Why top-down planning sucks…

Mgmt Principle #5: Lean in to decentralized and autonomous planning and execution structures

Annual planning is hard. And looking back, it was probably one of the hardest “tasks” I was responsible for delivering as CEO as we began scaling. And even now, I know I never got it 100% right, even when we beat and exceeded goals. Hindsight would always reveal something that we could’ve done better in the planning process itself, tuning of our actual goals, or communicating our plan out to the broader company to build sync. ??????

That said, one thing I did learn through the process is the benefits of leaning into decentralized planning and execution structures instead of a top-down, command and control framework. After countless hours in planning meetings — besides developing an allergy for the acronym OKRs – three things stood out, each of which tilt me towards a more decentralized approach:?

• Make decisions faster - When we were a small team this didn’t matter as much, but as we approached 50 > 100 > 200 employees, becoming a bottle neck for decisions ran the risk of major, cascading slow downs through the org. Time is $ and I was always conscious that we were in a race.?
• Create ownership -? Your team wants to believe what you believe, and feel the way you feel. They’re working at your startup for a different experience and a different level of engagement than what’s offered by most 9–5 gigs across corporate America. Bringing them into the planning process and increasing their control over outcomes are onramps to create a greater sense of ownership and empowerment for your team. Ultimately, connecting them more to you, the company, the company’s goals and their own work.?
• I’m not that smart - The best ideas often come from the smartest people and I knew that wasn’t me. If you’re hiring well as you scale, then you’ve brought on many talented people across disciplines. Let them do the stuff you hired them for.

Catch up here if you missed earlier posts in this series on my 9 management principles:

1. Why every CEO needs an actual list of management principles
2. Strong opinions, loosely held
3. After the debate, everyone needs to disagree and commit
4. Everyone must prioritize company outcomes over personal outcomes, every time...