure lately?  Now is the time.

If you work at a larger company, these numbers are built into vertical assumptions for planning corporate overhead budgets and staff function budgets, so the resistance to alter these numbers will go up geometrically with time.  The key takeaway here is to get after your plan quickly, and get a set of numbers in the system that represent your best thinking with needed structural changes right away.  Good numbers fast beats perfect numbers later every time.  If a business line needs to go away, now is the time to propose it.  If you need to build some new capacity or capability for a breakthrough, now is the time to document it.  Have the discussions early, before the concrete solidifies, and your ability to make them happen increases dramatically.

Second: Strong Execution

If you followed my advice, you have a great set of action notes coming out of your Q1 ops review to prompt your thinking now.  What are the top five items that you committed to achieve before year end?  Get very clear on those with your bank, boss or board of directors and restore focus to these as the team ramps up.  Have an eyeball to eyeball session with those that are accountable, and be sure to ask at least five “whys” if they say all is in hand.  Set up appropriate feedback and tracking proportional to the seniority of the leader and the importance of the deliverable.

Once you have the program managment piece in place, start on the softer work and begin to assess your team’s performance.  Many organizations hold their reviews in the fourth quarter, and you want to be out ahead on this.  Make notes about your key wins and who contributed to them.  Do a high-level rewards mapping, and think through what you plan on doing – regardless of the budget.  Don’t forget the soft opportunities to have staff members present for you in key venues to enhance their visibility.

Finally, start recognizing your key partners and customers now.  If they are internal, go talk to them and their leaders to build a strong horizontal relationship.  External partners and customers deserve this and more.  Get out of the plant or office, and go visit their operations – and find ways to improve what you do for them.  Listen carefully and you’ll learn things that you never would hear answering your email.  If you need a nudge on this, take a look at this video reminder (warning for old tech and white shirts in advance ;-))

Summing up – Action List:

1. Pull out that plan for this year, and review it in detail.  What did you intend – and what is – actually happening?  Don’t send in your first set of numbers until you have the underlying assumptions completed.
2. Make crisp decisions about what specific five focus areas you will have for the next 120 days.   Lay the ground for focus and execution.
3. Start your internal and external partner alignment and recognition work now.  Impress them by being the first in the door, and help them by being specific in your give and gets.

Take these actions early and you’ll have time to enjoy each season;  and if it happens to be fall, perhaps take in a Packers Game.  Please drop me an email or Tweet me your results or observations.

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