6 Things CEOs & Executive Teams Should Focus on in 2019

Regardless of whether you are a large or small organization, a company or non-profit, here is a list of 6 things executive teams should be focused on in order to help you grow, scale up, and prosper in 2019 and beyond.

1. Clear Vision.
   As the CEO of an organization, you have a lot of ideas, thoughts, and visions in your head of where the organization is and where you want it to go. But only a few organizations (less that 10%) can actually interview any individual within an organization and have employees aligned with the CEO's vision. Most executive teams are not even on the same page. Focus on clearly identifying a vision and articulating it throughout the organization. When every employee knows what the vision is, and can clearly articulate it, effort and energy increases towards that vision and goals, thus increasing revenue, mission and success within the organization.
   
   If you do nothing else in this post, do this one. It is remarkable how well organizations succeed with a clearly articulated and shared vision. It helps guide decision-making and helps provide a solid beacon for everyone to anchor their work to.

2. Right Seats, Right People, Right People in the Right Seats.
   Sounds like the Jim Collins "Good to Great" message, but most organizations only focus on the "Right People" and getting them in the right seats. But what many organizations are missing is the third piece of this which is the systematic evaluation and design of the "Right Seats". Do you have the right "positions" or right seats in your organization? Do you even need seats? Have you taken the time to evaluate whether or not you need to adjust the positions/seats for the changing times? Focus on identifying and articulating the RIGHT SEATS... then adjust staff accordingly.

3. Accurate Data.
   With all of the hype about "big data" it's easy to get yourself worked up and overloaded with data and stats. The reality is every organization has about 5-7 key metrics it needs to look at to know the health of the company. Find your 5-7 key metrics and hone in on only those in 2014. Get your executive team focused on those 5-7. If you are a real go-getter or already have those 5-7 identified, get everyone in the organization to identify 1-3 key metrics for their work that support the 5-7 key metrics and/or your vision. Everyone in your organization should have at least 1-3 metrics they are personally accountable for otherwise you need to consider #2 above.

4. Get Real About Issues.
   With clear data (#3 above), issues tend to emerge and need to be dealt with quickly and permanently. Often times those issues become political or over analyzed and discussed to death. Executive teams should be spending upwards of 70% of their weekly meeting time focused on (1) identifying the real issue, (2) discussing the issue without repeating points already made (otherwise it's politicking), (3) solve the real issue with a solution that will ensure it does not return to your issues list again. Getting real about issues and not getting bogged down in the "discussion" of those items will ensure your organization makes great progress.

5. Identify 5-7 Key Processes for Your Organization.
   Want to grow or scale your business? Perhaps thinking about acquiring another organization or putting your business out there to be acquired? Then this task is a MUST for you. Every organization has 5-7 key processes that you do that are core to your business. They need to be clearly documented so that new staff can get up to speed on them, an acquiring organization can see exactly how you do what you do, or you can get your newly acquired company employees up to speed quickly. After these processes are identified, the processes need to be clearly documented and shared throughout the organization so everyone is clear about how your organization does XYZ processes.

6. Get Everyone on the Same Page.
   We call it "Traction" but regardless of the title, the more energy spent....

• Getting all of your employees clear on the Vision (#1),

• Getting the right seats & people and right people in the right seats (#2),

• Getting real about data and everyone having accountability for a few metrics (#3),

• Getting real about identifying issues and solving them constructively (#4),

• Identifying, documenting and sharing your processes (#5)

...Your organization will be positioned for amazing growth and health in 2019 and beyond. They key here is to not make this complex or difficult, keep it simple. We promise that executives who focus on these six key areas will ensure the long term success of their organization.