The Tuesday problem

Most small companies I see don't have a strategy problem.

They have a Tuesday problem.

The plan is fine. It was fine in January. By March, nobody can say who promised what, by when, or whether it happened.

For years I thought owners needed sharper strategy. Better positioning. A five-year plan.

For a company under 200 people, I now think that's mostly wrong.

At that size, strategy fits on one page, and the owner usually knows it by heart. What's missing is the machinery that turns it into this week's work.

The companies that grow have one habit the others don't: they make small, specific promises every day, and they check them the next day. Out loud. In front of each other.

Not "improve collections."
"I'll call these 6 accounts before 1 pm."

It sounds too simple to matter. It isn't. When one team started working this way on overdue payments, they recovered 70% of outstanding dues in 7 days. Same people. Same strategy. Different system.

If your plan keeps dying between the offsite and the shop floor, don't write a better plan. Build the habit that makes the current one happen.

What's the one promise your team made last week that nobody followed up on?