Turning Big Ideas Into a Concrete Plan

A great CEO is often great because they are a visionary. They have ideas and can see the potential, the possibilities, the growth, the direction they want to take the company, in fact, all the directions they can take the company. It can sometimes be overwhelming to work with them because everyday is a new idea.

That's why having an equally great COO is a recipe for success. One to come up with the ideas, the other to make it happen.

Over the last three weeks, we’ve talked about the foundation for any strong company and that is building a clear, powerful vivid vision, creating a strong culture to support it and getting buy-in so your team is fully on board.

Now it’s time for the most important step, execution.

Because a vision without a plan (and a timeline), is just a dream.

I heard something recently I really liked because it articulated with simplicity the importance of planning. It was, the more distance you can put between decision and execution, the more likely you will be successful. The context was within weekly planning - plan all your important things in the week Sunday night, so when the time comes, you are just executing the plan, not deciding on what they plan will be. 

If you want your big ideas to become reality, you need to break them down into concrete, trackable actions and plan them in advance. So this week, we’re talking about how to turn your vivid vision into a working plan, one that’s clear, focused, and actually gets results.

Because it’s one thing to know where you’re going. It’s another to actually start moving.

1. Reverse Engineering Your Vision

Start with your 3-year vivid vision. Break it down like this:

• What needs to happen this year? 

• What can we accomplish this quarter? 

• What are the next 3-5 steps we can take right now?

This exercise makes the distant feel doable, and gives your team targets they can see and hit. If this seems hard to identify because your visionary brain doesn't work like this, find an operations person on your team to work with.

2. Use a Quarterly Planning to Stay Focused

Every 90 days, reset your focus. Choose 3–5 key priorities that will move the business closer to the vision. If you are familiar with the EOS approach, these become your “rocks”, the big things that matter most. Share them with the team. 

Avoid the trap of trying to do 20 things at once. Growth isn’t about doing more, it’s about doing the right things, the right way, at the right time, consistently. 

3. Assign Ownership 

Every initiative needs a specific owner, not a team. If “everyone” owns it, no one owns it. Accountability = clarity.

• Assign clear responsibility

• Define success. What does done look like?

• Set timelines and check-in points

When your team owns the results, the results improve.

Track Progress with a Simple Scorecard 

Choose a handful of leading indicators (KPIs) that show whether you’re moving in the right direction. Build a weekly scorecard with 5–10 key metrics tied directly to your goals. These should be leading indicators, not just results.

Examples:

• Number of estimates sent

• Revenue per tech

• Customer satisfaction score

• Labour efficiency

• Project closeout time

Review them weekly in your leadership meetings to stay proactive, and avoid responding reactively.

Bring Your Vision to Life

The vivid vision isn’t something you review once a year. Bring it to life in your: 

• Team meetings 

• Hiring conversations 

• One-on-one's 

• Project debriefs

The more your team hears it, sees it, and contributes to it, the more they’ll drive it forward, with or without you in the room. When your team sees progress, they stay motivated. When they hit targets, they feel successful. When the plan is clear, they don’t need you to micromanage.

That’s how you scale. That’s how you win back your time. That’s how you build a business that works, without you holding it all together.

PS: Want to learn more about building a concrete plan? Let’s connect! Reach out to me on LinkedIn or visit ThriveHQ.ca to explore how I can help your business thrive.