F2T2EA

For those of us who sometimes have problems getting jobs completed or overcoming procrastination, it often helps to employ a strategy to get us through the task.

I was introduced to the F2T2EA strategy many years ago.  It is also known as "The Kill Chain" and was used by fighter pilots as a step-by-step procedure for engaging the enemy.

I like the strategy because it is visual and step by step.  It also uses the acronym F2T2EA making it easy to remember.

F2T2EA - "The Kill Chain"

 

We can walk through an example from business.  Let's say the task (or goal) is to increase revenue.  The first step - the "Find" is narrowing that down.  You can increase revenue by cutting costs, increasing sales etc.  Which one are you going to go after?

 

Then you focus in on this task.  That is the "Fix."  let's say you decided to increase revenue by cutting costs.  Now it is time to focus in on your costs to see if and where you can cut.  This is the "Track."  Most businesses are tracking their costs already and can access this information readily.

 

Look at your costs and find the ones you will be able to reduce.  This is your "Target."  Make a plan to 'attack' these target costs and "Engage" - or implement your plan.

 

The final step is to "Assess."  Evaluate the results of your action to see if you were successful in increasing revenue by cutting those target costs. 

 

 

 

This second diagram has a couple of additions.  If you find in your assessment that you missed the mark by a little and you see how you can tweak your plan slightly to achieve your goal - then feel free to adjust and re-engage without going back through the whole process.  Maybe you only got your supplier to drop your material costs by 1% and you realize in the assessment phase that you will need 1.5% to reach your goal.  You can jump right back into the process at the engagement point without having to go all the way back through all of the steps.

 

This diagram also has a place for feedback.  The importance of feedback cannot be overstated.  At some point in the process, the stakeholders need to be briefed on what is going on and what the results are.  A good manager will pepper the whole process with feedback (communicating and receiving from the stakeholders) to keep everyone engaged and up-to-speed on the project.

 

I hope this strategy will be as useful to you as it has been for me.