Related: Read “Bringin' Sexy Back“

This example is not that precise. The lines may even cross sometimes, but the concept is real.

Working in parallel with the various stakeholders in your organization is tricky. A manager must balance the needs of customers, employees, board of directors and investors. With all those folks to satisfy, how do you get started actually getting the work done, while ensuring that it's the right work for your agency?

Start at the beginning: Create methods to align the mission and vision of the organization with the needs and talents of your employees.

When you reevaluate your mission statement every few years, be sure you involve enough people. Include representation from all areas of the organization: one employee each from sales, accounting ad customer service, in addition to the owners or senior staff. If possible, don't limit the meetings to managers. You have responsible employees in every area who are your front line and have a very valuable perspective.

In fact, when you move from mission statements into strategic planning, those line folks can keep your expectations reasonable. You want to aim high, but not to the point of breaking. These employees can help you understand the resources needed to accomplish your goals, and the managers and owners can be sure you're not settling for too little, too late. Your line folks will keep you honest, and your owners will be sure you stretch.

By working in parallel with the staff, you'll also build trust and create buy-in. It's well documented that the more involved someone is in setting the goals, the more excited and engaged they will be about execution and supporting the concepts.

Related: Read “Add Play to Work“

Line up the actual work that will be done against the talents of the staff doing that work. In the Galluppoll study, “First, Break All the Rules” (Buckingham et al), we discover that talent is king. People who are permitted to work in areas that line up to their best talents, for at least part of every day, are incredibly more productive. It's possible that part of this result is because they are just happier, because they are doing something that comes naturally. Success breeds success; the better they are at something, the more they will want to do it.

You may decide to take this idea to the maximum and actually assess talents first (see “The Talent Code or Now, Discover Your Strengths”) and then re-work all the job descriptions so that everyone is doing things that fit their talents. In short, here's a crazy idea about how to do this: Take every function on every job description in a particular department, and put it in one single list. Then, using the strengths assessment and employee input, ask them what they would actually enjoy doing. Check the new assignments against logical workflows, technology and E&O considerations. In the end, even if you only move a few items around, you'll see much higher morale and better productivity.

No matter how well you define the mission, strategies and goals, and even if you hit every target, you have to find a way to keep doing all those good things over time to keep the momentum year over year. You have to maintain productivity, and to do that you have to maintain staff retention and customer retention.

Sustainability comes in two parts: illumination and incentives.

First, be sure you are very clear about what you want, and the results that will be expected. Illuminate your requirements. Break down the goals into measureable action items, being very specific about what needs to happen, when it is expected, resources available (and the limits you must place on those resources) and how often you want updates. A note about resources: include monetary budgets, time and personnel resources. Sometimes we forget that it's not just the dollars that have to be budgeted. We are all limited on time, and sometimes the talent to do the work isn't in the building so we have to find it by way of contracting or hiring the right people.

The critical link between illumination and incentives is reporting. How can you be accountable for something without measuring it? Process is important in all of this, especially in learning how the process can make or break you when it comes to achieving the results. Measurements and accountability of the steps taken can give you an analysis of what works and what doesn't. But tracking all the activities takes time and effort that many won't invest. I recommend you at least try it.

Related: Read “Leaving the Nest“

Next, be sure you are providing the right incentives. Rewards matter. People respond best when properly, positively motivated. The carrot has always worked better in the long run than the stick. There are great examples of how to reward folks so they are doing the right things for you. What gets measured gets done, but what gets rewarded gets done right. Don't assume they want what you want, or that the things that motivate you will motivate them. Rewards are personal. To learn what incentives will get your employees motivated, I can only give you one piece of advice: Just ask them! A friend of mine once said, “When people talk, good things happen.” I believe it.