The ultimate responsibility in any given situation for results and no surprises.
The perceived relationship that a person has with you, your product or service. It exists in only two places: in the minds of people and, if you are a business, on your balance sheet under the title of “goodwill”.
The visual elements of a brand e.g. colour, design, logo
Making money
Making money in a different way from how you do today.
The business model you or your business uses to make money
What are you willing for your business to do or not do based on what you want to achieve?
What are you willing to do or not do based on what you want to achieve?
The behaviour and performance of people.
The customer experience describes your customers’ engagement with you, through their eyes and from their perspective.
Understanding your customers in ways they would want.
Direction and mandate are a combination of clearly articulating what you want, when and why and from whom – along with the permissions and authority those people have to achieve what you want.
Managing money in and money out.
Anything that can be financially measured in the business; the financial health of the business.
What you want to achieve, when and why – stated as an outcome.
The role of good Governance begins with ensuring the Owners of the business are clear and aligned about what they want, when and why.
The next step is to ensure: that the milestones the business needs to achieve are in place; that there is a strategic plan of what to do in what order; and that the business has the right leader and leadership team and people in place who are making fast and effective decisions to get results and no surprises.
In practice the Governance function is there to shine a light beyond the operational horizons of the business over the long term.
In practice, short-term Governance is about asking the right questions with an unemotional voice of critique. This includes ensuring there is: good financial stewardship in the business; risk mitigation in place; and exceptional policies and compliance.
Knowing the right thing to do when no-one else does; taking accountability for getting results and no surprises; the positive influence on people to get results and no surprises; creating the environment to get results and no surprises; holding people to account for results and no surprises.
It is all about your behaviour. Words can inspire and influence but the right behaviour is what makes a sustainable difference in your business.
When leading a team, your biggest responsibility is to provide the best possible environment and support for them to perform and to be held accountable for their performance.
The Leadership Team’s first responsibility is to have in place a Strategic Plan based on the Direction and Mandate and milestones set by the Governance function and ensure they have the resources to execute it.
In practice the Leadership Team is in place to run the business and get results and be accountable for those results – measured and tracked against the strategic plan.
What you leave behind in a given situation when you are no longer there or have any influence.
The permissions and authority from the right people that a person has been given to do something and achieve outcomes.
The MD / CEO is responsible for the strategic plan and leadership resources to execute the plan.
The role is accountable for the operational Financial Performance, Culture, Brand and Customer Experience of the business and having a clear set of priorities, communicating who owns each priority and the measurement and tracking of each priority.
The leadership function is there to allocate resources and make decisions to get results.
In practice the MD / CEO’s role is: setting clear outcomes; providing support; holding their team accountable for results.
The owner(s) being clear and aligned about what they want, when they want it and why they want it. The owners need to be clear enough to be able to give direction and mandate to the business.
The Owners need to be clear and aligned about what they want, when and why (combined as Outcomes) – based on their agreed appetite for Risk and Reward.
The Owners then deliver their desired outcomes through Direction and Mandate to the Governance function of the business – who in turn set that out as ‘Results and No Surprises’ for the MD / CEO and operational team of the business.
What you will do or not do to get from where you are today to where you want to be, including recognising self-sabotaging behaviour (e.g. procrastination, taking on too much, saying yes to everything . . .)
The things that must be done with your decided focus and in a given timeframe. (They are not the only things that will be done.)
An articulation of who matters to you most, what you want to do for them and the outcomes for them
Whether a person or team is clear about the results they need to achieve and the mandate they have to achieve those results.
Strategy is how you are going to achieve your goals i.e. what to do in what order to achieve them. When deciding on your strategy, it helps to be ‘brutally honest’ about where you are now and to be as clear as you can about where you want to end up.
An articulation of your desired future state that is clear enough to head towards but also just beyond the achievable.