340. The Secret Way To Get Things Done Faster and Better
Getting things done is your job description. But it isn't a marathon. Success is a sprint. And this is your guide to doing it faster and better.
This is The Best Leadership Newsletter Ever, the most fun way to learn life’s leadership lessons. My name is Jeff Matlow. I am a leadership coach.
I help leaders solve their biggest problems fast so they can sleep better at night.
Most strategic planning is like a company scavenger hunt - it sounds like a great idea when you think of it, but in the end, few people care, and it has no impact on your company’s growth.
Here’s what usually happens:
You spend three days in a room with a whiteboard and end up with a complex series of plans. Somebody then writes them out.
They’re long.
They’re vague.
And nobody ever reads them until next year’s planning session.
(Editor’s Note: there’s a caveat, but that’s down at the bottom)
So here’s something better. Something that’s proven to work:
The Sprinting to Success playbook.
This is your guide for getting stuff done faster, better and fool-proofer.
The Importance Of Sprinting to Success
I’m a runner and a triathlete. I’ve raced both long-distance events (like Ironmans and marathons) and short-distance events.
The thing with long-distance racing is that it takes a lot of planning and long stretches of practice. Throughout all of it, you’re teetering on the edge of injury.
Now let’s use that as a metaphor for company growth.
The bigger the idea, the longer it takes to determine the solution, and the greater the risk that you’ll come up with all the reasons it won’t work.
And trust me, if you have the time to look for reasons why you’ll fail, you’ll always find them.
Sprinting is different.
It’s about figuring out the problems on the fly and addressing them immediately. With sprinting, there is no such thing as failure - just learning.
Sprinting is about speed.
Speed is important.
Speed breeds clarity. Being focused is like a spotlight that cuts through the fog. It gives pinpoint clarity on exactly what you need to do.
Sprinting to Success helps you:
Solve big problems fast.
Align your team without endless meetings.
Get shit done instead of just talking about it.
But Sprinting to Success only works if you do it right.
And that’s what I’m about to teach you: the right way to get things done by sprinting to success.
You ready?
You excited?
Me too.
Let’s do this.
Sprinting To Success: The Guide To Getting Things Done Faster and Better
Step 1: Pick One Problem. Just One.
Most teams start with 5 or more priorities, which turn into fifty or more tasks, which pretty much results in nothing getting done.
Your job is to pick one - and only one - clear problem to solve. It has be something that matters. It has to be something that people are losing sleep over. If they’re not, it’s not your sprint topic.
For instance, “fix marketing” isn’t a sprint topic as much as it’s a thought process you go through when standing in a hot shower.
A good sprint topic is more like “increase qualified leads by 20% in 2 weeks” or “improve transparency in company communication in 1 week.”
Step 2: Decide on a Decider
Without a dedicated Decider, you’ll have 17 opinions and 0 decisions. That’s annoying. And inefficient.
Getting things done always requires a willing and dedicated Decider.
The Decider’s job is not to make everyone happy. Their job is to keep things moving forward and accomplish the goal in the time allotted.
Keep in mind, the Decider doesn’t have to be the boss. But they do have to have the confidence and ability to make final decisions, no matter what.
Step 3: Build a Time-Boxed Team
This isn’t a random group of wackos who need more work. Your team must be an intentionally selected group of people who will work together on this project for a specific period of time.
The team should be composed, not around job title, but around impact and effectiveness to the group.
The team should be no less than three people and absolutely positively no more than 6.
Productivity and creativity decline when a team has more than 6 people.
The purpose of the time-boxed team is to be focused, fast-paced, and cross-functional. There are no passengers on this train - everybody must bring value.
Everybody must commit 10-20% of their time for the 1-2 weeks of the sprint.
If someone says they’re too busy, that’s fine. They don’t get a vote.
They don’t get credit.
And they may be replaced.
Your team is only as good as your weakest contributor.
Step 4: Start With the End
Before you start, define the end.
You can do this in a number of ways. You may want to come up with a newspaper headline for the accomplishment and then figure out the specifics from there.
Or maybe you like the Amazon press release method.
Sometimes you already have the vision and can simply do a 20-minute brainstorm with the Time Boxed Team.
Whatever method you choose, here are some questions you need to answer.
Why is this important?
How will it change the business in measurable ways?
What does “done” mean?
What needs to happen to prove we solved the problem?
By the way, if it takes more than two sentences to explain your finish line, it’s not clear enough.
Step 5: Make Progress Visible
People forget how long things take. Or they lie to themselves about it. (Not you, obviously. I’m just talking about other people.)
Put the sprint timeline up on a wall, in a doc, or tattooed on your forearm. It doesn’t matter how you display it, what matters is visibility.
Make progress a regular reminder. Daily stand-ups. Quick check-ins. Slack updates. Whatever is easiest for communication, spend the five minutes per day to hold people accountable.
Step 6: Prototype. Test. Iterate.
This is where most teams screw the proverbial pooch. They overthink. They overbuild. They over-engineer.
You don’t need perfection. You don’t want perfection. Perfection isn’t even part of the conversation. You just need something that’s good enough to test.
Show it to colleagues.
Show it to customers.
Share it with users.
Ask dumb questions.
Listen hard.
Then adjust.
And do this step again.
Step 7: Celebrate (Briefly) and Move On
At the end of your Sprint To Success, the time-boxed team must get together and answer these questions:
What worked in our sprint and why?
What didn’t work and why?
Document both for future teams.
Then celebrate.
Even if it was ugly, celebrate your progress,
And then move on.
Because leadership isn’t about perfect sprints. It’s about building healthy habits that improve productivity.
So if you want to start leading like a leader, forget your marathon to-do lists and lace up those sprinting shoes.
It’s time to get shit done.
This Week's Challenge
Choose one thing that’s important for you to fix.
Bring together a productive team of 3-6 relevant people and sprint.
Let me know what you’re going to do!
—
I can’t wait to hear about it.
Put it in the comments below.
The Caveat
As a coach and moderator for leadership teams, I guide many strategic planning sessions. However, I not only make them actionable, but I hold people accountable. It’s why 100% of my clients’ company revenue grows year after year.
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I especially like defining what 'done' means, otherwise it's all too wishy-washy.