Our leadership team is highly innovative, but their high Quick Start scores mean they keep launching new initiatives before our managers can execute the previous ones. The middle managers are burning out from the constant pivoting. How do we put a system in place to filter these ideas?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

High Quick Start leaders are the lifeblood of innovation, but their instinctive drive to experiment and take risks can create severe operational whiplash. When a leadership team continually pivots and introduces new ideas mid-quarter, middle managers burn out trying to hit moving targets.

To protect your team's execution capacity, you must utilize the Kolbe A™ Index to understand this conative dynamic and put a structural filter in place. Implement the discipline of the 90-Day World®. This means once your quarterly Rocks are set, they are locked in. No new initiatives, technology tools, or process changes can be introduced to the organization during that ninety-day cycle unless they represent an absolute emergency.

If a high Quick Start leader has a brilliant new idea mid-quarter, it must be placed on the V/TO® issues list. During your next quarterly planning session, the entire leadership team can IDS® the idea to see if it deserves to become a Rock for the following quarter. This structural boundary protects your managers from constant pivots while still giving your visionary leaders a constructive outlet for their innovative energy.