Yet, innovative solutions are rarely born in a stressful environment. We need to have plans in place before stressful times by supplying training that provides solutions to problems that our folks may encounter. Even in business, solutions are often kept secret. We learn what we need to know to run our business after two, three or four decades working in it. If we have to hand the reins over to a general manager, son or daughter, have we communicated solutions, or kept them secret?
Ask: “What did we do that saved us that season?” “What happens if we begin having those conditions again?” Record those answers and build them into training. Don’t wait for change to enter the picture. Take an active role in making sure the next generation has solutions. Tat will create effective training programs. New people will receive a training manual that incorporates all that our employees have learned.
Execution Cycle To build a business plan that is executed at a high level and keeps people accountable, we need to assess whatever changes we are likely going to encounter and build them into the plan, taking the ability to fail out of the picture. To do that, we need to plan and perform in a new way. Typically, companies operate with a two-step system: Plan and Perform. Te one thing most people don’t do is Process, by asking what went right; what went wrong; how do we do it next time to make it even better? Te integrated model for high performance is the three-step Execution Cycle: Plan, Perform and Process.
Te number one element of a great mission (or plan) is a goal that ties into a central purpose. For us, that might be to establish our business as the top sod supplier in our market. Don’t plan in a vacuum. We want to get the different parts of the company working together: sales, marketing, office, logistics, harvesting, production, distribution. If we have an initiative that’s going to cross every department in our business, have at least one representative from each department in the room as the plan is developed.
“For businesses to succeed, it’s not
just about individual success; it’s about crossing the finish line as a team.”
40 TPI Turf News May/June 2019
Shawn Rhodes worked directly with Conference attendees in a breakout session building on the information he’d shared during his keynote presentation.
Ask hard questions of the team: “Here’s our plan, how do you see it executing?” “Do you see ways to improve?” “Help me help you—what does marketing need to make this successful?” Encourage them to be part of the process; to team build. And if the team presents an idea that has been tried and failed before, respond with the facts; that’s a good idea, but … or that’s a good idea and … Ten explain what went wrong. But do be open to solutions that, with the tools now available, could make something that was tried and failed before a workable solution today.
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