Great perspective and reminder on fundamentals of successful teams, thanks Sam Wettling, Keith Swiderski at Zilker Trail Consulting
Disclaimer: Sam's been my "part therapist" since 2010 through guitar jam sessions 🎸🤘
Fifteen years into my career, I'm still astonished by how leaders in groups, big and small, are rowing in different 👈😕👉 directions despite best intentions.
We're always missing out when product and marketing efforts are misaligned. Analytics, Partnerships, BizDev, Sales, CS, they're all part of the same unit from the customer's perspective. Just like a kid asking both parents and getting different answers 🤷♂️, customers can smell dissent a mile away as soon as more than one team engages with them.
I particularly liked the simplicity of your GPS (goals, problems, solutions) workshop model and the safe space provided to openly discuss challenges. More often than acceptable, solutions don't solve problems that matter and problems being solved don't support the goals. Even more common in my experience is the absence of clear goals ⛳ Most companies I've engaged with or joined have needed a major upgrade in:
📐 Defining metrics that matter in their problem space (value vs. vanity)
📈 Setting and tracking goals that support desired outcomes (funding, profitability, growth, talent retention, ...)
📢 Communicating, evaluating and adapting to progress toward goals
"Aren't we already aligned to our goals?"
I often hear when asking the simplest questions.
"No, seemingly not. Here's how it's manifesting... frustrated/overworked staff, mediocre NPS, limited internal and external feedback, the list of symptoms goes on.
True leaders take the bull by the horns, roll up their sleeves and fight complacency in those situations. Then, you have a working team and system that can honestly achieve whatever they put their efforts to. Although, I suggest rolling up sleeves first 🐂🤕
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