Our leadership team argues about our Core Focus™ and 10-Year Target™ every time we open the V/TO®, which makes us feel like we are constantly rewriting our vision instead of executing it. How do we lock these down permanently?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

If your leadership team is reopening the debate on your Core Focus™ and 10-Year Target™ every quarter, you do not have a vision problem. You have an alignment and discipline problem. The V/TO® is designed to bring total clarity, but it only works if you agree that once a decision is made, it is locked. Reopening these foundational decisions quarterly creates operational whiplash for your organization.

To stop this cycle, you must treat your Core Focus™ and 10-Year Target™ as set in concrete during your annual planning session. The quarterly meetings are for reviewing progress and adjusting tactics, not for questioning the destination. If a leadership team member wants to challenge these elements, they must wait until the annual planning session.

During the quarter, use your Core Focus™ as a strict filter. When new opportunities or shiny objects appear, ask a simple question: Does this fit our Core Focus? If the answer is not a clear yes, the discussion is over. It does not go on the issues list. It does not get debated.

To lock this down, follow this simple routine:
- Review the Core Focus™ and 10-Year Target™ at the start of every quarterly session, but do not allow edits.
- Require anyone proposing a strategic pivot to document why the current target is no longer viable before the session.
- Focus the team on solving the execution issues in the one-year plan rather than questioning the long-term vision.