Breakaway Planning

"In the absence of a well-defined mission, the members of the leadership team frequently find themselves pulling in different, sometimes opposing, directions."

"The vision statement is the snappy, highly memorable catch-phrase that captures the spirit of the mission and symbolizes it in short-hand."

"Ultimately, responsibility for defining the strategic direction in any organization rests at the top."

"Not only must the leaders of the organization set the course; they must visibly lead the way."

"Resistance is almost always a plea for reassurance."

"For organizations undertaking any sort of transformational change initiative, the first big selling job involves sharing with the entire employee population the specific nature of the change effort they are being asked to implement."

"Do not attempt to downplay or sugarcoat the situation."

"Having many customers is not enough; having many happy customers is what's required."

"In recruiting new players for the team, let the tone of the recruitment effort itself eliminate most of the potential applicants."

"The flowchart must include every step that occurs, sensible or not, along with an indication of who is involved in each step."

"Customer satisfaction is a fairly scary concept, when you get right down to it."

"It is not possible to track improvements without tracking performance."

"No employee has ever confided to me that he or she is feeling a little "overappreciated" on the job."