Steve Lear

While several versions of the TRIP decision-making process are available on this site (see the short Outline or complete Manual), we’re also spotlighting the content as individual chapters, making it easier for readers to get a step-by-step understanding of TRIP’s benefits. Let’s get started!

Chapter One begins with a Foreword that previews the tool’s purpose, followed by an Introduction from Steve Lear that describes why TRIP was created, and how organizations can use it to produce decisions that lead to actions.

Foreword 

“Good things only happen when you’re in motion.” – Dan Sullivan, Strategic Coach¹

Great road trips usually begin with a map to help you find the best way to your destination.

TRIP (The Resolution and Implementation Process) is a unique decision-making guide that improves project management. It teaches participants (“Travelers”) how to navigate roadblocks and achieve effective resolutions. TRIP gives each Traveler a voice in creating a roadmap to achieve your organizational goals. Wherever you are on your journey, TRIP makes sure you’re staying on course. Think of it as your project’s navigation system. 

While you can carefully plan a trip, rarely is it a straight line from beginning to end. The road is often winding, filled with peaks and valleys. It’s inevitable that things you can’t control—the weather, traffic, road construction—will result in detours and delays. The wise traveler expects the unexpected and knows how to be flexible to adapt to change. 

The same is true when deciding on a plan of action. While this manual describes how youmight use the TRIP process from start to finish, project management is not linear. There will be roadblocks to clear to get where you’re going. Times when you’re making progress, and times when you have to reevaluate. However, you can use the TRIP tools to help you overcome obstacles anywhere along the way. For example, you may want suggestions about setting up decision-making teams at the start of your planning process. Maybe your project is well underway, but you can’t agree on the best strategies to pursue. Or you have decided on the best plan of action but haven’t been able to execute it. 

 TRIP provides flexible strategies to keep you moving forward at any stage of project management. You can use these tools at the time that’s right for your team. 

Of course, TRIP’s ultimate goal is action—not only making decisions but implementing them. We hope this process gives you a roadmap to reach your goals faster, with less frustration, at the time that’s right for you. 

Welcome to TRIP! Enjoy the journey. 

 ¹The Strategic Coach Team, “Twenty Inspirational Quotes,” The Multiplier Mindset (blog), October 5, 2020, https://resources.strategiccoach.com/the-multiplier-mindset-blog/20-dan-sullivan-quotes-inspirational-tips-insights 

Introduction 

A few years ago, I was assigned a daunting task: I had to create an expansion plan for my financial planning firm. The task fell to me in my role as Visionary—I was the “idea guy’’—but this time, I had no idea where to begin. What questions do I ask? What process do I use? How would I make decisions, get ideas from other people, put a plan into action? I felt completely overwhelmed. 

Searching for answers, I thought about what I learned from my business coaches over the years. I soon realized I already had a wealth of knowledge and experience to draw on. And so, I began to create TRIP™ (The Resolution and Implementation Process) as a roadmap to follow when making decisions. 

My inspiration for TRIP grew out of my work with influential community groups in Minnesota’s Twin Cities. Over forty years, I’ve held many roles in these organizations, where frankly, at times, I’ve been driven to tears by the way decisions are made and executed. I know I’m not alone. Volunteer and staff burnout are common, creating high rates of community disengagement. 

I knew there had to be a better method to move a decision-making group forward. I decided to create a more inclusive way to make and implement decisions to give everyone involved a voice in the process and a stake in the outcome. 

Maybe you, too, have felt that moment of panic when faced with a critical decision. Or you’ve been frustrated volunteering for an organization that spins its wheels. If so, TRIP is for you. Consider this a roadmap that will help you increase engagement, resolve more challenges, make better decisions, and get things done. 

Reaching your goals restores joy to community service and increases your impact in repairing our world. 

I invite you to join me as we navigate the road from idea to decision to action.  

 Let’s take a TRIP!