How to integrate your systems with your goals (GRAFTS + QUESTS)
Most companies just do.... whatever. They just run around, decidin to do a thousand things, and the founder is multitasking. This is why we use GRAFTS. To laser target the few blockers and suggest a specific project or new policy change to achieve that. And Pic related, these problems come from root causes. So we go as DEEP AS POSSIBLE to figure out ALL of the problems for the 1-5 main high level bottleneck breaking outcomes we decide we want, and come up with projects for the quarter. We want to neutralize bad conditions. Red to Green. Off track to On Track. But after the project and steps and tasks are done, then what? Find the next project and the next? This is the problem every client/community/owner faces. They spent weeks or months on a project, launched it, and then they either get stuck maintaining it... doing the misc junk drawer type of tasks to fix a system, and this capacity of time gets sucked up... They can't focus entirely on problem solving. So how do we solve this? GRAFTS figure out the project/policy to fix problems, and QUESTS is the solution stack to fix it. We have QUESTS come out to keep things on track. I struggled with the longest time switching back and forth. I would have a project be done, and it would work. It works with 100% certintiy, and it made sense. But then it would get "undone". The rule or project worked until we stopped thinking about it. The problem got solved, so we're done, right? No. There is a maintance, or permanent sort of routine and problem solving and tracking AFTER it. With my pirate ship analogy, just becuase you patch a hole in the ship, doesn't mean you're done. You still need to review it, make sure the nails/board don't get undone, and maybe group this work with all the other holes in the ship. This entire batch of work is needed to run the ship (or else it sinks). We use a framework of QUESTS to manage each area's systems and processes. This doesn't overwrite quests in progress but stays in as a maintance quest -- the easiest QUESTS to run. They are literally just made up of a recurring task to "is everything still good?". We just to add a simple row or new obeya view to monitor a specific company-breaking problem. The problem may need to be paid a lot of attention early on, but if it gets solved, it still needs to make sure it sticks. Maybe switching from a daily check to a weekly check to a monthly check, but never just "forgotten about". These checks