Connecting teams to the bigger picture: Lessons from a Great Middle School Teacher

What was on the whiteboard of my middle-school teacher’s class was brilliant

I was at my daughter's curriculum night last week when one of my kids' favorites, Mrs. Donohoe, showed us the image you see above: 

I'll point out some brilliant thinking:  In each class, she prepares the kids with the uber-cause.  The top is the BIG PICTURE.  It's what the kids are doing this MONTH (what's our learning goal?)  Below it, what they are doing this WEEK to advance toward that goal.  Finally, the tactical view of TODAY and what specifics we are diving into right now, furthering the goal.   

It illustrates a great model -- think how nice it would be for every meeting to blatantly attach itself to the bigger picture in three easy steps --all attached to timelines.  I find that adding the word "so that" between each helps: 

IN THIS MEETING, we are discussing options for field communications methods, SO THAT
NEXT MONTH we can announce our field summit agenda, SO THAT
in JANUARY 2017  we can roll out our product suite with field buy-in and local events. 

Thought it was a good idea worth sharing.