The Secret to a Great Planning Process - Lessons from Airbnb and Eventbrite
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Saved by Ted Glasnow and
The Secret to a Great Planning Process - Lessons from Airbnb and Eventbrite
Remember, plans always get more complicated once they're put into practice — never less.
New priorities emerge, market forces change, and everything takes longer than you expect. Your plan needs focus — likely more focus than you might feel comfortable with.
review.firstround.com • The Secret to a Great Planning Process - Lessons from Airbnb and Eventbrite
It’s important to challenge yourself and your peers to cut even the good ideas if they aren’t perishable (can be done later), strategic (don’t directly support this plan’s strategy), or differentiating (set you apart from your competition). Instead, put those resources against the top priorities.
review.firstround.com • The Secret to a Great Planning Process - Lessons from Airbnb and Eventbrite
In order confirm team buy in, leaders should focus on 3 goals:
1. Share the integrated plan with Team leaders2. Make final tweaks based on their input3. Commit and share widely
1. Share the integrated plan with Team leaders2. Make final tweaks based on their input3. Commit and share widely
review.firstround.com • The Secret to a Great Planning Process - Lessons from Airbnb and Eventbrite
You can’t expect the organization to “just know” how to pull together a quarterly plan. Working without an agreed-upon framework can often be a recipe for disaster.
review.firstround.com • The Secret to a Great Planning Process - Lessons from Airbnb and Eventbrite
Get people excited: If you’re enthusiastic about the plan, help them see why. Give people a reason to get excited.
review.firstround.com • The Secret to a Great Planning Process - Lessons from Airbnb and Eventbrite
Leadership (i.e. exec team, business unit leads) is responsible for 1)Developing an inspiring high-level vision and strategy2) Sharing a concrete goal for the period3) Making the final decision on what is prioritized and resourced
review.firstround.com • The Secret to a Great Planning Process - Lessons from Airbnb and Eventbrite
This may sound painful now, but in our experience, having your strategy inform your structure (versus the other way around) is the only way to be successful long-term
review.firstround.com • The Secret to a Great Planning Process - Lessons from Airbnb and Eventbrite
When leadership share the integrated plan, they have 3 jobs: 1) Prioritize: Decide which projects and teams are being funded2) Allocate: Distribute resources and targets3) Integrate: Tie everything together into a cohesive company strategy
review.firstround.com • The Secret to a Great Planning Process - Lessons from Airbnb and Eventbrite
Here’s our template for developing Key Initiatives:1. Strategy2. List of key projects3. Expected timeline and impact4. Resources needed5. Risks and dependencies