Domino

18Mobilize the Middle

If you remember way back to the Check Your Mirrors chapters, the secret to aligning the people on your team is the 90-day sprint and the waitlist. (The what?) I thought you might ask. So let's refresh your memory.

Once upon a time, 14 chapters ago, in a land not too far away, there was an African telecom executive who needed to save his kingdom from an evil army of competitors and government regulators who were terrorizing the land and (gasp) threatening politicians' reelection prospects. To accomplish this, the wise prince made a decision to focus his knights on fortifying their information technology infrastructure, even at the expense of other objectives that had always been regarded as “top priorities.” To make sure this shift happened, he identified only three top priorities for 90 days and put all others on a waitlist. Then he swore an oath to his subjects that he would not send them to the dungeon if they focused on the top priority even at the expense of other priorities. Each of his loyal dukes and duchesses swore the same oath.

Ringing a bell? Figure 18.1 is an example of the document they filled out.

Figure 18.1 Mburu Sprint Waitlist

The simplest way for you to ensure alignment is to have every person on your team complete a document that looks like that. Your team's sprints and waitlists should consist of four key parts:

1. A decision pulse—the ...