HET^® for Strategy Teams

The HET Principles in Module 2 help your team get clear on expected outcomes, the most important work, and who will lead each piece of it.

The wave graphic illustrates how the modules fit together over the life cycle of a team. Module 2 focuses on Strategy Articulation & Prioritization.

Module 2 consists of three key principles:

Define the change you hope to see due to your team’s strategy and clarify what the team can control and whom the team needs to influence to get there.

Articulate the vision is the curriculum that helps us define our theory for how our strategy will result in our shared vision for the change we want to see in the world and what we are going to personally do to try to realize that change. An important feature of this work is clarifying what we can control and deliver (and therefore be held accountable for) versus the change we hope to see in the world due to our efforts, which we can usually not control but requires our influence, based on common sense assumptions in our HET Theory of Change tool.

Define your strategy in a simple framework that promotes accountability and thoroughness, and eliminates confusion – from planning through implementation.

Build the strategy is the stage where you define your complete strategy. The HET Strategy Framework tool ensures thoroughness and eliminates confusion. It divides the body of work into Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive (MECE) strategic pillars and foundational functions.

1. Mutually Exclusive means that there is no overlap between parts of the strategy—no Venn Diagrams, no dotted reporting lines. We seek single-point accountability at each level of strategy management and implementation.
2. Collectively Exhaustive means that the framework illustrates the entire strategy and nothing is left out. Everyone involved in the strategy should be able to find their work represented in the strategy framework.

A simple HET Strategy Framework allows the team members to all talk about the strategy in the same way and limit scope creep.

Organize your strategy into a confirmed body of work so that your team is clear about priorities and who is leading each piece of work.

Confirm the body of work helps us focus on completing our highest priority work. After a team articulates its strategy, it then breaks down that strategy into projects and roles. The HET Team Portfolio clarifies who is leading what piece of work and helps the team limit the current body of work. The team can also clarify roles so that priorities do not slip between the cracks, and team members avoid redundant and wasted work.