CEO Network - Special Session on Strategic Planning
Our 2023 ONE WORLD CEO Network year kicked off with a special Strategic Planning session. Guests Ha Nguyen and Garrett Kelly facilitated a workshop that helped the ONE WORLD community reconfirm missions, set strategy, identify goals, and ultimately solidify a roadmap to achieve success.
Ha is a founding partner at Spero Ventures and was employee #1 at Swimply, growing it from an early stage idea to a growth company, and leading with a “People First” lens. Garrett is the former Director of Strategy & Operations at Swimply, and currently works with early stage founders and executives to develop strategies that clarify the path to long-term sustainable success.
Read on for key points covered or view the video for a deeper dive into key Strategic and Operational guidance.
[7:33-9:39] Why Start-Ups Fail:
Lack of awareness of milestones
No clear path to delivering true enterprise value
Failure to achieve goals
Poor risk mitigation
[9:40-13:17] Start-Ups Need a Strategy
Plan to back up projections and keep team on track
Build team alignment
Helps clarify path
Achieve outcomes
Helps you stay focused & say No
Can serve as inspiration & motivation
[13:36-14:25] What is Strategy?
Defines the end state and how you will win in marketplace
Helps determine how to create customer value and enduring enterprise value
Provides a plan for how to get there
[15:20-16:22] Strategic Framework
Mission – the why?
Vision – what you are building to achieve mission
Value Proposition – what is unique about your product or service
Differentiation – how to distinguish in the marketplace
Strategic Pillars – determines path
[33:15-34:59] The Planning Process: Goal Setting and Roadmap
OKR Framework – quarterly review
Goals that inspire & set direction – tied to Strategic Pillars (longer-term than objectives)
Key Results – the measures & targets of success
Initiatives – tasks that drive progress of key results
[42:18-45:31] Roadmapping Process
Prioritizes resources and tasks that bring your strategy to life
Divide initiatives into 4 quadrants on 2 axis – Business Impact and Complexity to Deliver – score accordingly
Make room for high impact, low complexity approaches; deprioritize low impact/high complexity resources
[48:00–51:02] Operational Rigor: keeping track of progress over time
Annually – strategic offsite for annual resource planning
Quarterly - OKRs and – Business & strategy reviews
Monthly – All-Hands
Weekly – tactical reviews
[52:58–58:30] People First Culture – 5 drivers of People engagement
Strategic Clarity
Autonomy
Professional Growth
Recognition
Culture
We are grateful to Ha and Garrett for sharing their expertise with us and to the ONE WORLD CEO Network members for welcoming their perspective.