Are You Aligned?

I had the sweetest 1964 white Chevy Malibu during my college years at Santa Clara University. With a loan from my parents, I bought this beauty from an old lady in Pasadena. The car was pristine, with low mileage and enough horsepower to impress passengers. Back then, I knew my way around cars. Between high school auto mechanic classes and backyard garage parties where my buddies would break down and put our cars’ engines back together, my knowledge of how cars operated was above average.
Wheel alignment was always an annual check unless you saw signs of misalignment – unevenly worn tires, steering pulling to one side, the car shuddering when driven at higher speeds. The wheels are aligned to reduce tire wear and ensure the car travel is straight and true. Adjusting each wheel’s camber, caster, and toe to align the other wheels is the fix. Like a tune-up, it’s one of many ways to optimize the mechanics of your car, improving performance and fuel consumption.
The same is true in your business, and the more people in the organization, the more challenging the alignment. Ensuring the organization’s direction is straight and true is one way to optimize performance. A best practice is to align your team annually when planning your next business year. I often ask C-Suite teams where the company will be at the end of this year, next year, in three and five years. Aligned groups rattle specific goals, milestones, and visualizations with clarity and no hesitation. Misaligned groups struggle to state the goals and individually differ over the company’s direction.
So, how do you get a company aligned? Start with defining your WHY and your purpose for existing. What needs does your company fulfill in the world marketplace, and do all its stakeholders understand? Next, what’s your vision for the company, and how will you get there? I often quote General Gordon Sullivan, 32nd Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, from his book “Hope Is Not a Method,” planning is.
Planning starts with a vision of the organization’s direction and maps a pathway. The vision is future-oriented, aspirational, affirmational, inspirational, and actionable, unifies the organization and informs stakeholders of the company’s direction. Develop specific, measurable, attainable, results-oriented, time-framed goals with assigned champions accountable for achieving them. Identify the resources that will be invested and publish and broadcast the goals with objectives, milestones, and budgets for all constituencies to know and empower your champions to achieve them.
I loved my ’64 Malibu and doted on its mechanical care and interior and exterior looks. I strived to maximize its performance, which made driving it more pleasurable. I learned in the Army and leading several companies, just like my car’s wheels, keeping the organization aligned and true to the direction I envisioned created the conditions for success. Hope is not a method. However, strategic planning is, and one of its critical outcomes is aligning the organization.
I am wishing you a fantastic and prosperous 2024!
COL Paul A. Raggio (Ret), the owner of Five Star Leader Development, is a fractional CEO/COO who develops C-Suite executives, business owners, and their management teams on leadership, management principles, and best business practices. Contact him to achieve exceptional results in your company! His email address is paul@fivestarleaderdevelopment.com, and his phone number is (252) 571-7368. Visit his website at https://www.fivestarleaderdevelopment.com.