Planning

Commercial Readiness Level (CRL) for Startups

For decades technology companies have been using the Technical Readiness Level (TRL) index, developed by NASA in the 1970s, to assess and communicate how far their technologies are along the scale towards system launch and operations. Startup founders need to start applying the same approach to assess their commercial development, because most founders are surprised by how long commercialization takes and how difficult it can be. Thus the need for a Commercial Readiness Level (CRL) equivalent.

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Management Communication in Our New Workplace

Management Communication in Our New Workplace

Many of us have heard the lamentations of the entertainment and advertising industries as they try to cope with the new age of entertainment. In the old days the entire family would gather around the TV at a specific time on Sunday night and watch the Ed Sullivan Show or something similar, with all its commercials, then talk about the show at work or school the next day. But today the industry must deal with video streaming, binge-watching, live tweeting, PVR ad skipping, and ad blockers. The audience watches the programs at different times, so it is difficult to create a buzz.

But that is not the only industry that has changed with the advent of new technologies. Many dimensions of management in all industries have changed as well -- but the changes have crept up on us because there is no single industry group to point it out. Think about management in the days of the Ed Sullivan show. The boss would call a weekly, in-person meeting of all the staff. Someone would take notes of the action items and share it via a memo or email. Staff members would sort out details with individual meetings in offices or hallways. And the boss' work would get done.

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Strategy Statements - Avoid Getting Wrapped Around the Axle

Just about every company goes through a process of creating their vision, mission, and strategy statements. Start-ups especially must do this to attract investment or document their latest pivot. Sometimes the companies hire consultants. Sometimes they arrange a one- or two-day offsite meeting with senior management. Sometimes the CEO hands the strategy down to management.

Most of the time though companies end up with a big PowerPoint deck that contains many $100 buzzwords, describes their role in tectonic industry trends, but fails to come to a point. The leaders celebrate the completion of the document; they present it to management and staff; and everyone continues doing what they were already doing before the exercise.

Keep in mind that planning is important despite these misadventures. Dwight D. Eisenhower said: "In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable." So by all means plan.

Here are my top seven guidelines for writing effective planning documents.

  1. Write a Strategic Intent Instead. Avoid the pointless discussions about what elements fit in the vision, objectives, goals, mission, values, or strategy documents. Write a single document that includes them all -- from where the company wants to go to how it plans to get there. Call it a Strategic Intent document.
  2. Keep it Short. Several good blog posts on the topic, including Forget the Strategy PowerPoint and The Art of Crafting a 15-Word Strategy Statement make a strong case for fitting the planning document on one piece of paper. That forces clarity and conciseness. And it is easier for the staff to understand.
  3. Make Choices. The reader should understand what the company will and will not do. Be specific about the success measures, target markets, time frames, technology platforms, make-versus-buy-versus-partner choices, and go-to-market channels.
  4. Solve Problems for Target Customers. The best strategies meet market needs, rather than describe actions in a vacuum. Meeting a market need requires specifying a target customer, a use case, some need or pain point, and how the company plans to meet the need. Otherwise, what makes the company unique?
  5. Specify Action. Passive voice kills strategy statements. Something important just magically happens? Good strategies describe clear action programs. 
  6. Leave the Tag Lines for Don Draper. Having an "elevator pitch" is helpful, especially if it ties in consistently and logically with the whole strategy. But a strategy is not the place to create the catchy, 2- to 3-word catch phrase. That is for the ad agency or the marketing types, once everyone agrees on the overall strategy.
  7. Plan for Phases. Just as Generals say "no battle plan survives the first shot being fired", strategists say "strategy ends when the team takes the first action, and the rest is tactics". Strategies should contain big dreams as well as near-term plans. Think big and act small. No one can predict the market or competitive conditions for phase 3, so there is no need to be highly specific about the strategy for that phase.