Quest is a tool that with use for alignment in the organization. We use the Mission Command concept to manage our initiatives.
Long story short, the concept is about decentralizing command decisions. There is no clear “front line”; the commander does not know everything, but he has an intent that is strictly related to his mission. It is up to the mission owner to make decisions and change the plan in order to achieve that intent.
What does it mean? It’s up to the manager to express what the intent is—what we want to achieve, what success looks like—while the initiative owner responds with a plan on how to achieve it. We create a kind of contract: what metrics we will be tracking to ensure we’re on or off track, and how often the owner reports to the manager.
It’s the manager's job to hand over the intent, which is followed by the mission owner responding with a plan. When there is no plan, it might suggest that this isn’t the right person to work toward that intent.
Mission Command comes with high trust. It requires the manager to provide clear guidance, support, and empowerment, while avoiding direct oversight. On the mission owner’s side, it requires not only execution, but also creating a plan, evaluating progress in short iterations, and adjusting to achieve the results defined by the success criteria. The risk on the manager’s side is more about “what to choose,” while on the mission owner’s side it’s “do I know how to achieve it?”
We push progress instead of pulling. It’s up to the mission owner to document the changelog in the mission document. While we do have progress review meetings, it’s the owner's responsibility to evaluate and communicate progress, and to ask for help if needed.
We have a template in BAU to define the mission and space to back brief and make a project consist of smaller tasks for this purpose.
1. Title (Leader)
Short and clear, summarizing the initiative’s core intent.
Examples:
2. Context (aka shared understanding)
Minimal context explaining where we are now, why we want to tackle this particular problem, why we believe we can solve it, what the environment looks like, and what it can enable. Keep it as minimal and grounded as possible.
3. Problem We’re Solving (Leader)
Describe the underlying strategic or tactical gap this initiative addresses. Tie it back to the problems listed in the mission document (e.g. lack of pipeline, unclear offer, team capacity).
Example:
“We’re not creating enough traction in our outbound messaging. The campaigns don’t lead to meetings, and most of our leads come from referrals. This initiative addresses the weak targeting and messaging.”
4. Intent (Leader)
What does success look like for this initiative? Keep it specific and measurable, or explain how it unlocks further progress.
Example:
“Have one compelling outbound campaign running by June 30th that generates at least 5 qualified outbound leads.”
5. HOW (Mission Owner)
Step-by-step plan—what needs to happen in order to achieve the intent. Include resources needed. Keep this section updated. If the plan is outdated but the mission is still valid, move the old part to the changelog and replace it with the new plan here.
6. Underlying Problems to Solve (Mission Owner)
This is part of the HOW. Describe the underlying problems to be solved during the initiative. What are the key milestones, and how are you going to tackle them? This helps communicate what’s on the radar. It’s also useful for the manager to spot any problems that may be missing or unaddressed.
7. Definition of Success (Mission Owner)
How will we know this is actually done? Define a specific date and outcome. Include at least one leading and one lagging indicator that you’ll use to communicate progress. These metrics should be directly connected to the final result.
8. Changelog (Mission Owner)
A list of entries with updates. Each update should include the date, a review of the metrics, and commentary on the progress—what we’ve learned, why the results are what they are, and how we’ll use that knowledge moving forward. This is also the place to give a subjective perspective on how the initiative is going.
When we brief:
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