Execution: Putting Ideas to Work (adapted from The Conference Board No. 203)

There is a wealth of good information in this Conference Board Report.  I’ll quote extensively from the report and add my commentary along the way.

“What’s fun is vision and strategy.  Why?  Because it’s the world of make believe.  Execution is the real world.  Execution is the doing and that’s what makes it hard.”

“A lot of how you spell success is execution.  Execution is how effective you are in fulfilling your strategies.”

“Execution is about getting things done.  It’s not about activity with no end result.  If there are a lot of meetings, you’ve got a problem.  In fact, when Anne Mulchahy became CEO of Xerox, she told the staff she didn’t want any more meetings after which nothing happened.”

All I can say in response to the above is “ouch, ouch, ouch!”  The truth really hurts, especially that last one about meetings that lead to no execution.  If our customers held us accountable to the amount of time we waste in meetings (and that they pay for), many of us would be in big trouble. 

The article goes on to discuss how to overcome the “execution obstacles,” but warns that the right foundation must be laid first.  This requires listening to staff, creating a game plan based on core values and sticking to it; communicating clearly from top to bottom and between departments; bringing people from different functions together, etc.  As one executive put it, “The ideas and the products for success are already on the table.”  I believe he meant that most times our employees have great ideas on how to move the company forward; we just don’t see them.

The authors mention that no two organizations are alike and that leaders must adapt best practices to what works within their company.  Make sure the reason for the business strategy has been well communicated and that individual employees’ goals are aligned with the business’s goals.  Then work so that everyone gets on board the execution train.  If someone in the company is not performing and you do nothing about it, what does that say to the rest of the team?  

Set expectations around performance and compensate accordingly.  Coach and nurture, but also be willing to help those who can’t get anything done “to succeed elsewhere.”  Measure results unrelentingly.  Tell your direct reports that you want to “hear the facts first; then you can tell me what you think about the situation.”

Five Essentials of Execution (from The Conference Board, NO. 203) 

The agenda to be executed should make sense to those who must execute it—people should be persuaded that the agenda is worth following.  (Win their hearts and minds.)

Someone needs to be held accountable for getting it done—explicit, as opposed to diffuse responsibility.  (That’s why I always attach one name and one name only to a project, an action item, a goal, etc.) 

The person who is accountable for getting it done needs to be a person who can get things done.   The best estimate is that well over half of the managers in any organization “can’t get anything done.”  (Now that’s a sad statement.  How about in your organization?  Take a moment and list those in your organization that you know you can count on to get things done.  What about the ones not on your list?) 

There needs to be some possibility that by the time it gets done, someone in senior management will still care—as opposed to the attention of the senior people having shifted on to the next problem du jour. 

There should be a payoff for the person responsible for getting it done, as opposed to finishing the project and having it ignored. 

When I first read the above Five Essentials, I thought of Jesus as an excellent model for us in this regard.  He definitely persuaded people that His agenda was worth following.  He certainly held the 12 disciples accountable (think of his conversations with Peter).  He empowers his disciples to accomplish the mission He has given to them (“Go into all the world…”).  He certainly still cares about what His disciples are doing and has promised to reward them in their obedience. 

Today, Christ’s ability to “put ideas to work” continues to be phenomenal.  Each of us is charged to “do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).  And get this, He not only gives us the desire to do these good works, but provides us with the power to do them.  (Philippians 2:13-- For it is God which works in you both to will and to do His good pleasure.) 

So how are things in your organization?  Are you known as the one who “gets things done?”  Are you the one who “puts ideas to work?”  If you have people reporting to you, are you coaching them to improve in their execution?  None of this is easy.  It requires day-to-day discipline.  Let’s all get off the “excuse train” and get on the “execution train.”   

Keith 

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