Sky-high ambitions?

In most organizations, the problem isn’t a lack of ambition – but of execution. Many leadership teams have a clear vision of where they want to take the organization. And on top of ambitious goals for customers, products, and services, there are also high standards for social responsibility and sustainable practices.

But there’s a risk in setting sky-high ambitions. If they’re not aligned with capacity or set out in actionable terms of “what we will do and won’t do,” plans become impossible to implement. Research shows that a lack of focus leads to “overload” and can end up paralyzing the execution of organizational strategy.

In practice, we see two forms of overload that cause organizations to stagnate. The first is physical overload, briefly described earlier. This is where an organization has too many irons in the fire and employees can no longer keep up. It doesn’t have enough people or resources to effect plans, so initiatives are launched right and left only to be left dangling. The other form is mental overload. Here, there are so many going projects that employees don’t know which ones truly matter and where to invest their energy. They can’t see the wood for the trees. Though sometimes less obvious, this kind of overload is just as damaging.

As always, prevention is better than cure. That’s why our approach starts with the big picture and zooms in from there. It forces you to be selective about what to do and especially what not to do and stop doing. To set clear short and long-term priorities, so you can perform today but also be prepared to deliver tomorrow. This is the key to preventing both physical and mental overload. Your employees will be happier and your organization can put its ambitions into practice. After all, results are what matter!