Chris Joseph

You know, everything has a beginning, so before you start trying to collaborate and use various tools and processes; talk. People in essence are storytellers and we come together through these stories, insights and so on. Do not be afraid to be yourself, but also acknowledge differences in culture and beliefs. Even if language is a barrier, people can always tell if you are genuine or not. Be interested in what is shared with you and respect people's own journey as much as you respect your own.

Storytelling is as old as humanity. While we may not all be sitting around fires in caves, the concept of sharing our thoughts, ideas, goals, and adventures with others remains a fundamental expression of our evolution. Change too, is an intrinsic part of our journey, whether it's personal growth or collective transformation in a business setting. By the use of narratives that resonate, and perhaps trigger greater understanding, we can build toward a common goal. They feel familiar and less confronting often during changing times and scenarios.

In my experience, understanding your vendor and their competencies and capacity is important before you even reach the alignment of goals. Call this pre-step to #1. If you have been working with a vendor for many years and understand each other quite well, aligning goals can be quite easy. They know you and you, them. A new vendor will need additional support from your side to ensure they can hit the ground running with your team and the greater project. Once you have all of these things lined up, sharing a vision, etc makes more sense and goal alignment a little easier.

Different perspective. If you have sales, finance and operations at the ground floor then the communication is a loop and ongoing. If you are building up plans in isolation then you will waste a lot of time negotiating after the fact. Same page and early wins the day.

Strategy does not change, plans and tactics do. Your strategy is a long term goal, whilst plans and the tactics required to get there over a period of time can be adjusted based on how you are tracking.

Three things. 1. Plan is tied to reality + growth goals. 2. Data and market forces need to be known and owned. 3. Programs + people + customers need alignment for sales activity planning and delivery.