LISTEN TO EPISODE 42

SCOTT DOW:

"A plan developed by the wrong team is like a recipe cooked with the wrong ingredients. It all sounds good until you try it. You need the right ingredients to make the meal you want, and you need the right team to develop the plan you want. Get the team right and you'll get the plan right. You need people with the right skills like budgeting, change management, and communication.

You also need people with the right attitudes, you need optimists, 'truth tellers' and problem solvers.

• You need optimists to see the outcome, the outcome you're looking for.
• You need truth tellers to see the roadblocks, and
• You need problem solvers to see the solutions.

Without these people, you're cooking up a plan with limited resources.

Gordon Ramsay needs the right kitchen setup, and so do you.

• Before you meet, make sure the plan has a clear goal. Without a clear objective, plans tend to veer off course.
• When you rally the team, make sure everyone knows their purpose, keep the group small.

Remember, less is more. You don't want too many cooks in the kitchen. Planning meetings tend to get bloated. When that happens, the high level plan is going to get diluted and lines of accountability are going to blur. Your experts in budgeting change management and communications can bring their supporting cast up to speed.

Once the plan gets made, keep the initial planning meeting as small as possible. You can add people as needed, but it's hard for people that aren't needed to step away. Be inclusive, but be strategically inclusive. Remember, the plan doesn't make the team, the team makes the plan."

OUTRO: 

Thanks for listening. You can email us at info@mentalnotes.com. Feel free to share with your colleagues and follow us on all major podcast platforms.