By contrast, we might assemble a Tiger Team to overhaul the brand look and feel of an offering by a certain date — a project that is critical to business success, has a specific objective, requires cross-functional collaboration, and has an agreed-upon endpoint.

1. Do we need it now, or can it wait until next quarter? At Ninety, we’re huge believers in marching 90 days at a time and delivering on at least 90% of our agreements (like Rocks, To-Dos, and KPIs). To that end, we ensure that everyone has enough time to honor the agreements that take things to the next level (like Rocks) in addition to their seat’s everyday roles, accountabilities, and responsibilities.

Because time is a finite resource, we try really, really hard not to take on what we call “Non-Rock Rocks,” or Rocks outside of our normal 90-day process. The fact is, when we take on a Non-Rock Rock, we compromise our ability to fulfill our existing commitments.

Consequently, unless there’s just no way this opportunity or Issue can wait, we strongly recommend creating Tiger Teams as a part of your quarterly planning process.

2. What needs to be achieved? For example, do you need to build a team to manage your payment processing migration or oversee a data integration project? Use the SMART framework to clearly outline the goal so everyone’s on the same page about what “done” looks like.

3. Who needs to be involved? Decide which specialists across your organization are most qualified to tackle this challenge or opportunity and will have the capacity required to deliver. You need the right people in the right seats.

4. How are team members involved? Tiger Team members should clearly understand their roles, accountabilities, and responsibilities (RARs). The RACI matrix serves as an important tool to ensure everyone aligns on the Vision and goals of the initiative as well as their own personal role in the team.

5. What do we need to do to get from here to there? The key to achieving success, both in business and in life, is to understand the right balance between inputs and outputs. The project outcomes are outlined in the RACI matrix, which provides the transparency, alignment, and mapping required to ensure your inputs lead to the delivery of outstanding outputs.

1. Set clear goals and agreements. Tiger Teams only win when everyone is clearly aligned around which task they’re addressing, who is involved in making it happen, how they are involved, what their deliverables are, and how they will measure success. Making the Rock SMART, establishing a meeting cadence, and setting up a RACI matrix are critical to success. 

2. Select a team leader. When more than one person is accountable, no one is accountable. Select a team leader to organize efforts and be accountable for the team’s overall success. This person doesn’t need to be the most senior leader on the team, just someone with the appropriate leadership and project management skills for the given effort.

3. Assemble the right team. The success of your Tiger Team hinges on selecting members and a team leader who can quickly and clearly grasp the problem or opportunity, collaborate effectively, and agree on how to deliver a solution.

Use collaborative tools and regular meetings to keep everyone on the same page. Opening lines of communication should be one of the first orders of business for any Tiger Team. What platform or methods should team members use to communicate progress updates, discuss issues, and keep everyone on the same page? At Ninety, we use the Meetings tool with a custom agenda to make the best use of our time. We also recommend having a real-time communication channel through Slack or a similar platform to make sure roadblocks can be addressed quickly.

Focus on what can be done during the given time frame with the allocated resources. The team must identify the boundaries of the project and agree on what “done” looks like. Document any additional ideas outside the scope of the Rock in the Long-Term Issues list to address in a future quarter.