The Power of Diligence

For anyone operating on a calendar year, the end of the third quarter means we enter Q4, which has unique quirks. Leaders must stay obsessively focused on closing out the year while doing a significant amount of forward-thinking work planning for the following year. This time of year requires having one foot (or brain space) in two separate but equal camps. Too much focus on the current year puts next year at risk, and not enough focus on the current year makes for a poorer-than-planned performance. The same is true for your focus on next year; too much or too little creates unexpected outcomes. When you add the shortened schedules due to holiday and year-end activities, along with the associated stress, it becomes clear that this may not be the "most wonderful time of the year" for you or your team.

As leaders, part of our responsibility is recognizing the current and potential issues that may arise with the team. This includes, but isn't limited to, their workload and demands, external and internal timelines and obligations. We need to recognize that the next 90 days may create situations where there is more significant stress than usual. One of the ways that you can help the team (and yourself) is to focus on being more diligent. Diligence is defined as "careful and persistent work or effort." It can also be described as "paying attention to what matters," which sums up well the mental model needed to best care for your team.

One straightforward and effective framework that can keep the team focused during this time is the W.I.N. model, which stands for What's Important Now. The W.I.N. model is designed to bring the essential tasks and areas of focus in a simple and easy-to-communicate manner, providing a clear roadmap for your team. You can break down the W.I.N. model by month, week, day, shift, or hour, making it adaptable to your team's needs. An example of a W.I.N. model for a manufacturing team might look like this:

Orders tend to spike during the holiday rush. We will W.I.N. each day by doing the following.

• Daily stand-up 10-minute meeting at 8:00 to help prioritize the incoming orders.
• Managers email their production reports at noon, 2, and 4 pm, alerting leadership if there is any unexpected volume change.
• Inventory reports will be done on Tuesdays and Thursdays instead of once a week to ensure sufficient inventory levels for production.
• Shipping and receiving will extend their hours to allow for faster turnarounds. Doors 1-4 will be designated for receiving, and 5-10 will be for shipping.
• We W.I.N. when our production levels exceed 1,400 units a day. This daily metric will help us know how close we are to achieving our goals.
• The reward for achieving our production goal is a B.B.Q. each Friday and an extra week of paid vacation for everyone!

As you can see, the W.I.N. model can be used for any size team and in personal or professional situations. It provides clarity and a reminder of what must be done daily to prepare for success.

The key to using the framework consistently is to provide a line of sight to changing priorities and overall metrics.

So, figure out what matters most and go out and W.I.N. the day!

What have you done to help your team W.I.N Q4? Feel free to share your best practices or other helpful suggestions.