Creating a Culture of Execution

JFK Speech to Congress

“I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.”

JFK AT RICE UNIVERSITY“We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win…I realize that this is, in some measure, an act of faith and vision, for we do not know what benefits await us. But if I were to say, my fellow citizens, that we shall send to the moon, 240,000 miles away from the control station in Houston, a giant rocket more than 300 feet tall, the length of this football field, made of new metal alloys, some of which have not yet been invented, capable of standing heat and stresses several times more than have ever been experienced, fitted together with a precision better than that of the finest watch, carrying all the equipment needed for propulsion, guidance, control, communications, food and survival, on an untried mission, to an unknown celestial body, and then returned it safely to earth, re-entering atmosphere at speeds of over 25,000 miles per hour, causing heat about half that of the temperature of the sun and do all this, and do it right, and do it first before this decade is out, then we must be bold.”

- President John F. Kennedy

“Up is not an easy direction.”

The Challenge: Ability to Execute“Leadership without the discipline of execution is incomplete and ineffective. Without the ability to execute, all other attributes of leadership become hollow”— Larry Bossidy Chairman, Honeywell International

THE POWER OF FOCUS

01–22–3Goals Achieved With Excellence

11–204–102–3Number of Goals

A leader who says “I’ve got ten priorities” doesn’t know what he is talking about. He doesn’t know himself what the most important things

are. You’ve got to have these few, clearly realistic

goals and priorities…

Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan, Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done, New York:

Crown Business, 2002

Our Partner

WILDLY IMPORTANT

important adj. 1: meaning a great deal; having significance, value

wildly important adj. 1: of visionary and strategic import; carrying serious economic consequence; potential for unbelievable satisfaction of key stakeholders; causing intense excitement and enthusiasm

Wildly Important Goals =The BIG WIGS

Why WIGS?

HarrisInteractiveSM

McKinsey & Company

Ram Charan

Synergy

Focus

8 Standards of Execution

Clarity Commitment Translation Discipline

Enabling Collaboration Trust Accountability

Synergy

Focus

1. Do people know what to do?

8 Standards of Execution

Lack of Clarity

Clarity Commitment Translation Discipline

Enabling Collaboration Trust Accountability

Synergy

Focus

8 Standards of Execution

1. Do people know what to do?

2. Do they want to do it?

3. Do they know how to do it?

4. Do they sustain the course?

5. Do they work together?

Clarity 52

Commitment 52

Translation 43

Discipline 65

Enabling 32

Collaboration 49

Trust 59

Accountability 57

Synergy 49

Focus 53

XQ51 (National Averages)

2

xQ Results: Individuals in Typical Organizations

• I clearly understand my organization’s most important goals

•Can name their organization’s most important goals

•Percent of time spent on organization’s most important goals

•The goals of my work group are translated into my individual work goals

•My individual work goals are translated into daily tasks and/or performance standards

44%

15%

49%

25%

32%

xQ: Teams in Typical Organizations

•My organization’s most important goals are translated to the goals of my work group

• Individual tasks are reviewed at least monthly with my manager

•We work in an atmosphere of trust where people can express differences of opinion freely

•We hold each other accountable for doing what we commit to do

27%

12%

56%

46%

xQ: Typical Organizations

•My organization has decided what its most important goals are

•My organization has clearly communicated its most important goals

•People get recognized and rewarded for doing things that support key goals

•My organization consistently achieves its most important goals

52%

43%

33%

21%

Four Disciplines of Execution

• Focus on the “wildly important” not the merely important.

• Build measures that motivate.

• Translate 30,000 foot goals into new front line behaviors.

• Win as a team.

My manager . . . Ranking

Is a hard worker 1

Prioritizes work so our time is spent on the most important issues

74

Sets clear expectations when assigning tasks

75

Plans ahead to reduce having to work in a crisis mode

76

Provides feedback on our group’s performance

77

MANAGERS WORK HARD BUT FAIL TO PROVIDE FOCUS AND DIRECTION

 

More than 2.5 million workers were asked to rank their managers on a scale of 77 pre-determined characteristics in this FranklinCovey Profile study. (Source: FranklinCovey Profile Center Aggregate Report, 2002)

Where it began…

Work Compass—Execution Tool

Four Disciplines of Execution

#1: Focus on the Wildly Important

“After five years of research, I’m absolutely convinced that if we just focus our attention on the

right things—and stop doing the senseless things that consume so much time and energy—we can create a powerful Flywheel Effect.”

Jim CollinsGood to Great

Execution Discipline #1: Focus on the Wildly Important

• Identify 2 or 3 “MUST DO” goals• State them so that they are self-orienting

and galvanizing• Gain line-of-sight understanding and

commitment all the way to front-line• Align resources, recognition, and incentives

to reinforce commitment

Four Disciplines of Execution

#2: Build Measures that Motivate

#2: Build Measures that Motivate

Once you reach a certain level, everyone is good, and everyone trains hard. The difference is who is more meticulous, willing to find the smallest increments of time, and as you get older and more experienced, the percentage gains grow smaller and smaller. You have to become a slave to data, to performance indicators like pedal cadence, and power output measured in watts. You have to measure literally every heartbeat, and every morsel you eat, down to each spoonful of cereal. If you weigh too little, you won’t have the physical resources to generate enough speed. If you weigh too much, your body is a burden. It is a matter of power to weight. Who knows when you might find a winning margin in a wind tunnel in December, during equipment testing? You might find another fraction of time in your position on the bike, or in a helmet, or in the composition of a wheel…because the smallest thing, like moving your hands on the handlebars, could make you three seconds slower over 25 miles.”

-Lance Armstrong-

Four Disciplines of Execution

#3: Translate 30,000 foot goals into new and better front-line behaviors

#3: Translate Goals into New and Better Activities and Behaviors

• The goals of my work group are translated into my individual work goals:

25%

• My individual work goals are translated into daily tasks and/or performance standards:

32%

Translating Goals into New and Better Behaviors

“The best thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, not preceded by a period of worry and depression.”

-Author unknown

TRANSLATE GOALS INTO ACTION—Activities & Tasks

Set up WOW display

Purchase product

Set up WOW display

Purchase product

Run an adRun an ad

Four Disciplines of Execution

#4: Win Together

#4: Win Together

• We hold each other accountable for doing what we commit to do:

46%• Individual tasks are reviewed at least monthly

with my manager: 12%

• We work in an atmosphere of trust where people can express differences of opinion freely

46%

Four Disciplines of Execution

• Focus on the “wildly important” not the merely important.

• Build measures that motivate.

• Translate 30,000 foot goals into new front line behaviors.

• Win as a team.

JFK Speech To Congress

“I believe we possess all the resources and talents necessary. But the facts of the matter are that we have never made the national decisions or marshaled the national resources required for such leadership. We have never specified long-range goals on an urgent time schedule, or managed our resources and our time as to insure their fulfillment.”

JFK Speech to Congress

“This decision demands a major national commitment of scientific and technical manpower, material and facilities, and the possibility of their diversion from other important activities where they are already thinly spread. It means a degree of dedication, organization, and discipline which have not always characterized our research and development efforts.”