Bill’s list of key business standards

Alan Mulally, former CEO at Boeing and Ford, is known for the saying, “Love ‘em up and hold them to the standard”

This was his mantra to all his leaders and something he continues to live by today.

Love ‘em up means that you treat everyone with dignity and respect.  You assume the best. Compassion is your default.

Hold them to the standard is the counterpoint to this.  You can be loving and tough.  As long as everyone knows and is held to the same standards.  I have been compiling a list of key standards over the past few years.  Below is what I have come up with so far.  

Some of these may not apply to your business and I may have not included some that do.  Please let me know if I missed any.

Please note that this list is the follow-up from my last post re: Strategic Council Meetings.

Bill’s standards list

1. Team
   • Team member attraction
   • Interview
   • Onboarding process
   • Performance Training (Function/Team)
     • Skills – Function/Behavioral
     • Team Culture
       • Purpose
       • Values
       • Objectives
       • Critical functional outcome/roles & owners
       • Key Function Flow Map(s)
         • Key function top five outcomes/top two developmental growth outcomes
   • Grow
   • Exit

1. Execution
   • How to set, write, execute, and measure priorities
   • Standing meeting rhythms
     • Daily Huddle
     • Weekly 1:1
     • Weekly Team
     • Weekly email
     • Monthly Quarterly
     • Annual Planning
   • How to run meetings
     • Weekly Team
     • Weekly 1:1
     • Daily Huddle
     • Monthly
     • Quarterly

1. Strategy

• Customer data/experience gathering as to why core customers bought and stay – Pre-product market fit and ongoing
  • Three-year plan – top 3-5 key differentiators w/ associated core company initiatives
  • Three-year monthly forecast  –  revenue, profit, cash, widgets, and people
• Primary stakeholder relationship/value creation
• Insight/Innovation/Creation
  • Core Resources
  • Purpose/Passion
  • North Star/BHAG/Courageous Consequence
  • Vision
  • Job(s) to be done
  • White space/Attribution Framework (if necessary)
  • Key stakeholders
  • One Thing

4. Cash
   • Profit – Volume and margin
   • How and when to spend
   • Cash generating options list
   • 7 levers
     • Price
     • Volume
     • COGS
     • AR
     • AP
     • Overhead
     • Inventory

4. Change making framework
   • Bottom Line Change
   • Switch
   • REDUCE

4. Decision-making framework/journal
   • Cynefin framework
     • WRAP
     • Other options
   • Key decision journal

4. How to write a vision/ideal outcome for the company and each key function/department
   • Visioning – Zingerman’s
   • Vivid Vision – Herold

4. How to be “brain-friendly”
   • Standard reminder method
   • Learning
   • Decision-making
   • Change

4. How to grow people
   • For skill development
     • Short, frequent, repetitive training
   • For behavioral development
     • Core Values
     • Sleep
     • Growth/feedback

I am sure I missed some.  However, I believe that if you have standards in each of these areas that are documented and lived every day, your company will add velocity and have stronger teams and teams of teams.

Please let me know if you have any questions or would like to discuss how I can help you make these a reality in your business.