Plans Change, Here’s How to Adapt Your Strategy

We throw around the word STRATEGY a lot. (With the best intentions.) But what does it really mean for your big vision and plan? There are so many ways to accomplish your goals. So you better hone in on what matters most.

When you understand what true strategy looks like, it gets a lot easier to chart your path for that big, hairy dream you have. But here’s the kicker—no plan goes according to plan.

That’s why Pro Troublemakers rely on a handful of helpful attributes. For example, staying nimble! And figuring out how to reach their goals in small, reliable sprints. More on that in this week’s video. Check it out!

Once you check out the video, please share your thoughts in the comments section. We want to hear how your strategy has changed over the past 3 years, 12 months, or 90 days. What’s the toughest lesson you’ve had to learn? What are you shaking up now so you can get better results tomorrow?

Sharing your story can help someone else start thinking outside of the box with their own strategy and sprints. Don’t ignore your chance to make a real difference!

Transcript: – Hey there friend, it’s Stefanie Krievins founder of the Pro Troublemaker Nation and today we’re on step four of ten of the essential steps to become a Pro Troublemaker. I’m doing this weird, happy dance, not to freak you out, but because I’m so excited. This is my favorite step. Step four is a Pro Troublemaker, has a strategy and takes and creates 90 day sprints of action. So for many of us listening to this video, we are visionaries and we know where we wanna go, but we don’t know how to start today. Then there’s a legit section of our workforce and of those that we work with, that know where we wanna start today, but have no idea where we’re going. A strategy and a 90 day sprint of action are the two tools you need, to connect the dots between those two very different perspectives. Let’s set the stage first with definition of strategy, because many of us use that word in a bajilion different ways and we think we’re saying the same thing, and we’re not. Here’s the definition of strategy that I use based on my research out of Harvard. So a strategy says, what makes our team or organization, our personhood unique, truly truly unique from other people. Two, it requires us to say no. A good strategy, actually a great strategy, requires you to say no to the good ideas so you can accomplish the great things. And then the third part of that definition, a true strategy will create alignment within a team of the work to be done and then integration between the teams of the work to be done. So if you have silos in your organization, you cannot accomplish your strategic plan. You can’t have strategy if you have silos, period. So that’s why it’s so important to break down those silos. So as a Pro Troublemaker, I need you to make sure that both within the team that you lead as a mid level leader, as a CEO, as a director, as a vice president, you create a true three year strategic plan. As a human being, I want you to have a strategic plan for your life that connects to your ten year vision. So on the team side, here’s what I want you to think about when it comes to strategy and 90 day sprint. So 90 day sprint is exactly that, a 90 day sprint, right? It helps you stay nimble, for the future ahead. So, you know, too many of us think that, we need to sprint all of the time and we exhaust ourselves. We just need to sprint in 90 day bursts, that’s all. We need to set a goal, just one or two goals for 90 days, we need to create that action plan. Each person involved needs to have an assignment as it relates to that action plan and the projects involved with deadlines to get it done. That’s how you sprint. And what’s awesome about a sprint is it keeps you nimble, as the plan unfolds, right? Mike Tyson tells us that, everyone has a plan until you get hit in the face. Well, plans never go according to plan. So we gotta stay flexible. We gotta stay nimble. We need to be able to bob and weave and move around as our environment moves around. You know, we’ll call that, a global pandemic of 2020, right? We have to stay flexible and nimble and walk the path as it unfolds in front of us. So that 90 day sprint allows us to adapt how we get to our goals, with smaller goals, smaller victories along the way. That’s why that’s so important. Instead of trying to create a strategic plan that’s more like a prescription where it’s like, step one is this, step two is this, step 202 is this, step 405 is this, to get us to year three. Use 90 day sprints to create and measure progress, in shorter bursts of time. You will be more successful. Your team will be better able to adapt. So will you. You can still keep those big three year, two year, one year goals in front of you but if you re-evaluate your progress every 90 days, which is built into this process of the 90 day sprint, then you know whether or not you’re on track. What you need to start doing, stop doing or continue doing. All right, my friend, let’s get off the internet. Let’s focus on that true strategy. Create that next 90 day sprint, and I’ll see you next time.