Your Strategy Simplified Ep. 2 | Strategy in Action: Military to Agile with John McHugh

Stephanie: Not all strategy is created equal. Some strategies are designed to win in the moment. Others are designed to sustain a community for generations. Knowing which approach works best depends on the strategic goal. In emergency situation, there isn't much time for adjustment. No matter which approach is taken, a top-down or bottom-up approach, people must make commitments, and they are the reason strategic goals are achieved. Welcome to your Strategy Simplified podcast, where we talk to leaders and practitioners to explore how they're using strategy in their work and in their lives. Today, I'm really excited to introduce our guest, John McHugh. He has a military background and went on to build a career in IT project management. And more recently, he's been focused on environmental advocacy. Across all those experiences, John has developed some really interesting insights on strategy that we'll dive into today. Welcome, John. Do you want to tell us a little bit about yourself? Yes. Thank you, Stephanie, for inviting me to this discussion today. To start off with, I'm an environmental policy advisor with several years of experience in helping governments shape policy and risk and deliver sustainable results. I come from a military background and bring that discipline to my leadership style. whether I'm building teams, multi-million dollar projects, or navigating government relations. I am agile certified and comfortable communicating complex issues, whether it's leading a town hall meeting or speaking at a national conference. In summary, I'm passionate about bringing real change to healthier communities and a more resilient future. We're talking about the need for strategic direction and what that means. I find that people may blur the these strategic goals with your tactical or operational plan. The strategic goal is what we want to achieve, while the tactical plan is how we will achieve it. Thank you, John. If we start with your background and career path, know, starting in the military, going into IT project management, and now moving into environmental policy, can you tell us a little bit about what led you through this path? Sure. ⁓ I would say that I was stepping out of my comfort zone, whether it was intentional or not, allowed me to encounter different situations, different approaches taken, and appreciate the underlying value of having a long-term goal. That long-term goal can be achieved when you have a strategy to follow. ⁓ So looking back, when did thinking strategically really start to matter for you? I learned early on that strategic direction is purposeful and can be justified. At times, goes on, found that strategic direction can lead to harmful end results. So be practical and set goals within ethical boundaries. you feel like strategy was something that you were explicitly taught or you learned by necessity? For that I would say it might be a combination of both. Playing football and seeing how a team effort can achieve its strategic goal. Our high school never had a winning football season. So each team member knew his responsibility and the result was not only a season, but winning a state championship. In the middle server, we know our strategic goal, defending our country by defeating the enemy is that strategic goal. In Agile, there are numerous approaches to follow. In Scrum, we're using a bottom-up approach. Product goal is the strategic goal. When companies adopt an enterprise solution like safe, scaled Agile framework, It's a combination of top down and bottom up approach. Aligning many teams to achieving a strategic goal. Strategy is based on varying needs and adjusting to the situation. So it was a combination where explicitly taught, but evolving and learning through necessity. Yes, that makes a lot of sense. And I think that that's what I would have to say for myself. You obviously played a very big role in training me on agile and helping me get my certification. So there was formal training there, but I think you can gain a natural instinct over time. And when you look back on what works, there tends to be a strategic theme that everyone is following. So people often associate strategy with business, but strategies origin came from the military. That's where. business adopted it from. Can you share a little bit about how you saw strategy show up in the military for you and what good strategy looked like in that environment? Yes. Well, each day we'd be reminded of our mission statement. It's a top-down approach. And if we are unsure, we were corrected immediately. So as far as the military, we were driven by a long-term approach of the defense of the country is something that happens every day and will continue as long as successful in defending the country. ⁓ if a soldier is not sure of what that means, they are certainly reminded of it. is such a great way to ensure that strategy is at the forefront every day by being reminded of your mission statement every day. I'm wondering from a project management point of view, have you ever seen a similar thing show up where every day you talk about the mission statement first and then you go through kind of the tactical execution? Sure. In the different approaches in the agile world, ⁓ there is a enterprise level approach, the Scaled Agile Framework. So that is something that is achieved first. ⁓ What do we want to accomplish for the organization? And The challenge is that you have numerous teams, so it's easy for those teams to misalign with other teams. So as long as that focus is on that strategic goal and what they use in the safe world is a release train. So you're on track, you know, going in the same direction. So that I feel it would be the way that the agile world uses that strategy approach. One of the things that really stuck with me with Agile, the idea that Agile connects the organization's vision to the strategic decisions, priorities, and then action plans. And on paper, that sounds amazing. But in your experience, does it actually play out that way, or is it something that is maybe more aspirational than real? It all comes down to commitment. So we have to make a commitment as an individual. And we were time boxed within this ⁓ two week, three week, four week duration. So that responsibility falls on you as that ⁓ person whose work is not being micromanaged each day. You know what has to get done, how it aligns, and you have certain deadlines. So if you miss that deadline, somebody else is waiting to pick up the next piece of what you have completed. So if you're... delaying it, you're delaying somebody else. So that's where ⁓ the alignment part. So then there's the commitment, collaboration, all those different aspects that play into it. you worked with different organizations at different stages of agile maturity. ⁓ What are the differences that you've seen between organizations that are fully adopted into agile versus maybe agile-ish? Well, I believe it's a lack of commitment. not establishing ⁓ value in the strategic goal. An organization may feel the pressure that all the Fortune 500 companies may be using agile and we're not. So maybe we need to jump on board, but there's always that comfort zone they fall back on and say, well, our traditional methods have proven over the years. Then they roll it out. But as soon as there's a hiccup, they may take that as an excuse and say, let's compromise and use a hybrid approach, which I don't feel is appropriate. You either commit to it or you don't, or just stay with your traditional approach and hopefully that will get you to achieve your goals. Yeah. I think that that commitment piece is really important. ⁓ And it's hard to necessarily hold accountability when you don't commit because then things start to fall apart. And as you loosen up the guide rails. around Agile, then you're loosening up accountability too. I could add to that, the Agile strategy, more of an adaptive approach and value driven. We live in a time of change, which means strategy must adjust to meeting the needs of the marketplace. If stakeholders change direction, value of the strategy is lost and the project ends. Another really good point. Yeah, especially with things just ever changing right now, adaptability is one of the most important things we can do. ⁓ historically in project management, there's a tendency to be rigid because there's a lot of rigidity that's needed to make sure things get done and done effectively. The cool thing about Agile is having that adaptability in there and still being able to deliver quickly. So more recently, you have been deeply involved in environmental policy, speaking in front of municipalities and educating people about what they could be doing to help protect the environment. Has this always been an interest of yours or is this maybe a new chapter for you? I'd say that I've always had realized the need for environmental stewardship. But only recently have I stepped up with that strong commitment. ⁓ Sometimes life gets in the way. Our family is our purpose and we have a job to ensure that we have the financial means to provide for our families. And that sometimes takes up most of our time and attention. It's not that we're not interested. It's just trying to carve out the time to pay attention. So I find it's never too late to align with programs offered by our communities. roadside cleanups or other volunteer efforts, they all make a difference. It's a matter of adjusting your strategic goals in your life to include, whether you want to include a more sustainable earth that it's not just for your immediate needs, but for your family needs as well. And the strategy is based on a utilitarian approach that we maximize the overall wellbeing for the greater number. So speaking of strategy. in environmental policy, you and I, when we were chatting recently, you mentioned working on strategy related to environmental policy. What does strategy look like in that context? There was an opportunity that I was dealing with, ⁓ not entirely on environmental, but I was working with a county association. And I found that they seemed to be misaligned with their strategic goals. The person in charge followed a hands-on approach, wanting everything to come through that person. And we missed goals and we didn't understand why things had slipped. And at times things were unnoticed. ⁓ It was a top-down approach when a bottom-up approach was needed to fulfill those strategic goals. If you have that mission statement that helps. But if it's not aligned to your tactical or your operational plan, then you constantly plan a catching up game and ⁓ it jeopardizes the confidence in your stakeholders because their focus is on that top level, not getting bogged down in the daily activities. can you tell us why is strategy so important when it comes to environmental policy and how things are managed? Sure. From an environmental standpoint, we have a lot of people who have good intentions, but they're not always aligned with other people. They have different priorities, different time commitments and such. some organizations, and I'll use an example of the Sierra Club, they've been active nationally, and then they break down to local chapters where they help groups of people dealing with local environmental issues. So that's one thing that... helps when people are looking for that leadership and direction they can find it in that strategic goal. And if I use it from a company standpoint, most companies and organizations today, they're understaffed and work must be prioritized and commitments must be made to achieve strategic goals. Work, I guess we can sum it up by saying work with less to achieve more is the approach that a lot dealing with. Yeah, that phrase, it means a lot, right, to everyone, whether it's government and municipalities or for-profit organizations. You know, we're all under these types of constraints, especially today. So any way that we can do that, I think, is going to be valuable. Yes. Are there lessons from either the military or agile that apply surprisingly well to environmental policy work? Well, I'll start off with a statement saying that Not all strategy is created equal. Some strategies are designed to win in the moment. Others are designed to sustain a community for generations. That's more of the technical aspect. Knowing which approach works best depends on the strategic goal. In emergency situation, there isn't much time for adjustment. No matter which approach is taken, a top down or bottom up approach, people must make commitments and they are the reason. strategic goals are achieved. you could give one piece of advice to leaders who are trying better to connect vision, strategy, and execution, what would it be? Sure. Strategic direction can either be anchored in stewardship, working for the common good, or now come maximization. The ends justify the means. Strategy is based on purely financial goals. can eventually do harm to the company. It's not an easy task to perform. Many companies now have ESG plans, environmental social governance plans, which are increasingly embedded into the company's strategic goals, not just as compliance, but as drivers of risk management, reputation, operation efficiency, and long-term value. Very good point. I love thinking about beyond just the financial outcome. ⁓ because you're just focused on the financial outcome and you're not focused on like a longer term purpose. That can only take you so far without a bigger purpose behind it. ⁓ For any individuals who might not have strategy as part of their job title, but they want to think more strategically in their work, what would you tell them? I'd say strategy is understanding where you are, where you're going and making choices of how to get there. I guess we could use the same You'll never get to where you want to go if you don't know where you're going. That is so good. Well, thank you so much for coming onto the podcast today and sharing your experiences and insights. If people listening want to learn more from you, have you as a guest speaker on environmental policy or follow some of your work, where can people find you? Sure. Give me an example of, I've been doing some work with an organization called PSATS, Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors. They host webinars. A few weeks ago, ⁓ I moderated a panel discussion on water quality, focused on what municipalities need to know. In June, I'll be hosting another webinar on environmental advisory councils, working with a group called We Can Serve PA. both the webinars are hosted by PSAT, so usually a charge for people to attend those ⁓ webinars. However, I made available on my LinkedIn ⁓ profile, the PowerPoint presentation so that you can take a look at what we accomplished. wrapping it up, I do have a website, johnhmcq.com, and that's for John H. McHugh Associates LLC. I can be found on ⁓ under John McHugh or ⁓ John McHugh Associates. Under John McHugh, Associate Environmental Champion, Agile Transformation Leader, Public Speaker, and Community Leader. So thank you for that opportunity to have people reach out to me. And I enjoyed catching up with you today. Thank you so much, John. And to anyone listening, in the spirit of what John said about the military, ⁓ each day they would be reminded of their mission statement. To anyone listening, when is the last time that you were reminded of your mission statement? And what would happen if you thought about that every single day? Thanks for everyone listening. Thank you, John. And I'll see you next time.