BREAK NEW GROUND

Planning the Future Agile, Flexible, and Strategically

Here I am, unsuspectingly sitting on a Eurowings plane, flipping through the in-flight magazine and coming across a wonderful initiative. On the airsickness bag, colloquially known as a vomit bag, it says: Set sail for new horizons. My seat neighbor and I can't stop laughing. What a brilliant idea... At the same time, thoughts about leadership come to my mind, which I would now like to share with you. Set sail for new horizons... Which new horizons have you been meaning to explore for a long time? Do you even take enough time to explore new horizons? And do you know which new horizons are urgently needed in the future to continue to be successful or to be successful again? From my experience, most leaders work extremely hectically operationally – and therefore have little to no time to dedicate to strategic thinking. Consequently, they and their team fall into a classic management trap. Haste dominates everyday life. Planning security is lost. Changes are implemented with little reflection. They simply work from day to day.

The Management Trap Snaps Shut

It is precisely in this day-to-day work that new horizons are missing. Where does the department need to evolve sustainably? How should individual employees be deployed and supported? Which new target groups need to be reached? Which new changes in company processes should have been addressed long ago? Those who do not take enough time for new horizons, strategy, and sustainability will always remain trapped in their time management trap. And the topic of strategy applies to all levels of leadership – not just the executive level – just from a different perspective and with different topics.

Time for New Horizons

My recommendation to you as a leader: Take at least half a day – or a whole day – once a month to rethink and define these new horizons. What do you need to change, what should you change, what can you change? Then develop measures on how to reach these new horizons.

Capturing Ideas - with a Lean Process

Personally, I keep a list in an agile project management tool. Whenever new thoughts come to me, I conveniently enter them via the app. This keeps the process lean – and I can capture my thoughts flexibly anytime and from anywhere. It is important here that you do not establish a large process or convene elaborate meetings or sessions, but establish simple and lean ways to quickly capture and maintain your own ideas and those of your employees. To the Point: Implement a simple system that everyone can easily maintain. Take enough time to think about new horizons. Then, think very agile and flexible about which changes are really necessary and implement them consistently.