All principles

Principle 7

Strategy means choosing

Strategy means choosing.

Strategy is not a long wish list.

Strategy means we choose what matters most.

It also means we choose what can wait.

A good goal should tell us:

• what matters now
• what success looks like
• who owns the work
• how we will measure progress
• what we will stop or delay

Poor goal

Improve operations.

Better goal

Reduce blocked order delays by making status, owner, and next action visible by noon each business day.

Simple goal format

Use this format:

We will improve [thing] so that [result]. We will know it worked when [measure].

Example

We will improve weekly reporting so that leaders can see blockers before they become missed deadlines. We will know it worked when each department sends a green, yellow, red, or blocked update by Friday at noon.