Start Broad, Then Zoom In

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Read time: 3:20 minutes

Hey! Humberto here.

Here’s the next issue of Invest in the Message to help you with disruptive strategy management.

What you get in each issue?

Genuine content from my insights, 1 actionable tactic, and my perspective of why it works.

Enjoy!

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Big thank you for taking the time to check out my newsletter!

Insight

What drives my thinking in this issue is the power of starting broad and leveraging collective intelligence.

Why broad?

Thinking broad lets us imagine the bigger picture in all its glory. We can let our minds run free of limitations, clear of judgement, doubt, and “no”.

It’s true in life as in business.

“Think Big”.

We’re all familiar with this saying and it strikes me more now than ever.

I constantly go to this saying for myself in my work with companies. Leaders take on the challenge of managing transformation every day.

It starts with the “why”, often led by a “Think Big” idea.

Why collective intelligence?

I heard this term during a podcast and something about it struck a chord.

It matches the language of leaders I work with. They speak of maximizing value impact in their organization through collaboration.

The intelligence part, it speaks for itself. ?These leaders understand the path to success does not only happen with their ideas.

Before jumping into Action, I want to leave you with two quotes:

“Start Broad, Then Zoom In” Arnold Schwarzenegger (“I’ll Be Back”, still don’t know who this is…??stop here and Google him)

“…if you know the way broadly you will see it in all things” Miyamoto Musashi – Japanese Philosopher and Swordsman (undefeated in 61 duels)

Action

“Start Broad”??

Defining a broad strategy starts with company executives and leaders. This step is critically important for developing a clear path for people to follow.

It represents where an organization wants to go straight from the top.

It gets built next to all the work that happens daily, our “day jobs”.

Any good strategy captures daily work because it’s important to track this progress. Without it, you’re not building towards your “Think Big” idea.

The other side of strategy challenges your organization to grow inside discomfort.

Why discomfort?

Ambitious goals challenge your people beyond what’s capable today. These goals lead to disruption in operations, infrastructure, processes, etc.

Think about your own journey.

Did growth come from success or the challenges/failures that taught you how to adjust your approach?

Taking on change means challenging what’s predictable and known. People inside organizations want to know what’s around the corner.

When we take on transformation, it means rewriting the rules.

So, as leader consider these questions when building company strategy:

• Are my strategic goals broad or is there overlap between goals?

If there’s overlap, thinker broader to avoid redundancy spreading your resources thinner.

• Does the strategy serve our stakeholders in a way we can control?

Don’t chase strategies you can’t control or influence.

• Do we have what’s needed to accomplish our goals? ?

Objectively assess if your people or organization have the knowledge, tools, or resources.

Can’t answer this question, identify what you need to learn.

• Does our strategy align with our identity and purpose?

Your strategy needs to serve your company’s mission, vision, and values.

“Zoom In”??

Once leaders define a broad strategy, collective intelligence comes next. This component is about collaboration. It provides the opportunity for autonomy to exist in your strategy.

Executives at the top stay removed from the tactical work. They’re focused on “Thinking Big” to drive innovation and challenge their leaders to build.

Zooming in means understanding how your teams contribute to the mission.

It starts by knowing what work contributes to broad strategic themes. If the work doesn’t move the needle, it’s wasted resources.

What impact does this create for your organization?

It challenges people to discuss the work they’re doing, assess if it’s the right work, and decide how to do the work right.

This part is about trust and collaboration.

Trust your people’s value and capabilities to build impactful operations. Collaborate to co-create work built from the bottom-up connected to the top-down initiatives.

Start broad, then zoom in.

Maximize the whole by knowing the sum of the parts.

Perspective

Broad thinking allows us to understand the environment we’re operating in.

Get lost in the weeds and you miss the big picture. Get lost in the big picture and you stay too abstract to have meaningful impact.

The ability to think broadly puts emphasis and focus on where your company needs to go.

Once you have a deep understanding it’s time to build a strategy that leverages the ability of your people. This requires zooming in to their work contribution. It builds trust and appreciation for what they do daily to put the company mission forward.

This approach works because it lets company leaders “Think Big” first, then communicate the strategy downwards.

It’s a vital first step to build meaningful and impactful strategy.

The art comes from leaders understanding how to connect their team’s work into company strategy.

Until the next one, stay present, celebrate the small wins, and involve your people.

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P.S. Felt this helped, let me know. You want back those 3 minutes of your life, tell me about it. Like you, I’m here to learn and challenge myself to grow.

P.S.S. With 2023 bringing me clarity, in 2024 I'm rebranding my services and on doubling-down on Change Management with an operational twist.

Let me know what challenges you're currently facing, topics of interest, and insights you want to learn.

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