No Bullsh!t Leadership

Replace low-value work with higher-value alternatives

Instructions

Use your annual planning cycle to challenge every task in your program.
During your annual planning process, seek justification for every work activity before it’s approved. If a project is ongoing, ask your team to review whether it’s worth continuing or can be eliminated. Push your team leaders to remove low-value activities and encourage them to focus on work that delivers more value to the organization.
Reward people based on outputs rather than inputs.
Observe and reward employees based on what they produce rather than the hours worked. Praise employees who simplify work and generate higher value. Create a culture where the pursuit of excellence is rewarded, so people embrace taking risks over perfection.
Expect your leaders to replicate your focus on value.
If you’re passionate about delivering greater value, encourage your team leaders to sell the same message to their subordinates. Make it clear to them that their role is to replicate your passion and commitment to simplicity and value.
Rank your work according to value rather than priority.
Look at your work program and determine which initiative is first, second, third, and so on. If a new piece of work generates more value than the existing ones, then prioritize it. This prevents people from ignoring new but valuable work because they’re “too busy” working on ongoing projects.
Inspect your outputs and progress regularly.
If a project has a longer delivery timeframe, create regular milestones to ensure it stays on track. Use these checkpoints to offer corrective feedback and gauge whether the work still offers value. If it’s not, then stop the project.