The Third Leg of Your Stool
It’s a new year and by now, most of us are off and running. 2024 is very real. Most will have done a substantial amount of work leading into the new year for budgeting and planning. These are fundamental disciplines that healthy organizations will engage on the front side so that they can make decisions and measure success as they progress through the year. Simon Sinek rightly points out that these are “finite games” and while I agree with his premise, I think they do have value.
But they’re not enough…
Budgeting and (strategic) Planning are like two legs of a stool: foundational and essential but incomplete - at least if one wants to sit on a stool with any stability or have it stand on its own. A third leg is necessary.
Even in an AI world, I’d argue that PEOPLE are the third leg of an organization’s proverbial stool. It’s people that we still count on to execute our plans, spend against a budget, and generate revenue as the lifeblood of our enterprise. The question then is whether we’ve invested as much energy thinking about our people as we have our budgets and plans. Here are three people-related things to consider:
How’s your culture and level of engagement going into the new year? I was in a Zoom call just today with an HR leader talking about how to measure what matters when it comes to employee-experience. Do you have systems in place to know and are you committed to taking action that makes your organization a great place to work?
Who are you counting on in a disproportionate way to make a difference in 2024? Depending on your planning, it’s likely that you’re counting on someone to have a big year. It could be a team or an individual, someone in a leadership role or someone who’s an individual contributor. Are they equipped? Too often, organizations will throw out a big challenge, fully believing the person(s) involved will do what it takes and figure it out WITHOUT the necessary development or resources to be successful. The risk here is failure, struggle, or some measure of under-performance. Instead, exceptional organizations will make the necessary investment in their people that sets them and the organization up for success. Which approach is yours?
Where do you need to be preparing for succession in your org chart? Succession isn’t just about the long-tenured team member who will be retiring. To be sure, that’s a big one when it comes to capacity, institutional knowledge, client relationships, et al. But it’s also comes about with career growth. A career move for one by default creates an opening someone else will need to step into. Further, unplanned turnover happens for any number of reasons. Do you know where your talent lies and who’s capable of what? Or who needs what?
There are any number of things that we could continue to list here. My question ultimately is intended to prompt the right dialogue for you to make sure your 2024 “stool” is as strong as it needs to be. And if, by chance, you’re behind, we’re only about 5% into the new year, so take heart. There’s still time (but you better get moving)!