For Proposed Strategic Initiatives
1. Executive Summary
Initiative Title:
Proposed By: Team Lead/CxO/CE/Board
Executive Owner: GM/CE/CxO
Date: [dd/mm/yyyy]
Initiative Type: ☐ Strategic ☐ Operational ☐ Compliance ☐ Capability Development ☐ ________
Purpose Statement:
What is the future this initiative is designed to make possible—and why now?
2. Strategic Fit & Systemic Leverage
Constraint or Opportunity Addressed:
☐ Market Expansion ☐ Operational Bottleneck ☐ Capability Gap ☐ Regulatory Risk ☐ ________
Theory of Constraints Alignment:
What is the limiting factor this proposal is designed to overcome?
Systemic Integration (Integral View):
- I-Quadrant: What worldview, motivation, or identity shift will be required at the individual level?
- We-Quadrant: How does this change relational, cultural, or team dynamics?
- It-Quadrant: What tangible tools, systems, or assets are needed?
- Its-Quadrant: What institutional systems, policies, or governance structures will need support?
3. Value Creation Framework
| Value Type | Description | Anticipated Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Direct | Efficiency, cost reduction, revenue growth, throughput | $ value gain, productivity uplift, compliance |
| Indirect | Talent development, culture, IP, brand equity | Retention, capability building, strategic readiness |
| Opportunity Cost | What will not get done due to capacity constraints? What might get displaced? Talent Risk? | Lost momentum elsewhere, increased delivery lag |
4. Investment Profile
| Cost Category | Description | Estimate (NZD) |
|---|---|---|
| Initial Setup | Tools, onboarding, system design, vendor input | |
| Operating Costs | Cash, executive time, systems, communication, governance | |
| Training & Talent | Capacity building, reallocation, short-term backfill costs | |
| Work Displacement | What will be delayed, paused, or stopped to free up effort? | |
| Contingency Buffer | 10–15% buffer for scope creep, staff turnover, unforeseen load | |
| Total Investment | $ |
Workforce Reality:
This initiative will be resourced by people already operating at 80–95% utilisation. It is essential to identify displaced work, guard against overload, and protect delivery integrity.
5. ROI & Payback Window
- Forecast Return: $[value] over [12/24/36 months]
- Break-even: [# months]
- ROI: [%] annually
Assumptions to be validated: lag time to benefits, workforce productivity impact, systems maturity.
6. Alan Froggatt’s Process Path: Time, Timing, Sequence, Lag
| Element | Key Consideration |
|---|---|
| Time | Execution window, adoption runway, team absorption rate |
| Timing | Fit with seasonality, peak load, cash flow and market events |
| Sequence | Dependencies: what must be completed or resolved prior to this? |
| Lag | Time to realise value: systems ramp-up, capability embedding, behavioural change |
7. Alan Froggatt’s 4T Framework: Tools, Time, Talent, Training
| Resource Type | Critical Questions |
|---|---|
| Tools | Are current tools sufficient? Will this create tool proliferation or fragmentation? |
| Time | What time blocks are required from leaders and teams? What’s the hidden load? |
| Talent | Who are the accountable owners? Are they overallocated? What is their stretch zone? |
| Training | Is structured learning required? What is the capability gap this builds or assumes? |
8. Integral ‘I’ Quadrant Readiness
Human factors and worldview assumptions must be explicit.
- Will key people see this as meaningful, valuable, ownable?
- Are there competing interpretations of what success looks like?
- Will delivery require a shift in identity, perception, or developmental capability or altitude?
- Are people stretched to the point of reduced adaptive capacity?
9. Risks, Limits, and Leadership Commitments
| Risk Type | Description | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|
| Capacity Risk | Key talent overextended; drops in other strategic areas likely | Clarify work displacement strategy; backfill or defer |
| Systems Risk | Integration, handover, or communication failure | Embed feedback loops and coordination protocols |
| Engagement Risk | Initiative misaligned with individual or team meaning-making | Generate shared narrative and ownership upfront |
10. Recommendation & Decision
☐ Proceed ☐ Defer ☐ Re-scope ☐ ________
Action Required: ☐ Team Lead ☐ CxO ☐ CE ☐ Board ☐ ________
- Funding Approval
- Resourcing Adjustment / Deprioritisation
- Strategic Alignment Endorsement
Immediate Next Step:
Confirm accountable leads, publish sequence map, initiate capacity review and stakeholder engagement.