Strategic Planning

Re-thinking "Key Performance Indicators"

When I was running a regional hospitality business, I thought I knew a lot about strategic planning. I studied the concepts and took courses and seminars from different sources. I learned the concepts and even the detailed implementation processes companies like General Motors enacted. I hired a top consultant, the former head of Marketing for Marriott, to teach our team how to plan and implement using the latest and greatest method of using “Key Performance Indicators.”

Boy, was I wrong! I quickly realized that the traditional Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) weren't cutting it. They felt cold, distant, and frankly, too much like running a factory producing widgets.

I recently saw this idea of changing the language of KPIs on social media and it struck a chord. What if we rethought KPIs to focus on people?

Keep People Interested. How many times have we seen someone yawning or checking their phone during a meeting? Rather than focusing on policies, procedures, and who’s doing what task, what if we shared stories of our impact, and constantly asked for feedback?

Keep People Informed. How about crafting a communication strategy that uses everything from newsletters to social media? Sharing our goals, our progress, and yes, even our setbacks. Giving others the opportunity to help.

Keep People Involved - create meaningful and challenging projects that inspire. That need different skills, encouraging everyone to pitch in.

Keep People Inspired - the secret sauce! Why are we here? What difference are we making? How can we celebrate every win, no matter how small. Even if someone else is doing it? How about sharing stories of lives changed and dreams realized.

This change of thinking can transform not just our businesses, our clubs, but us as leaders. Strategic planning isn't about charts and graphs - it's about people. It's about creating an environment where people want to be, where they feel valued, and where they can make a difference.

Remember, at the end of the day, it's not about the numbers. It's about the lives we touch, the communities we build, and the change we create together. That's the true measure of success.