edit The Problem

A basic disconnect seems to be diluting the effectiveness of our planning game meetings and the result is that we are not nearly as good at completing projects as we could be. I would like to open a dialog so that we can make these meetings productive and engaging.

I think Brandon put his finger on the problem but we failed to recognize it at the time. I think Ray, Brandon and Ward are more focused on the strategic view (where is the company going) while most other people are more focused on the tactical view (what do I do this next week).

I don't think dealing with the AboutUs strategy on a weekly basis is productive, once formulated, strategy should probably be dealt with on a monthly or quarterly basis with the expectation that it would not change unless one of the basic assumptions changed.

The tactical view is critical for getting things done and should be dealt with on a weekly or biweekly basis. This is where cards get prioritized, work is allocated and results evaluated but the strategy remains in place.

John Stanton 11:23, 4 July 2007 (PDT)

• If strategy is prioritizing the cards, how could we not meet on that bi-weekly - Scott Keeler

Strategy is not about prioritizing the tasks, the strategic items are big picture and usually all in process simultaniously. John Stanton

So you're saying that the cards we have up now are not part of strategy, but are tasks of a larger strategic goal. I agree, cards are projects, which ideally should be tasks of the strategic goal of their group (Content, Communty, Development). In that case I would think meeting quarterly to discuss the strategy may be a little too far apart. Maybe you can talk more about what you think the strategy meetings would entail. - Scott Keeler

edit Relating the Tactical to the Strategic View

edit The Strategic View

As an example, the Adult Content Effort is a strategic move designed to do the right thing with adult content. Within that strategy there are a number of initiatives that have to happen to make it work:

• Define the policy
• Identify the Adult Content pages
• Re-categorize the Adult Content pages
• Move the Adult Content into a protected environment
• Build the protected access system

edit The Tactical View

The tactical view takes each of the initiatives and breaks it down into short term tasks for dev, c&c, design etc. For example the first initiative, Define the policy, required several tasks that are measurable and doable:

• Draft an initial statement of goals (done)
• Create a consensus Poll to write the policy (done)
• Monitor and facilitate the poll (done)
• Refactor the results (done)
• Publish the results (done)
• Translate the policy into action items (never got done)

Once broken down into tasks, people can associated with each item and work can commence in the small group mode where we work best. Results can be evaluated easily and a "done" point determined. In my view, selecting a lead person and a evaluator for each task would move us forward much faster that the current system and would give us a much better chance to reach "done".

edit Discussion

This is a fantastic page. I think the concepts of strategy vs. tactics are a really important development. TedErnst

John, I think this is brilliant and I am surprised we haven't instituted it before. I think it is a great way of organizing workflow. Hopefully a method like this will decrease the amount of time we spend squabbling in planning game, increase our transparency, and provide us with a framework on which to hang our projects. It will also help us coordinate with Lahore since our strategic objectives are out in the open. Great work. Blake Hinckley

edit Agenda for 10 August 2007 Strategic Planning meeting

• Convener-Community Planning Game Participants
• Facilitator-John
• Time Keeper-Your Name here
• Queue Keeper-Your Name here
• Note Taker-Kasey (have a dr. appt at 12, can someone else take notes w/ me?)
• Participant-Your Name here, Julia, John

edit Introduction to Ray's "Path of Adoption" Map

• With time for discussion. (Julia or Ward 10 minutes)

edit Other Possible Topics (Add yours here)

• What are our Strategic Goals and how do we set them
• Setting the Aperture: How often do we need to get a higher level view of our work. Strategy & Planning Game
• How often should we meet?
  • For Content
  • For Community
  • For Dev/Topsoil
• Including Monetization in our thinking
• How do we want to visualize & translate our Strategies & Tactics–Transparency
• "We are building how we work together"...How do we incorporate our ideals into our practice?
  • Tone in meetings
• How do we prioritize design initiatives?
• Project Planning & project pages: How they integrate with our Strategic Goals
  • How it works between the cards & the project page
  • Procedure to add a project
  • Stages of a project (Prioritized, in the queue, waiting for..., completed)
  • Incorporating a time element into the planning game so we can prioritize effectively

See Our Strategic Planning Meeting