Because we’re well into the year, it’s a good time for a strategy check.

A strategy check determines if the strategies you have in place are delivering the results you expected. If they are, you’re in a good place. If they are not, you have work to do before the end of the year.

As Winston Churchill said, “However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.”

Leadership Tip

Slow down and take a close look at the results created by the strategies you have in place.

Although this isn’t hard to do, most people simply don’t do it. Why?

We get too busy, we get distracted, we lose our focus, we let our priorities get out of alignment. The next thing we know, we wonder why we aren’t succeeding as we thought we would.

So challenge yourself and your team to be critical of your strategy results by asking this question:

Is the (fill-in-the-blank strategy) achieving the result we expected when we implemented it?

Once you focus on results, you’ll be able to identify necessary adjustments in execution or plan modifications so you can achieve the results you want.

In this process, you might realize you have the wrong strategy. If you do, don’t be stubborn, don’t be defensive, don’t be political. Just change! Figure out how to transition into a more targeted strategy. Caution: don’t wait until your annual planning meeting to make a change. Do it now.

It’s important to design and implement strategies to achieve what you want. However, it’s equally as important to carefully measure each strategy’s success and adjust as necessary. Now is a great time!