In many ways, an organization’s journey toward North Star Execution mirrors frameworks like Maslow’s hierarchy of needs or Bloom’s Taxonomy of Cognition. At each level of execution, there are foundational tasks that must be met before moving upward toward higher levels of performance. When these foundational tasks pull to much attention from leaders & operators, growing organizations what we call “Execution Leak”—where strategies and goals set at the top fail to fully translate into results at the front line.
That’s why we’ve developed Impruve’s Taxonomy of North Star Execution—a framework that helps teams systematically eliminate Execution Leak and optimize performance, as leaders elevate their own time management up the scale from Tedium to Leadership.
We view this Taxonomy through the lens of six layers:
- Know + Remember (“To-Do List”)
- Do Low-Leverage Tasks
- Grasp the “North Star”
- Execute High-Leverage Work in a “Flow State”
- Lead and Coach Impactful Teams
- Define & Evolve the “North Star”
While no single solution can completely eliminate Execution Leak, an effective AI-sidekick is a critical piece of the infrastructure that ensures managers and teams can move smoothly through these layers of execution. At Impruve, we think deeply about how the AI-sidekick plays either offense and defense at each layer:
- Offense = Taking tasks off the team leader’s plate, actively executing work on their behalf.
- Defense = Laying the foundation and clearing obstacles so leaders can stay focused on high-impact execution.
Here’s how an effective AI-Sidekick works across each layer of our taxonomy:
1. Know + Remember the “To-Do List”
Impruve plays Offense: The AI sidekick ensures foundational needs are met by providing timely reminders, aggregating tasks, and organizing to-do lists. This frees up mental space and ensures nothing falls through the cracks.
2. Do Low-Leverage Tasks
Impruve plays Offense: The AI sidekick actively handles mundane, time-draining tasks such as scheduling meetings, creating agendas, and organizing one-on-one sessions. By doing this, managers are liberated from busywork and can focus on more important contributions.
3. Grasp the “North Star”
Impruve plays Offense: The AI sidekick provides critical insights by recognizing patterns and analyzing data in real-time. It helps managers connect the dots between day-to-day actions and broader company goals, ensuring alignment with the strategic direction.
4. Execute High-Leverage Work in a “Flow State”
Impruve plays Defense: By automating lower-level tasks, the AI sidekick plays defense, clearing the path for managers to enter and stay in a flow state, where they can contribute at their highest level of value without distractions.
5. Lead and Coach Impactful Teams
Impruve plays Offense: The AI sidekick automates key communications, drafting and sending feedback, recognition, and check-ins to team members. This ensures that important moments of connection and leadership are never missed, strengthening team trust and alignment.
6. Define & Evolve the “North Star”
Impruve plays Defense (with a touch of Offense): At the highest level, the AI sidekick primarily plays defense, enabling leaders to focus on shaping the big picture. Occasionally, it plays offense by providing executive coaching talk flows, offering a supportive sounding board to help leaders maintain a clear mind as they craft their long-term vision.
Pretty cool, right?! In the same way that Maslow’s hierarchy teaches us that basic needs must be met before higher pursuits, we believe the same is true in the fight against Execution Leak. If a manager is overwhelmed with tasks, they’ll never reach a flow state or lead effectively. Impruve was built to eliminate these leaks by ensuring that foundational execution needs are met at every layer of our taxonomy. By doing this, managers and leaders can elevate their focus to higher-level thinking, align their teams, and ensure that strategy isn’t just created—it’s executed.