Solpak Building - Day 8 of 14 : The List

La Liste du Président. The President's List.

At the start of every year, I ask each person on the team the same question. What is one thing you would like to see happen this year?

Not what I think matters. What they think matters. Their names are right there next to their answers.

Then I figure out how to integrate each one into our plans. Sometimes it fits the strategy directly. Sometimes it happens by the wayside. But it always gets considered. And they know it.

Most founders write the priorities and hand them down. I start by listening. The priorities come after.

This is not a management trick. It is respect. When people see their words on the president's whiteboard, they know they were heard. And people who feel heard do not just show up. They commit.

Strategy does not start with a vision deck. It starts with a question. And the best question a founder can ask is not "what do I want?" It is "what does my team need?"

When was the last time you asked your team that question?