What

General information on addressing the WHAT decisions and actions affecting the performance of an organization. What is your focus? What are the end objectives? What will success look like? Are you focused on the most valuable goals?

About AGILEdge

Submitted by admin on Sun, 02/03/2008 - 17:32

Welcome to the AGILEdge Resource Portal. Since 1996, AGILEdge has helped organizations improve their performance by providing "tools", project management and advisory services to improve decisions and actions on the WHAT, the WHO and the HOW of achieving high performance in organizations.  The purpose of this Resource Portal is to provide information on the tools, ideas and programs for achieving this. Feel free to register to add comments or content directly. Don't hesitate to contact us with questions, issues or suggestions.  We always offer a free executive overview at your office and convenience and a no-cost "first step" to prove our value and achieve internal buy-in. So give  us a call if you want to explore further or browse through the website-portal.

AGILEdge                                                                                858-485-9226   

Creating Demand

Submitted by Alan on Sat, 05/03/2008 - 08:58

Welcome to the introductory page of the Creating Demand  digital book. This digital book, on the AGILEdge website, focuses on issues, ideas and tools for creating demand for an organizations' products and services or for a share of the proceeds of future products and services (i.e. for investors in biotech/technology firms) or for a specific outcome (in the case of fundraising for nonprofits). So the focus is on what most would call sales and marketing excellence with a slightly broader view.

From what we've seen over the years, there are 2 major causes of failure or in the best case, mediocrity in this area.

First is really a failure to pay attention to reality and involves the quality and accuracy of information on which decisions and actions are based. The homework is not done. That is, the planning and decision making process is corrupted by inaccurate assumptions and/or so-called "knowledge" based on the past and/or a fixation on completing the plan format or on some "cool" solution. This is further often complicated by leaders who ignore the reality of their team and assume that their department heads are fully informed about external and internal influences and issues. That is, the sales or marketing guy is fully aware of all key issues on the customer, the engineering guy knows the ins and outs of all available technology, the regulatory affairs buy is fully up to date on all regulatory, legal and process influences, the financial guy is an expert on … and so on.. . "Yep, all I need to do in my role as this here company's leader is get my team together, talk things through and spit out a plan, then we can play some golf…"

Goal Achievement Critical Success Factors

Submitted by Sales_N_Marketi... on Tue, 04/01/2008 - 08:58

AGILEdge recently sponsored a study looking at goal achievement programs and processes around the world as well as our own to determine the critical successful factors for successfully achieving goals in organizations.  Many, but not all of these factors are like weak links in the chain - if you have all but that one satisfied, you still will more than likely fall short.   These critical success factors are divided between Up-front Activities and Implementation Activities as follows:

GOAL ACHIEVEMENT: Up-front Critical Success Factors –

those activities necessary to create the right roadmap  and focus

 

  •  Clear statement of Purpose with specifics so that participants (those who benefit) can visualize success.
  • Clear brutally honest description of present day realities and likely scenarios to go from now to goal achievement.
  • A comprehensive and realistic listing/plan for the resources you will need, updated regularly to take into account changes and bumps along the way.
  • Full understa nding (which requires “hashing out”/surfacing) of underlying assumptions and their validity or invalidity
  • A mission/noble cause that inspires people and communications/leadership to ensure it continues to do so.
  • A catalytic mechanism, an enforceable way to ensure non-achievement has a major concrete “in your face” negative consequence.
  •  Clear understanding of benefits of achieving goal
  •  A full understanding of risks and challenges involved with the path towards goal achievement
  • An understanding, listing and communication of what you can NOT do as a result of this goal achievement process
  •  An outline of key strategies and specific actions required and close monitoring of the who, what, when and how much associated with completing those actions.
  •   An outline of new skills and capabilities required and actions embedded into overall action plan to raise these capabilities.
  • An explicit understanding and listing of the rules of the game and an understanding of how potential rule changes (ethical) may assist in goal achievement or even revising the goal to one more worthwhile.
  • If the goal you are after is not a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal), associate it with a longer-term stretch goal that is one.
  •  Full ownership and buy-in from all key stakeholders through effective  communications and involvement in ensuring these CSF’s are fulfilled.
  • Goal(s) associated directly with achieving excellence (world-class performance) in a specific area
  • A deep understanding of each team member involved  with the responsibilities given  aligned with strengths as well as awareness of any fatal flaws as they will derail your efforts.
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