As we prepare to embark on the new year with setting new goals, new strategies, revising processes, and generally looking at how we can simplify these larger undertakings, let’s look at how we can transform an agile approach to getting things done and communicating our progress to helping us make the new year and our day-to-day processes easier to manage.
Many of us are familiar with the daily stand-up meeting, known as a SCRUM, where project team members go around the horn and share three pieces of information.
- What I did yesterday
- What I will do today
- What are my barriers to success
The stand-up is fast-paced and meant to communicate only the most important bits of progress or impediments so that the team can continue a forward trajectory with little downtime spent in meetings.
Now, how we can apply this methodology to our yearly planning, improving processes, and even to help us manage our day-to-day tasks? Here are a few ways we can spin this:
Managing Your Team
It can be tough keeping track of everyone else’s day-to-day activities and efforts in addition to your own, let alone knowing where you can provide guidance or a kick in the pants if this information isn’t boiled down into an easily digestible form. I’m taking this one from Anvil’s own playbook to show how we can make managing a team, or at the very least know what’s on their plates, a little bit easier. Start each week by asking your direct reports to send you these three things, and let that be a catalyst to your coaching:
- What did you accomplish last week?
- What will you accomplish this week?
- What wins or stucks, or other happenings that aren’t captured above?
Retrospective
Project just ended? Did you and a client recently part ways? How about those research efforts your team just did? All of the events that happen throughout the course of our work contain clues to how we can improve as a team, personally, or in our processes. When you come to the end of an event, or even the end of a client relationship, ask your team – and even your clients – these three questions and you might be amazed at the wealth of valuable information you uncover:
- What went well?
- What could have been better?
- What should we do more or less of to improve next time?
Execution of a Strategy or Plan
You and your team just spent a decent amount of time crafting a new strategy to hit your company’s 2018 digital marketing goals. This is a great place to start, but all too often, the strategy can be lost if the execution is sub-par or not given a plan of its own. Put your strategy into action, and easily keep your goals in sight with a simple approach that outlines just three things. In the end, you’ll come out with a full project plan that is actionable and measurable.
- What are we trying to accomplish? (Goals and objectives)
- How will we measure success? (KPIs)
- How do we get there? (Actions and steps to be taken or tasks)
- BONUS: Identify assumptions, conditions, and outside factors that must exist in order to reach your goals that aren’t taken into account with KPIs or tasks.
Now that we have your wheels turning, what are some other ways you can apply a 3-step approach to your daily processes and planning? Call Anvil and we can help build out your digital marketing strategy and plan, and put it into action with simple, measurable goals for 2018!