Purpose then Priorities
“Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of
things which matter least” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Ed Curley

Overview of the day

Setting the
Scene
Business
Context
SOAR
Purpose &
Success
Important
to/Important For
Our Customers
Important to
/Important For
Team
What's
Working/What’s
Not Working
Feedback
&
Discussion
Priorities &
Plans
Measures
Team
Purpose
Statement
Why
What
When, How, Who
Building from
Purpose

Why we do what we do…
Purpose
Purpose - the reason for which something is done or
created or for which something exists…

Purpose & Success
Group Task:
Clarity about our Purpose?
• What are we here to do as an organisation?
• Who are we here to do it for?
In your groups make a list of customers on the flip chart
• Think about external customers,
• Inside and outside your department e.g. other teams
• What do they want from your team? – do you know? do they know! have you asked
them lately?
• What would success look like for our customers?
• Use the post-it notes to list what our customer want now and will want in the future

Our Customers
Customer What they want/need now What they will want/need
in the future
??
??
??
Example

Flipchart Page 3
What are our unique
Strengths and Capabilities?
SOAR
Task:
On 4 Flipchart
Pages make a list of
Flipchart Page1
What has changed in our
PESTLE environment?
Flipchart Page 2
What is changing?
What will change?
Flipchart Page 4
What are our Opportunities
and Aspirations

People
What new capabilities will we need to
develop, what’s the best way of doing
this…

Breakout Workshops
In your groups complete templates 1-3

Important
To/Important
For Our
Customers
Important To our Customers Important For our Customers
Is there anything we need to know more about?
A. .
B. .
C. .
D. .
When do we need to know it? Who is responsible for finding out?
A
B
C
D
Template 1

Important To
/Important For
Our Team
Important To our Team Important For our Team
Is there anything we need to know more about?
A. .
B. .
C. .
D. .
When do we need to know it? Who is responsible for finding out?
A
B
C
D
Template 2

What's
Working/What’s
Not Working
Perspective What's working? What's not
working as well as
we would like?
What do we
need to know
more about?
Who is
responsible for
finding out, by
when?
What actions
do we need to
take and when?
Template 3

Workshops Feedback

Put all flipchart templates up
on the wall and provide an
overview of your key
findings…

Identifying the Priorities
Developing the Plan

What are our Highest Priorities, what are the critical few things we
Must do? Our BIG Rocks….
Priorities &
Plans
Develop Delivery Plans
Put the big rocks in first!
Execute against Priorities –
Reprioritise if required!!
Remember MoSCoW!
• Must
• Should
• Could
• Will not

Measure what
Matters
Inputs outputs  outcomes  impact/Result
Good measures demonstrate your Value to the business and to
your customers
Develop key effectiveness (Value) measures rather than just
activity (busyness) measures…
REMEMBER you can be very efficiently doing and measuring the
wrong thing!

• How will we know if we are making progress?
• What are our ‘critical few’ measures linked to our priorities?
• How will we measure?
• Are they the right measures, how do/ will we know?
• What will they tell our customers about us?
• What will they tell us about us?
• Who will be responsible for collecting?
• How will they be collected?
• How frequently?
Measure what
Matters

Measure what
Matters
Performance Indicators
3 Tests
1. Communication Power – does the indicator communicate to all
of your stakeholders and customers; is it common sense and
compelling?
2. Proxy Power – does the indicator say something of importance
about the overall Impact or Result you are trying to have, is it a
‘lead Indictor’ in other words achieving it indicates a likelihood
of achieving the Impact or Result.
3. Data Power – Can you get quality data on a regular basis, is the
data reliable and consistent?
Adapted from , Trying Hard is Not Good Enough –Mark Friedman

Measures that matter…
Task – on the flip chart make a list of what you believe should be your
MUST have measures and indictors…
• How do these compare to what you currently measure and report?
• Are you measuring activity – busyness or impact and results?
• Are they LEAD or LAG measures, remember you can only act on LEAD
measures?
• How do your current measures and indictors compare to the 3 Tests?
• How much control do you have over what is measured?

Team Purpose

Team Purpose…
Task – to be completed at your next team meeting
• What is the purpose of the unit or team you lead in relation to;
• Your customers
• The organisation
• Other organisational units & teams

Purpose
Purpose Statement
(complete and make public)

Priorities &
Plans
Task - Learning reflection
• What have we discussed?
• What have we learned?
• What are we concerned about?
• Given what we know now, what next?
• Who owns each action
Monthly progress check-in

Further Reading
These books were used in the development of this workshop
• Start With Why – Simon Sinek
• First Thing First – Stephen R Covey & A.Roger Merrill
• Key Performance Indicators – David Parmenter
• Execution – The Discipline of Getting Things Done – Larry Bossidy & Ram
Charan
• Trying Hard is Not Good Enough – Mark Friedman
• Creating Person-Centred Organisations – Stephen Stirk & Helen Sanderson

Close
Remember, what you do today… will determine
your tomorrow… anon