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.
Core Components of a Game Plan
- Vision & Purpose - what is our why?
- Values, Drivers & Principles - how do we want to be seen across the organisation?
- Obstacles & Dependencies - obstacles and interlocks which may prevent us achieving our goals, optionally business risks as well.
- OKRs - our short and medium term execution focus.
- Methods & Plans - how we will execute against our plans
- What we choose to not focus on - what will we deprioritise?
Game Plans are designed to work for your organisation - so you can add in additional components to help drive your strategy execution.