Is staring at a blank piece of paper creating unwanted anxiety? Here are three questions to get leaders and their teams moving forward on new work or work in need of re-positioning: what is reasonable, feasible, and sustainable?
Reasonable
Key questions to consider:
Who/what?
Is this market segment correct?
Are we serving the right people?
Is this work for us to lead, partner, or support?
Do we have legitimacy in this space/work?
Is this the common agenda to align towards?
Feasible
Focus on the 3 C's:
Capacity
Does the organization, team, division, etc., have the time to commit to do this work well? What are the opportunity costs?
Capabilities
Do we have the right people to do this work well? Do we need to train up or hire new?
Capital
What funds are currently available? Are new funds necessary? Is the funding/revenue landscape stable?
Sustainable
Thrive vs Survive:
How will this THRIVE, and not just survive in the short/mid/long term?
What do we need to stop and/or start doing for this to be successful?
Answering these questions truthfully and comprehensively will take time and a culture that favors growth and improvement over conflict avoidance. These priorities should connect to a north star, and once developed, be operationalized with action plans.