In 1984, singer Joe Jackson had a hit song with a line in it that said, "You can't get what you want, until you know what you want". As a leader, the most important questions that can be answered is where are we going, and why are we going there?
Typically, business are started to solve a problem. Whether the business owner is attempting to create a new product or to improve on an existing concept, they are fundamentally wanting to solve a problem. The leaders reporting to the business owner must believe in the vision and direction that the owner has. Leaders must engage the front line employees in the direction of the organization in order for the business to be successful. As a result successful operations have top to bottom synergy.
In customer facing roles, the worst response that can be provided to a customer is "They say I need to follow this procedure, even though it doesn't make sense" If successful operations must have top to bottom synergy in direction, why would customers receive this response from front line employees. Has the direction of the organization changed, and the top level management just hasn't caught up or vice-versa? This is a problem.
How do you know what you want? What direction do you as a leader want to create? It is essential to continually be taking temperature checks of the organization both formally and informally to ensure if conditions have changed in the market, that leaders are creating the direction and are being response to the intel provided to them at all levels. Leaders that dismiss feedback, are doing themselves and their organization a big disservice.
Once you have created organizational synergy and are providing directional, responsive leadership, you are then able to ensure the organization is being effective and efficient in the execution of the vision and mission of the the organization. You can get what you want, if you know what you want. As a leader, you need to invest not only the monetary and intellectual resources to creating organizational direction, but you must invest your human resources for long term organizational success.
A baseball team would love to have a lineup of all .400 hitters, but what is the cost of doing so, pitching effectiveness, defensive ability. What's the benefit of scoring 15 runs a game, if you are giving away 16. Balance and team work are imperative for baseball organizations.
This same balance and team work are imperative in other environments as well. The difference is the directional leadership that is being provided and if the organization buys into the leaders direction. You really can get what you want, if you know what you want!
Have a great week!
Showing posts with label execution. Show all posts
Showing posts with label execution. Show all posts
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Work the Plan
As leaders, we tend to focus on creating great plans that in our estimation will yield great results. So why do so many leaders become frustrated when our best laid plans yield worse results. The answer is simple, execution.
As an undergraduate, I had the opportunity to take a religion class. As a project for this class, I had to attend religious services at a variety of churches. In one such setting, the Pastor gave a sermon that 20+ years later still has a positive message with me. The message of the sermon was to not just plan the work, but work the plan. What a novel idea. I translated this to the work I was doing at the time and decided it was not about the creation of the plan itself, but more about the execution of the plan.
In sports, teams will go into a game with a game plan. While fans may be upset about with the officials, the leaders always talk about execution of the plan. If athletes don't execute, they let the team down and ultimately the team loses the game. It wasn't the plan that was flawed, it was working of the plan that was flawed.
I worked for a Manager who once told me that I needed to remember the 6P's and an R. I inquired what he was referring to. He informed me that it simply meant, "piss poor planning produces piss poor results". Again, it all goes back to planning and organization.
As leaders, we are expected to do be all, do all, and produce all, with less. We don't have all the answers, even though frequently our ego's tell us that we do. Prior to creating a plan, why not ask more questions about execution. Challenge people to shoot holes in the plan before the plan is finalized. Once a decision has been made, stay the course. Don't just plan the work, but work the plan.
Being an effective leader includes creating an effective vision. Teams need to understand what the goal is. In sports, the goal is to win the game, win a conference, win a championship. Chunk down those goals into smaller more achievable milestones and allow for course changes based upon the evaluation of new information. Include those milestone evaluations into the creation of the plan and continue to ask those self reflective questions to ensure your plan is being executed correctly and that the team is still on board with the vision.
It's not about getting to the destination, its about the journey and the experience learned along the road. Remember, don't just plan the work, but work the plan.
Plan for tomorrow. Execute today. Evaluate progress frequently.
As an undergraduate, I had the opportunity to take a religion class. As a project for this class, I had to attend religious services at a variety of churches. In one such setting, the Pastor gave a sermon that 20+ years later still has a positive message with me. The message of the sermon was to not just plan the work, but work the plan. What a novel idea. I translated this to the work I was doing at the time and decided it was not about the creation of the plan itself, but more about the execution of the plan.
In sports, teams will go into a game with a game plan. While fans may be upset about with the officials, the leaders always talk about execution of the plan. If athletes don't execute, they let the team down and ultimately the team loses the game. It wasn't the plan that was flawed, it was working of the plan that was flawed.
I worked for a Manager who once told me that I needed to remember the 6P's and an R. I inquired what he was referring to. He informed me that it simply meant, "piss poor planning produces piss poor results". Again, it all goes back to planning and organization.
As leaders, we are expected to do be all, do all, and produce all, with less. We don't have all the answers, even though frequently our ego's tell us that we do. Prior to creating a plan, why not ask more questions about execution. Challenge people to shoot holes in the plan before the plan is finalized. Once a decision has been made, stay the course. Don't just plan the work, but work the plan.
Being an effective leader includes creating an effective vision. Teams need to understand what the goal is. In sports, the goal is to win the game, win a conference, win a championship. Chunk down those goals into smaller more achievable milestones and allow for course changes based upon the evaluation of new information. Include those milestone evaluations into the creation of the plan and continue to ask those self reflective questions to ensure your plan is being executed correctly and that the team is still on board with the vision.
It's not about getting to the destination, its about the journey and the experience learned along the road. Remember, don't just plan the work, but work the plan.
Plan for tomorrow. Execute today. Evaluate progress frequently.
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