What the P-38 Fighter Plane Can Teach You About Business Strategy

Clearly define your business's performance specifications: What are your goals for revenue, profit, project types, and your role within the next 12 months? Don't leave it to chance.

Embrace 'right-to-left thinking': Start with your desired future state (e.g., business looks like this, I work X hours, make Y income) and then work backward to determine the steps needed to get there.

Delegate the 'how' to your team: As the visionary, set the overarching strategy and performance goals for your business or specific processes (the 'what'), then empower your team to figure out the operational details ('how').

Implement a 'nail the handoff' process: Standardize and document your pre-construction process to ensure all designs and selections are complete, and the field team has everything needed to finish a job, not just start it.

Design your organization for future growth: Don't just organize the people you have; design the organizational structure needed to achieve your future revenue and profit targets, identifying key roles and accountabilities.

Develop strategy proactively: Look 1-5 years ahead to anticipate market trends, economic shifts, and client needs. Don't wait for problems to arise; plan your strategy to capitalize on opportunities and mitigate risks.

Free up your time for strategic thinking: If you're constantly firefighting, you won't have the bandwidth to plan. Identify and implement systems that allow your business to run more independently, freeing you to focus on high-level strategy.