Are you familiar with the REDPOINT PRIME? REDPOINTS are essentially milestones along the way of a large initiative that keep the team on track. Each REDPOINT should be an accomplishment in itself, and worthy of celebrating.
Let’s look at REDPOINTS in more depth.
The role of leaders in the REDPOINT PRIME
While setting milestones isn’t a new concept, the REDPOINT PRIME takes this concept a step further by defining an unconventional role for leaders. Rather than managing the project in a hands-on manner, a leader’s main function is to create an environment where a team can take full ownership and achieve the initiative themselves.
A leader does this by:
- Taking a step back and intervening only when necessary
- Resolving issues as quickly as possible
- Clearing road blocks that are preventing the team from making progress
- Giving the implementation team full accountability
The six elements of the REDPOINT PRIME
To understand REDPOINTS better, let’s look at the six elements that comprise them.
- As Is (from the CORE PRIME). The first step is always to recognize the truth of where you are and what you’re working with.
- To Be (from the CORE PRIME). The next step is to identify where you want to end up. This is your goal.
- Initiatives. The initiative is what needs to be done to get from As Is to To Be. Initiatives may take a long time to complete, but REDPOINTS along the way should each take from six to eighteen months to complete.
- Governance. Leaders with a lot at stake in the initiative help implement the REDPOINT by optimizing the situation for work, rather than by doing the work themselves, as described above.
- Communications. Keep those involved in the initiative, and those outside looking in, up to date with a clear, concise narrative of how it’s progressing.
- Risk Management. All initiatives carry risks. Leaders will lower risk by working to prevent threats and intervening when they appear.
The one element to rule them all
The success of the initiative, the six elements above, and the leader’s input all pivot around a date-certain outcome. The power of the REDPOINT is a total commitment to achieving the initiative on the date set.
The date will not change. The date cannot change. When teams know they won’t be given more time, they are surprisingly innovative and productive. And because REDPOINTS are between six and eighteen months apart, there’s always an end date in sight to motivate further progress without fear of burnout.
Using REDPOINTS to help focus on what matters
Focusing on the fewest, most important things at a time leads to the greatest leaps forward, and that’s what REDPOINTS are ultimately based on.
Helping teams achieve their goals through effective management is something I discuss in my new book, Match in the Root Cellar, due out by the end of 2017. Be sure to check it out.