Is There a Mechanic on the Bus?

As we embark on a new year, it's customary to establish New Year’s resolutions. Additionally, we should do a thorough introspection of ourselves as business leaders and assess the proficiency of our team. The common analogy stresses the importance of “having the right people in the right seats on the bus.” As you are implementing your 2024 plans, having your team fully capable of executing that plan is critical. Consider conducting a SWOT analysis (evaluating strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) on your team to identify any competence gaps. In other words, someone must be the mechanic on the bus.

?The initial step involves breaking down your 2024 plan into actionable steps, complete with a timeline and assigned tasks to specific individuals. Once this staff plan is established, it becomes apparent where potential bottlenecks may arise and who might be facing an excessive workload. Additionally, you can identify individuals who could provide assistance to others in completing their tasks. Without implementing this structured process, the success of your plan becomes a matter of speculation. As the saying goes, hope is not a strategy.

While you may possess a deep understanding of your team and can conduct the analytical thinking independently, there might be instances where you lack confidence in certain staff members. In such cases, considering the involvement of a leadership advisor to assist with the analysis is a viable option. We collaborate with several advisors who have proven to be particularly effective.

Here are steps we recommend to increase the odds for success of your 2024 plan:

• Commit your plan to paper with a budget and timeline for each major step.
• Assign responsibility for each step to an individual or team.
• Discuss the plan, assignments and deliverables with your team to build consensus.
• Have your team self-identify trouble spots and concerns for timing or cost allocations.
• Revisit staffing assignments, and evaluate where help is needed or people upgraded.
• Develop back-up steps to cover areas of concern to avoid a performance breakdown.
• Determine if the problem areas can be addressed through staff mentoring or if staffing is insufficient for the projected workload. Training or additional help may be better than replacing the individual when capability or capacity are uncertain.
• Reach out for help from third parties where internal sources cannot solve the problem.
• Hold weekly status update meetings with your management team for early detection of problems. The meeting can be done in a hybrid work environment which also helps in team building.
• Celebrate your small wins as you go!

While this approach is not entirely bulletproof, our experience shows this process greatly improves success rates. It is the attention to details that improves execution and increases early detection of problems. The process also supports forward-looking behavior, and the adoption of better ideas and processes.

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C Squared Solutions provides interim or fractional CFOs, COOs, and CEO advisors in nearly all industries. We analyze and advise on these issues frequently through sophisticated modeling and experienced management. Give us a call or visit our website for more information and details. We have been there and done that!

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