This article introduces the idea of Game Plans and how they help drive focus and clarity for teams.
A Game Plan will outline to the whole organisation what needs to be done to execute against the strategy at a function or team level
Game Plans...
- provide the context for teams and departments to share how they will contribute to the organization strategy.
- are transparent - they show everyone the methods used to move towards the shared goals.
- manage obstacles and dependencies across teams and departments as well as strategic questions
- can be formulated as part of your function or team’s OKR discussion and vice versa.
- are living documents for each area of the business and it reflects their current focus.
- combine the vision, business targets, culture and change targets into one holistic view
How do Game Plans differ from pure OKRs?
Game Plans work in jointly with OKRs and provide…- clarity around the context for the team to set better targets.
- an explicit way of dealing with questions and obstacles that need to be resolved in order to reach the outcomes.
- the ability to manage the dependencies between different teams
- the wider context and thinking of the team for others to see.
- information to see if the strategy and changes have been internalized in a deeper fashion.
- both culture and business outcomes into a concrete coherent document.
What are the core components of a Game Plan?
- Vision & Purpose - what is our team 'why'?
- Values, Drivers & Principles - how do we as a team want to be seen across the organisation?
- Obstacles & Dependencies - obstacles and interlocks with other teams that may prevent us achieving our goals, including any business risks we have identified .
- OKRs - our short and medium term execution focus for the coming period.
- Methods & Plans - how we will execute against our plans
- What we choose to not focus on - areas we have identified as important, but not a focus for this current period.
Game Plans are designed to work for your organisation - so you can add in additional components to help drive your strategy execution.
When do I create my team Game Plan?
A Game Plan is created for the year.
Vision & Purpose; Values, Drivers & Principles are likely to remain fixed for the year.
Components such as OKRs, methods, obstacles and dependencies are more dynamic - they are set quarterly, and worked on frequently.
Where do I create a Game Plan?
Game Plans are created in the Team Context Sharing page.
How do I create a Game Plan?
Game Plans are created within your time and will be created, often with involvement with other stakeholders, click here for a suggestion how to run a Game Plan workshop with your team.
Once you have gathered all the information during the Game Plan workshop, complete a Context Card for each of the 6 components (click here to find out how to create a context card).