Halftime Adjustment #3: Decisions
Once a football coach has assessed the current context, evaluated the success and impact of behaviors, they must then make decisions for the second half. Do I stay with the starting quarterback or switch to the backup? Should we change the defensive scheme to put more bodies on the line and force them to throw the ball?
In the same way a coach needs to make decisions regarding the use of his players, so too does the manager need to decide how to most effectively allocate their resources (people, time and budget) for the second half. A McKinsey & Co. study of more than 200 large companies found that the reallocation of resources to faster-growing segments within a company’s portfolio of businesses was the largest single driver of revenue growth. But since human nature prefers the status quo, most managers are reluctant to change their allocation of resources.
Nevertheless, we need to challenge the business-as-usual mindset if we’re going to outperform in the second half of the year. What projects have yielded the best results? Should we take resources from underperforming projects and put them toward the successful ones? What activities or reports are wasting our time and should be eliminated? Which tasks could be outsourced to allow our people to provide greater value to customers? How could we reconfigure resources to make it easier for customers to do business with us?
The halfway point of the calendar business year quickly fades into memories of barbeques, fireworks and vacation days by the lake. In addition to recharging your mind and body with each of those, invest a day considering your halftime adjustments. You can spend the second half of the business year running up the score or getting blitzed by your competition. Ready? Hike!