AICC Boxscore 2013

Unlocking Growth: Part III continued from page 45 Priorities It can be daunting trying to move down from space to a view of earth to standing on your roof. This is a very common struggle with many in the strategy process. “I can think globally, but how do we translate our vision to actionable priorities we need to accomplish to succeed?” The answer lies in a couple of areas: one is to involve as many people as you are comfortable with in the strategy planning process in order to get consensus on the big picture and then a good debate on the priorities that will make this vision become reality. The second is to make sure you focus on no more than 5 priorities at a time. Many of the experts agree that you need to do a few things really well rather than a lot of things poorly. The most challenging task with respect to priorities is getting your

leadership team to agree upon the direction and focusing on what’s important. Too many times the distractions set in post-planning and your key executives spend time on projects, tasks and priorities that the group did not define as key to the success of the strategy. As the leader, your primary job will be to make sure that the non-critical tasks are offloaded so that you can make sure your star players are spending their time trying to move big levers instead of handling the distractions. It’s “Go Time” We now need to focus efforts on getting things done. Coordinating weekly meetings with the leadership team will be key to success because they will collectively recognize the importance you place on the key priorities in the business because “what gets measured gets done.” Ultimately the leader must remove

barriers for the team to keep them focused on the big levers, and gather resources to get priorities accomplished. A final addendum to this is make sure as the team works through many of the tactical issues around the top priorities that the group remains focused on solutions instead of band aids. Developing sound, repeatable processes will help everyone win in the long run and avoid kicking the can down the road.  Gene Marino has 13 years of experience working with private equity as a C level executive in an operating capacity. He currently is a partner with Evolution Capital Partners in the Chicago office and a Director for Turf Ventures, LLC, a portfolio company of Evolution’s first fund.


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