More people need to zoom out to the 50,000-foot view more frequently.
Too many organizations and leadership teams are still caught in the weeds and details of daily operations. The real substance is at the zoomed-out, 50,000-foot level. Only there can one ensure that operational tasks are aligned with the purpose, vision, and goals.
The author David Allen often asks a funny question: have you ever seen couples on vacation who look like they need a vacation from the vacation?!
When should they have noticed this? When they were packing. What they pack is driven by their understanding of the purpose, vision, and goals of the vacation.
When an organization’s Mission, Vision, and Goals are clear, aligning operational tasks is easy. When they’re not, it’s simply impossible. But when they’re clear, it’s imperative that leadership constantly helps people zoom out to see where they are wasting time, energy, and resources, and where different people and teams are misaligned in their understanding of the higher-level concerns.
We don’t, and can’t, live at the purpose and vision level every day. But we need to be able to go there quickly to resolve disputes, see what really matters, and get ourselves back on track at the operational level.
And many, many more organizations and leaders need to zoom out much more often than they commonly do.
The next time the operational level seems off, like it’s spinning its wheels, take a step back and ask, “What are we trying to do here and how?” That’s the difference between getting stuff done, and getting the right stuff done.
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