Bookclub Note: Rockefeller Habits - Chapter 5 - MASTERING ORGANIZATIONAL ALIGNMENT AND FOCUS

MASTERING_ORGANIZATIONAL_ALIGNMENT_AND_FOCUS.md

Chapter 5 - MASTERING ORGANIZATIONAL ALIGNMENT AND FOCUS

Establishing a Planning Context for Your Top 5 and Top 1 of 5

what do I need to be doing today to keep this company moving towards its plans at the speed the market demands? to make your Top 5 and Top 1 of 5 something more than words on paper, to transform them into something achievable, you need a Management Accountability Plan.

Recognizing Your Top 1 of 5: Ifs the One that Hurts

Tiger Woods had spent a long and agonizing year re-learning how to swing the club. He had realized that he would never achieve his goal of being golf's all-time greatest if he didn't adjust his swing, his number one and most difficult priority.

Seven Sore Points for Companie

seven common leading priorities

Not big enough to compete

...he had to be the first in his industry to go to the World Wide Web with a solution.

The company lacks a key player

Perhaps the CEO wears too many hats. One firm I worked with desperately needed a CFO, but the founder-CEO just couldn't bring himself to pay the necessary salary to bring in a qualified financial person. He preferred to stretch himself too thin, and the company's results showed it. Once a CFO was on board, the company returned to growth and profitability within months. We all know that the skills required to start a company aren't the same ones required to run and expand a company.

The economic engine is broken

The venture capitalists call it a "living-dead" company, meaning it's good enough to survive, but it's never going to do great things. Time to get out.

Someone else is controlling our destiny

If a competitor gets hold of a key relationship or patent or supply line, you'd better have a good counter-move or you're in trouble.

We need a war chest to compete

FedEx dilemma. You just can't be a player in some industries unless you charge off the blocks fast and strong.

We can't raise money 'til we grow

... The CEO made the tough decision to forget about raising money and focus on driving up sales...

We've got to scale back or we won't survive

Often CEOs aren't willing to make the necessary cuts fast and deep enough. Instead, the death is slow and painful.

Top 1

What Is your number one?

1. Simply not big enough to compete-need to merge with larger firm.
2. Lacking a key player-until this position is filled, a lot of other efforts are wasted.
3. Economic engine is broken-there is simply no way to make money given the way we're doing business.
4. Someone else is controlling our destiny - We've lost control of a key component of our business to a competitor.
5. We need $200-million war chest to get to a competitive scale.
6. Can't raise money until we get back on a growth path.
7. Must scale back rapidly to reach the break-even point and take another run at it.