Strategy is the foundation that sets the tone for the Growth Playbook through the lens of choices and priorities. The objective is to develop the vision and key objectives for the long-term (5-10 years) and short term (next 12 months). Your strategy deck should be your primary communication tool to describe the business in its current form and what you want it to be in the future.

The Multi Year Plan (“MYP”) is the core FP&A tool of the MRE Growth Playbook and the financial representation of a company’s strategy. The MYP will be our central reference to measure our performance over time.

The objective of the MYP is to set the tone for our growth aspirations. It is built together jointly aligning expectations with MRE and management over a long-term period (typically 10+ years). It highlights the impact of optimizing both the P&L and balance sheet. The MYP illustrates our target ambitions over time, with core drivers including: Revenue Growth, Margin Targets, Capital Investment, Target Leverage Profile, and M&A.

Culture is focused on three main areas: values, beliefs/principles, and behaviors. A strong and well-defined culture is the foundation of competitive advantage that drives employee behavior and determines who should be on the bus. Strong cultures drives how we think, how we behave, how we treat each other, how we are viewed by our customers, our partners, our community and ultimately defines our company and our brand.

The annual budget process establishes the current year financial plan, priorities and metrics, incentive compensation, and meeting calendar. The budget creates a culture of accountability and is in sync with the strategy and MYP/business model.

Strategic themes help align the organization on what is important. This may include things like focus on new customer acquisition, improve customer satisfaction, or expand market foothold.

Priorities set what we need to get right to accomplish our in-year budget and long-term strategic plan. This is the ‘how’ part of the playbook. What actions will we take in order to hit our budget and accomplish both our short-term and long-term goals?

Metrics measure the input drivers of accountability to achieve priorities and ambition. Having specific short- and long-term goals against these critical areas of the business and tracking them publicly is the foundation for creating a growth culture.

A good management incentive plan will link cash bonus to short term goals (annual) and equity to long term goals (5-10 years). It is critical that this alignment exists and is well thought out. Any management incentive structure will be linked to the broader compensation structure outlined in Performance Management.

Establishing a core interaction and communication rhythm while establishing key objectives and priorities all supported by a culture of accountability. A great meeting can create a sense of purpose, alignment and shared energy and excitement that likely can’t get created in any other way.

Establish regular cadence for data driven accountability and have a consistent set time for the executive team to connect.

Regular financial statement review to provide a snapshot of business's financial performance on a month-to-month basis and drive accountability of performance vs. budget.

Designed to provide a planned, consistent, data-driven review of all critical areas of the business that drives information sharing, accountability and relationship development.

Designed to get the management team to take time to work “on the business” on a regular basis. This session generally focuses on what’s working and not working, and how that affects priorities, solving problems, and exploring opportunities as a team.

The primary objective of the quarterly board meeting is to communicate strategy, financial performance, functional updates, M&A, special topics, and key governance.

Ongoing employee feedback and accountability linked to specific job responsibilities and measurable goals.