Be Passionately
Curious

CHART THE COURSE FOR SUCCESS.

This is a great tool to help facilitate a brainstorming session that focuses on only three things: your goal, what could prevent you from reaching it, and what would help you.

The sailboat analogy gives you a platform that is easy to understand and is generic enough that it can be applied to any business or project.

What to do:

❶ The island (or vision) is represented by the destination that might be five to ten years off in the distance. If you don’t have your goal or vision already clearly articulated, come up with three to five measurable targets that describe the future state and make it easy for anyone in the company to understand what they are. To choose the timing, consider using the time it might take to double your company. Typically, you might identify targets for revenue, the number of locations, the number of employees, the number of units in value, or specific KPIs for your industry or business.
❷ The anchors are anything you can think of that could slow you down or prevent you from reaching your destination. Consider both internal and external factors. Identify current issues that, if not resolved, could hinder your business. What is everything you can think of that could go wrong? Write them all down. But each should be expressed in just a few words.
❸ To wrap up the brainstorm on a positive note, we focus now on how to put wind into our sails. Wind represents everything that could go well to help increase speed or ensure we have every opportunity to reach our destination. Think about what’s worked in the past, what is most strategic and aligns with your strengths, and how you could scale or multiply that success. Improved customer satisfaction, increased referrals, higher awareness, success stories, increased audience on social media, and more budget allocated to sales/marketing execution are all examples of ways you can generate more wind to propel your business forward, gaining speed and momentum.
❹ Add any new ideas to either of the three areas if you can think of anything else.
❺ Once no new ideas come to you, choose the top two or three most important goals to provide direction.
❻ Next, identify the most relevant five to ten anchors and five to ten winds you want to consider in a strategic plan, marketing plan, or your next executive planning session.

You can use the template to fill in your answers.

Source: Luke Hohmann, Innovation Games