It’s That Time of Year; Time to Plan for Next Year

Every fall, we gather at an annual offsite meeting to set goals, no more than three per year, for the upcoming year. We also include time for socializing with each other (though, this year, it’s all remote meetings and a virtual happy hour).

Not only does it give us a clear focus for the next 12 months, but it also reminds us of why we are choosing to build a business together.

Here are the guidelines we follow:

  • Limit goals to no more than three, with one identified as the top goal.
  • Make goals measurable so you know when your goals have been met.
  • Assign ultimate responsibility for each goal to someone with the proper authority.
  • Have frequent updates to “shine a light” on progress toward each goal.
  • Create a theme that ties everyone in the company to the top goal for the year.
  • Hold quarterly meetings to review what’s been done and what’s next.

Here’s the low-down how we run our Strategic Planning two-day offsite.

Intertech Named a Top Workplace by Star Tribune

For the seventh year in a row, Intertech was named a StarTribune Top Workplace.  My thanks to our outstanding employees and loyal customers for making us possible.

Intertech #7 on Top 25 Software Development Firms List

Intertech landed in the #7 spot in The Business Journal’s Top 25 Software Development Firms. My thanks to our dedicated, hardworking team members and our loyal customers for making us possible.

Employee Engagement: Alignment with Goals

Below are a couple of questions that an employee would be asked about how they fit in the big picture:

The biggest way a leader misses the mark is tying the individual into the overall mission and goals for the organization’s success.

For mission and goals, as a leader, if we can’t explain how an employee fits into the big picture, we can’t expect them to!

Ditto on values… if we can’t succinctly say our values, we can’t our people to!

If you don’t have values firmly defined, Google “Jim Collins Martian Exercise” and use that as a plan to define your organization’s values.

For values to work, they need to be integrated into the fabric of the firm. Here are a few ideas we implement at Intertech to weave values into our day-to-day operations:

How do you get everyone on the same page with a goal for the company? Consider a theme! A theme is something company-wide. It could be around hiring, creating content, or whatever is needed to move the organization forward. Below are some thoughts on creating a theme: