SCALING YOUR BUSINESS
PART 1
ROCKEFELLER
HABITS
CHECKLIST :
IS YOUR BUSINESS ON THE PATH TO SUSTAINABLE GROWTH ?
Managers who have completed the checklist often ask us two questions :
1 . How did we survive / thrive for all these years yet have nothing checked off on the list ? 2 . Are the habits in any kind of order ?
Responding to the first question , we remind executive teams that this is an execution checklist . It ’ s not necessary to implement any of these habits to build a long-lasting organization . It just means you ’ ve been leaving massive amounts of money and time on the table . And if you have a killer strategy and / or heroic people willing to work 18-hour days , eight days a week , these habits will make up for the messes created by sloppy execution and lack of discipline .
To answer the second question , you can ’ t implement any of what I ’ ve taught unless Rockefeller Habit No . 1 — “ The executive team is healthy and aligned ” — exists . The order in which you implement the other habits doesn ’ t matter . Choose just one or two each quarter , based on what will give you the most immediate benefit as you would with the rest of our crossword puzzle-like tools . Over 24 – 36 months , you ’ ll have moved through all 10 habits .
Rockefeller Habit No . 1
The Executive Team Is Healthy And Aligned
Patrick M . Lencioni ’ s bestselling book “ The Five Dysfunctions of a Team : A Leadership Fable ” defines the unhealthy situations that can derail your leadership team : an absence of trust , fear of conflict , lack of commitment , avoidance of accountability , and inattention to results . If one or more of these afflictions exists , then address it before you tackle any other aspect of execution .
We strongly suggest purchasing Lencioni ’ s affordable “ Team Kit .” Take your leadership team through his assessment and training process to strengthen the levels of trust , healthy debate , commitment , accountability , and results . It ’ s a great tuneup for even healthy teams . At a minimum , require all leaders and managers to read his book once a year . It ’ s a quick read , and a refresher can prevent new problems from arising within the team as you scale up .
Many of the Rockefeller Habits reinforce routines that keep the team healthy , like taking a few minutes to share personal and professional good news at the start of a weekly or monthly meeting . Other ways to help the team build trust include the following :
• Personality and leadership style assessments , which help team members appreciate each other ’ s differences
• Meal and social time during off-site planning sessions and monthly management meetings
• Shared learning experiences
Once the team is healthy , then it is ready to tackle the tough work of setting priorities successfully .
Rockefeller Habit No . 2
Everyone Is Aligned With The No . 1 Thing That Needs To Be Accomplished This Quarter To Move The Company Forward
Rockefeller Habit No . 2 starts with identifying your Critical Number , introduced and popularized through Jack Stack ’ s classic book “ The Great Game of Business : The Only Sensible Way to Run a Company .” Though all your metrics are critical , reserve the term “ Critical Number ” for your measurable No . 1 priority , even when other metrics are nearly as important .
To derive the one Critical Number , imagine the hundreds of important things you need to accomplish lined up like dominoes . Find the lead domino : the one initiative that , when pursued , makes it easier to accomplish everything else . Or identify the constraint — the choke point or bottleneck — and address it first . For more on how to choose this “ critical ” constraint , read my favorite business book of all time , “ The Goal ” by the late Eliyahu Goldratt . Scaling up is all about eliminating constraints — in the business and for customers .
It ’ s tempting to have a few “ main ” priorities , but that just means your focus will be pulled in different directions , thus not really achieving anything of significance . For true scalability to
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