I just realized that I haven't blogged in a while because of our busy end-of-quarter schedule.  It's been exciting to watch this organization grow.  Our company almost doubled our September goal and our upcoming projections are exceptionally strong.  Everybody's hard work on feature enhancements, blog development, RSS development, customer support, marketing, sales, and strategic planning is proving to be fruitful.  I flew up to the WhatCounts headquarters in Seattle a couple of weeks ago, and it was a good feeling to be in the midst of the evolution of such a successful team. 

On a few occasions, I have had the opportunity to learn some things about strategic planning from the former Founder and CEO of a multi-billion dollar commerce company.  When it comes to execution, I don't know many people with a better track record than him. His process is clear-cut: 

1) Determine and publicize a set of shared values which the team will use as their compass (if this sounds like Stephen Covey, it should!) 

2) Define a short list of long-range imperatives that will direct the organization 

3) Agree upon a compelling vision within each of the designated imperatives while incorporating the needs of every stakeholder

4) Set specific, measurable and audacious (yet attainable) goals with timed milestones that drive toward the stated visions

5) Develop an action plan that will ensure over-delivery on each promised milestone. As sales guru Brian Tracy would say, "Plan your work and work your plan."

So, in the spirit of allowing all of you to hold me accountable, I will state the six imperatives of our sales organization:

• Customer Satisfaction
• Values-based Team Culture
• Consistent Growth
• Internal Communication
• Differentiated Positioning
• Sales Force Automation

There's something to be said for the built-in assurance of goal achievement through publicity. What are your organization's imperatives?