Turn up the heat on your strategy

I had a goal.  I wanted to regulate my home’s temperature in a more accurate and financially and environmentally responsible way.

So what did I do? I told the kids and asked for help. One conducted the research (my daughter is the analyst) and found a solution, I developed an implementation plan and we got into action (my son is super handy).

Basically, we developed a strategy.

So often the mention of a strategy sends people fleeing.  They just want to get into action.  And that can be fine until things don’t go as you’d wanted them to.   But when you have a strategy, if things go wrong you can easily change paths and still get to the solution you wanted. Why? Because you have clarity on your goals and a hierarchy of needs.

So what happened?  As we started to execute our strategy, things fell apart.  Our research pointed to a Nest.  I procured it (I’m the only one with a credit card). We watched the “simple” video. We followed the steps. And as it turns out, our house can’t have a Nest.  Plain and simple, the electrical system is too old.

So with our goal and strategy in-hand we recalibrated our approach – our path.  My daughter recommended we get a thermostat powered by a battery that can be set to go up and down based on the time of the day. I thought through when the heat needed to go on so that when we woke up or came home it was toasty warm. My son installed and programed the device. The best part, it is a set and forget system, and each month I can see the cost of heating coming down. I have even seen how much I can save by shortening the “on” phase by 20 minutes – turns out I’m not giving up my café brewed coffee any time soon thanks to those little savings!

So why develop a strategy?  It helps everyone see where you want to go, it helps everyone see the desired path and it allows everyone to create, innovate and iterate knowing they are within the bounds of the strategy.

Coffee anyone? It’s on me.