Last month, we stepped back — recalibrating plans and naming the year.
That process created clarity. But clarity fades if it isn’t applied consistently. As the year progresses, new initiatives surface and requests compete for attention. The challenge shifts from defining priorities to protecting them.
The real question becomes:
Is this truly a priority for this year?
That’s where naming the year shifts from a planning exercise to a practical tool for making disciplined decisions.
Turn the Operating Focus into a Filter
If you’ve named the phase for this year as:
- Building a stronger foundation (new businesses or major pivots)
- Supporting growth (expanding offerings, customers, or reach)
- Stabilizing the business (strengthening the core, reducing risk)
- Modernizing how work gets done (standardizing, simplifying, optimizing)
That phase becomes your operating focus for the year. Every new initiative should be evaluated through that lens.
When new work is proposed, ask:
Does this directly advance the phase we’ve committed to this year?
Do we have the capacity and expertise to execute this well right now?
If we say yes, what will we pause, delay, or stop to make room for it?
Is this a strategic move, or a reactive response to short-term pressure?
If it doesn’t clearly support the operating focus for this this year, move it to the backlog.
Capture new ideas for future consideration but keep them below the line unless they are clearly more important than an already approved initiative – and something else moves down.
Putting It into Practice
The operating focus should shape decisions at the moment when work is approved — when budget, resources, and leadership attention are committed.
Before moving forward with a new initiative, apply the questions above. Then revisit your team’s priorities to see if anything needs to change:
- If a project clearly advances the operating focus for the year, compare it against other approved work. Does it deliver greater impact? If so, something else must move down.
- If it clearly advances the operating focus but capacity is limited, sequence it based on priority.
- If it does not clearly advance the operating focus, move it to the backlog.
Applying this discipline at the moment of approval keeps priorities aligned, protects capacity, and ensures the organization moves in one deliberate direction.