When my clients talk with me about what they want to achieve for the year, I inevitably walk to the whiteboard or tear out a page from my notebook and start to draw my Key Levers Chart.

It is about focus. It is about knowing which levers I have to pull in order to achieve my plan. The 80/20 rule. The priorities that matter. Where I focus the energy, resources and talents of my team.

Your plan is a function of two things:
The budget (revenue, margin, cost, EBITDA, profit…)
Initiatives to be achieved (eg Deliver next generation product, open office in Brazil, win business in Pharma…)

in order to meet the Plan, you identify the Key Levers, the priorities that must be delivered. These Levers are your 80/20 rule; they determine the success of your plan:
eg x revenue from top 20 customers
eg Increase margin by 60 basis points
eg Implement Customer Service Center in Manila
eg Finalize and implement with Brazil partner
eg Launch marketplace product by June 1 in US

Each Key Lever has a specific set of actions. Unlike your levers, which are your 80/20 rule, your Actions are specific and you should target that your Actions amount to 120% attainment of the Key Lever that they address- you won’t achieve all your Actions, you will miss on key assumptions. Your Actions are specific – WHO, WHAT, WHEN – they are embedded into your and your team’s objectives.

This is here the rubber hits the road!
• Don’t accomplish the Actions and you don’t accomplish the Key Levers.
• Don’t accomplish the Key Levers, and you don’t make your Plan.

Simple as that!

Once the Key Levers and Actions are defined, assign the Actions to your team and assure that:
• They map to the objectives (and variable compensation) you set for your team
• The Agenda of your meetings maps to them. (This is what you talk about)
• Your dashboard to track results maps to them (This is what you measure)
• You and your team’s time and resource allotment maps to them (This is where you spend your time)

While your Key Levers will likely not change throughout the year, your Actions might. As you track progress and results, and Key Levers are either at risk or over-delivering, you will find that adjustments need to be made. New Actions added to compensate or accelerate.

Plan
Key Levers
Action Items

Manage to that!