Headwater

Most companies keep their plan in office files. The strategy is a slide deck in Google Slides or PowerPoint, the quarter’s priorities are a spreadsheet in Google Sheets or Excel, and the notes from each meeting are a document. Headwater puts the plan in one place for the whole company, and each owner updates their part every Monday.

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Q3 priorities (v7).xlsx
ABCDE
1PriorityOwnerDueStatus%
2Sign 12 new cafés in LeedsMayaDecon track50%
3Hire two trade repsMayaNov50%
4Build the trade price listRavi?LATE20%
5Launch the decaf subscriptionTomNovon it
6Fit out the York caféDanDecok60%
7Install and test the new roasterPriyaOct??30%
8Hire a head of coffee
Last edited on 3 October by Sam

The strategy deck becomes the vision and pillars, the project list becomes initiatives, and the priorities spreadsheet becomes this quarter’s climbs. Update emails become Monday check-ins, and the meeting notes become the huddle, its issues, and the decisions kept in the rulebook.

Budgets, forecasts, and reports stay in your spreadsheets. Headwater is only for the plan.

Choose any row to see it in Headwater.

In filesIn Headwater
  • Vision and pillars

    The vision is one sentence about where the company will be by a set year. It comes with targets and a list of things the company has decided not to do. Under the vision are three to five pillars. A pillar is an area of work the company has chosen to reach its vision.

    By 2029, Halden is the coffee people ask for by name across the North.37%
    Win wholesale34%
    Grow subscriptions35%
    Brilliant cafés52%
    Roast at scale28%

In a spreadsheet, progress is a number someone types in, and it is only as recent as the last edit. In Halden’s spreadsheet, the York fit-out is at 60%, the figure Sam typed on 3 October. In Headwater, it is at 70%.

In Headwater, each climb has a few dated milestones, and its progress is the share of them ticked. Initiatives, pillars, and the whole plan are worked out from the climbs under them, so the figures are the same wherever they appear.

Tick one of Maya’s milestones on Sign 12 new cafés in Leeds to see each level change.

Halden Coffee37%
The average of its four pillars
Win wholesale34%
The average of its two initiatives, 46% and 22%
Open trade in Leeds and Manchester46%
11 of 24 milestones across its three climbs, including next quarter’s
Sign 12 new cafés in Leeds58%
  • Tasting at Kiln Café
  • Call Northern Bloc
  • Tasting at Bean There
  • Send the trade pack to Headingley cafés
  • Sign the last three cafés
  • 7 milestones done earlier in the quarter
7 of 12 milestones ticked

Anyone can change any cell in a shared spreadsheet, and before each meeting someone has to chase everyone for an update.

In Headwater, every climb has one owner. Each Monday morning, they go through their climbs, mark each one on track or off track, and tick the milestones they have finished. It takes about five minutes, and the team can see who has checked in.

Maya’s check-in is open from her My Flow page. Mark her climbs and tick her milestones.

My FlowCheck-inMonday 16 November
Good morning, Maya
Weekly check-in
2 climbs
Crew
JBRPECSHPSDW
Your climbs
  • Sign 12 new cafés in LeedsOn track
  • Hire two trade repsOn track

Files are shared as links, and most people open them only when someone asks. Halden’s strategy deck was last opened 11 weeks ago.

In Headwater, everyone’s home page is My Flow. It lists their milestones, issues, and climbs in the order they need doing, with the one to do first at the top. Tick Maya’s first one to see what comes next.

Good morning, Maya5 to do
Send the new price list
Build the trade price list
Due yesterday
Next up
  • Tasting at Kiln CaféDue today
  • 2Trade price list is out of datePriority 2
  • Call Northern BlocThursday
  • Shortlist trade repsFriday

  • Yes. Start with the vision and pillars from the strategy deck, add the initiatives from the project list, then set this quarter’s climbs from the priorities spreadsheet, each with one owner and a few milestones. It can be done in one planning session, and everything can be changed later.

Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides are trademarks of Google LLC. Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, and Microsoft PowerPoint are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Headwater is not affiliated with Google or Microsoft.

Why Headwater?What Headwater is for, and how it compares with the other software a company might use.
All featuresEverything Headwater does, from the vision down to Monday morning.
The Headwater methodHow to run a company on one plan, in six steps.

Book a demo and we’ll show you how Headwater would run your week, from the vision down to Monday morning.

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