In implementing the Discipline of Execution, managers determine how to use meetings to move individuals and teams and, ultimately, the company, forward to its goals. Meetings are held weekly, monthly and quarterly. It’s in the quarterly meetings that you set your biggest goals. 

In quarterly company meetings, you review the status of the Five Disciplines and how constituents are currently being satisfied. It’s also where you identify the new goals and priorities for the upcoming quarter, including who’s doing what by when so that everyone can develop individual new 90-day action plans.

Following the quarterly meeting, managers share priorities with their teams and facilitate the creation of their team members’ plans that support achieving goals and priorities.

The funnel for execution starts with the 10-year, three-year, and one-year goals that senior management has set during its annual Strategic Thinking and Execution Planning meeting, and that leads to weekly meetings that review the progress toward those goals.

First of all, looking out 10 years, you want to create your Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG). James Collins and Jerry Porras proposed the term Big Hairy Audacious Goal in their bestselling book, Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies. It encourages companies to define visionary goals that are more strategic and emotionally compelling.

Then you set a three-year goal toward that 10-year BHAG. And you break it down further by setting one-year goals toward achieving those three-year goals. 

You hold quarterly meetings during which you determine goals for the coming quarter, and identify three to five priorities to achieve those goals. To do that you also create 90-day action plans. 

In creating those 90-day action plans, you are laying the groundwork for achieving your one-year goals, identifying actions you need to take to accomplish the priorities and setting the target metrics for success.

Then you hold weekly team meetings to assess your progress toward the quarterly goals. And you hold weekly individual meetings to assess each person’s progress on his or her action plans. 

Everything ties together to lead you forward to your goals, with the proper processes in place – as part of the Discipline of Execution. 

By utilizing quarterly company meetings and individual 90-day action plans, you are able to focus on the needs of your employees and plan for long-term success. Through introducing team members to new goals and priorities, whether quarterly or annually, managers can get everyone on the same track. We hope this blog post has stuck with you and provided some support in further developing short- and long-range goals within your organization. We invite you to share your approach to goal setting and keeping track of progress within your company. Contact us today if you’d like to discuss how to achieve better collaboration and results within your business strategy. Our ultimate goal is to empower organizations with progressive tools that will help reach their full potentials.