Future-Proofing Your Startup_Leadership and Strategy for Long-Term Success - TechBiz.pdf

Techbiz Webinar Delivered by Jeff D. Standridge, Ed.D. ​

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2. Jeff Standridge, Ed.D.
Managing Director
-Innovation Junkie
-Conductor
-Cadron Capital Partners

[email protected]

www.JeffStandridge.com



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3. Future-proofing your Startup -
1.Leadership
2.Culture of Excellence
3.Systematizing your Growth Strategy
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Individuals
Teams
Organizations

5. Leadership Drives Success
“Leadership is the most important requirement for business and
personal success. In simple terms, it is defined as the willingness to
be held accountable for results, and then to fulfill that responsibility,
no matter what the external situation, circumstances or pressure.”
Jeff D. Standridge, Ed.D.

6. Leadership Excellence

7. Leadership Excellence

8. Leadership Excellence

9. Organizational Excellence

10. “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”

Peter Drucker

11. Some Compelling Facts about Culture & Engagement
1.Revenue Growth: Organizations with strong cultures experience a 4x increase in
revenue growth (Forbes).
2.Profitability: Highly engaged teams produce 21% more profit (Gallup).
3.Customer Satisfaction: Companies with strong, positive cultures have 30% higher
Customer Satisfaction scores (Forbes).
4.Health Cost Reduction: Companies with a highly engaged workforce incur 50% lower
health-related costs (APA) and 40% lower absenteeism (Gallup).
5.Employee Turnover: Organizations with weak or poor cultures experience a >3x
increase in employee turnover (Columbia).
6.Productivity: Disengaged employees cost organizations 34% more than their fully
loaded annual salaries (Gallup).
7.Safety & Quality: Disengaged employees cause 49% more accidents and 60% more
errors and defects (Gallup).

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12. But what, exactly, is “culture?”

13. Defining “Culture”
●Refers to the shared values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors
that characterize an organization.
●It emcompasses the unwritten rules, norms, and social
patterns that shape how employees interact with each other,
how they approach their work, and make decisions.
●It is the collective “personality” of an organization, influencing
its overall work environment, employee engagement,
productivity, and ultimately, organizational success.
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Everything about an organization makes up its
culture - meaning, the presence or absence of
its stated values, aspirational values, accidental
values, its leadership expectations, work
processes, unwritten norms, bad habits, & etc.

The overarching goal, over time, is for the
espoused culture to become the culture-in-use.

15. Human behavior (individual and collective) is
the cornerstone of an organization’s culture.”
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At the end of the day …

16. ”Nothing changes until the pain of
remaining the same is greater than the
pain of change.”
~Jim Burns
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Creating a Culture
of Excellence

18. Culture of Excellence
1.Strong Leadership - A team of Senior Leaders who live by the core values and who combine
assertive personal ambition with personal humility and servant leadership.
2.Clarity & Focus - Leaders who are crystal clear about the Purpose and Direction of the
organization, as well as about the key outcomes the organization must achieve.
3.Engaged & Committed Teammates - A team of highly competent and committed individuals,
with winning attitudes, who are in clearly defined and accepted roles.
4.Empowering Communication - A culture that results from strong Leadership, where
employees feel strong and confident in the fulfillment of their individual responsibilities.
5.100% Accountability - The key result of a planning and management process where everyone
submits themselves to being held accountable for impeccable execution.
6.Organizational Agility - The ability of an organization to renew, adapt, and change quickly in
an ambiguous, turbulent, and/or rapidly changing environment.
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19. “We don’t rise to the level of our goals.
We fall to the level of our systems.”

James Clear

20. Strategic Growth System ©

21. A few points about “strategic planning” …
1.A compelling strategic growth plan not only fuels collective effort to produce
high-quality outcomes, it properly limits potential distractions.
2.Most strategic plans are heavy on the “plan” part, and very light on the “strategy“ part.
3.Strategy attempts to articulate the “fields” we choose to play on, and the “games” we
choose to play on those fields, because we can WIN those games, on those fields.
4.Strategy says that, based on our experience, our research, our collective expertise, and
our examination of the internal and external factors, this is what we THINK will happen
and how we believe we should respond.

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22. A few MORE points about “strategic planning” …
1.No three-ring binders allowed …
2.A high-quality strategic growth plan will say as much about what an organization
is NOT going to do, as it will about any new initiatives or activities (at the very
least by omission).
3.A good strategic growth plan is not a substitute for leadership judgment. It
provides a framework through which better decisions can be made.
4.A “plan” alone is not enough … you need a SYSTEM - a system that produces
planned or predictable results year-after-year.

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23. Strategic Acceleration ...

1.Clarity - the ability to get crystal clear about the purpose & direction of your
organization, as well as about the outcomes your organization wishes to
achieve.
2.Focus - the development of a laser-like guidance system in order to avoid
distraction and to concentrate on activities that will produce the greatest
results.
3.Execution - the ability to effectively deploy and direct resources in order to
achieve the desired outcomes.


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24. JS

25. Strategic Growth System ® - 10 Big Questions
1.Why do we exist? (Mission)
2.What behavior is expected from everyone in the organization? (Values)
3.What do our clients expect from us? (Brand Promise)
4.Where are we going, and when will we arrive? (Vision & Strategy)
5.What must we accomplish to get where we are going, by the date we have planned? (Long-term
Targets)
6.What must we accomplish over the next 12 months to ensure we stay on track (Short-term Goals)
7.What must we accomplish (as a Team, and Individually) in the next 90 days? (Quarterly Priorities)
8.What are the critical measures we must review weekly in order to maintain the pulse of the
organization? (KPIs / Scorecard)
9.What obstacles stand in our way? (Key Issues)
10.How will we ensure 100% Accountability (Monitoring & Review Cadence)
Who are we?
Where are we going?
How will we get there?

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Mission
Values
Brand Promise
Vision & Strategy
Long-term Targets
Short-term Goals
Quarterly Priorities (Rocks)
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Key Issues & Challenges
Meeting & Review CadencePlanning
Management
Key Stakeholders
Key Stakeholders
Key Stakeholders
Key Stakeholders
Strategic Growth System ©

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Event Annual Planning Q1 Review Q2 Review Q3 Review
What? Two-day Planning SessionOne-day Review SessionOne-day Review SessionOne-day Review Session
When? End of Q4, Start of Q1 End of Q1, Start of Q2 End of Q2, Start of Q3 End of Q3, Start of Q4
How?
Review Q4 Performance
Refine/Adjust Acct. Chart
Refine/Validate Vision
Refine/Validate LTTs
Team Development
Establish STGs
Establish Q1 Priorities
Refine/Adjust KPIs
Identify Key Issues
Review Q1 Performance
Establish Q2 Priorities
Tackle Critical Issues
Review Q2 Performance
Establish Q3 Priorities
Tackle Critical Issues
Review Q3 Performance
Establish Q4 Priorities
Tackle Critical Issues
Weekly Same Day, Same Time, Same Agenda (60-90 mins.) As Needed “Tackle the Issues”
Annual / Quarterly Planning Cadence

28. Fighting the Whirlwind - Four Disciplines of Execution
1.Focus - Focus on the Wildly Important Goals (LTTs & STGs)
○The Vital Few versus the “Trivial Many”
○An exercise in subtraction, not in addition
2.Leverage - Act on the Lead Measures (KPIs)
○Lag Measures describe “results.” You can’t act on them until it’s too late.
○Lead Measures are actions/sub-goals that can predict success of the LTTs / STGs..
3.Engagement - Keep a Compelling Scoreboard
○People play harder and more seriously when they are keeping score.
○Create a game that the Team can win by relentlessly tracking success.
4.Accountability - Create a Cadence of Accountability
○A “laser-like” guidance system to avoid distraction and to concentrate on activities that produce
the greatest results
○Occurs at the same time, every week and is Sacrosanct - ”No Whirlwinds allowed!”
Sacrosanct - “Too important or valuable to be interfered with.”
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29. Jeff Standridge, Ed.D.
Managing Director
-Innovation Junkie
-Conductor
-Cadron Capital Partners

[email protected]

www.JeffStandridge.com


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