Great ideas deserve great tools and great execution!!!! It’s with that in mind, that I’ve curated the following tools, based on my own personal successes and failures. The links below will connect you with the best of the best for each category:
MDT Templates:
A3 Template (Problem Solving Tool)
Strategy Execution (Follow Through):
If you’ve read any of my articles, you likely know that I’m a stickler for following through. Strategy or intent doesn’t mean much without good old fashioned follow through. Monday.com has cornered the market on this. This software is a simple way to organize a team, give everyone visibility to strategy, associated tasks, and the status for each. I can’t recommend this software enough. The only challenge is taking the time to learn it and utilize it’s full potential, but I can promise it’s worth the effort:
Digital Employee Engagement:
If there was ever a time to invest heavily in employee engagement, it’s now! With so many remote workers and the cost of turnover so high, connecting with your teammates has never been more challenging & more critical to your success. When I first saw pingboard, I wasn’t that excited to be honest…
Then I started seeing the opportunities in organizations and realized that pingboard had figured something out. Missing a simple org chart that is dynamic as people change roles? They got it. Want to be better at remembering how many kids your co-workers have? They got it. Want to be better at one-on-one meetings? Again, it’s in there. I could go on (peer recognition, face to name games, etc):
Understanding Team Dynamics:
Personality profiles can be intimidating to be honest. I’m a firm believe in the low effort and high benefit you get from them, but if you are new to them it’s easy to procrastinate. On top of that, you have lots of options out there. There is a list a mile long of different profiles and then different vendors that offer their spin on that particular profile. It’s enough for anyone to say, “forget it”!
Fortunately, I discovered Truity. These guys have it figured out. With a simple and intuitive site design, made for individuals or teams, they get the job done in about as simple of a way as I can find out there. On top of that, they literally have the most trusted options and explain each so you can pick the one that works for you and your team:
Team Collaboration:
Over the past couple of years, I’ve had to do more and more brainstorming and problem solving sessions virtually. At first, this was a complete nightmare. Cameras off, crickets, and terrible engagement. However, over time I’ve learned many tricks to help tickle out ideas, problems, and potential solutions. One tool that I’ve found very helpful with this is Miro. Miro is basically a virtual whiteboard on steroids. It won’t do the work for you, but it will get people talking and collaborating. It will also give you tons of ideas on how to tease out the great ideas hiding in your team’s heads (their templates are awesome)!
This list is just the start! As I uncover more great tools, I’ll share them. Please feel free to email me any feedback you have with these. I’m always trying, learning, and growing, so I greatly appreciate hearing about your experiences: