There are four traits found in entrepreneurs, as follows:
- Those who do not plan,
- Those who plan but do not execute,
- Those who ‘execute’ without planning,
- Those who plan and execute.
The first three classes have very little chance of succeeding in business. If you fall into any of them, you have to learn to plan and execute what you planned. It is only the fourth class that stands a good chance of success. Truth be told, a ‘bad’ plan followed by excellent execution stands a better chance of success than a good plan with no execution. This is because the ‘bad’ is really just a personal assessment. It may, really not be as bad you think. How many ‘bad’ plans have all turned out much better than we thought? It is all relative. Besides, we have chances of making amends along the line as we execute our plans. In the same vein, ideas and timing are of no significance without execution. You may have an excellent idea; it might just be the right time for the idea. But unless your plan is executed diligently, you do not stand a good chance of transforming the idea into tangible results that people can pay you for. So,
- What is ‘execution’?
- What are the benefits of execution?
- How do you create business systems geared towards achieving extraordinary levels of execution in your enterprise?
- How do you overcome execution inertia?
The first three issues will be addressed in this part, and the last issue will be addressed in the part II of this post.
1) Execution:
Execution generally refers to doing something in a deliberately planned manner towards achieving a desired objective. Ken Favaro of HBR defines execution in business as ‘… the decisions and activities you undertake in order to turn your implemented strategy into commercial success‘.
It is important to understand the difference between actual business execution and just taking action. The former is focused and result oriented whilst the latter is random and simply ‘fills time’. You actually see this happen all around, with people so ‘busy’ all day but no results achieved in terms of value add or incremental gains toward achieving some objective. Sometimes this is so bad it can actually be a psychological issue that should be identified and addressed. Execution on the other hand, and at its best, is the efficient connect between ideas, plans, and desired results. At the end of the day, success in business is really about a relentless execution of strategy. And it is what makes seemingly ‘ordinary’ people achieve extraordinary results.
2) Benefits of execution:
Plans and strategies are typically in our minds or on paper! What really links them to the achievement of desired results is execution. Without execution, the most creative ideas, the best plans and most brilliant strategies are not worth more than the papers they are drawn on. The major and most important benefit of execution is therefore the achievement of set and desired results. Other spin off benefits include:
- Enhancing the efficiency of your resources (effort, time, funds, talent, physical assets, etc.) allocation and utilisation,
- Creating a competitive advantage for your business,
- Strengthening relationships within your enterprise and with external stakeholders,
- Building confidence, thereby making it easier and possible for you and your team to take on more tasks and achieve more,
- Makes assessment of intermediate objectives possible and timely,
- Reduces the risks of physical and mental burnout.
3) How to create a business execution system:
Define the Mission: The discovery of X-rays by German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen in 1895 might be considered an ‘accident’, even though we should realise that Professor Roentgen was able to ‘see and seize’ the opportunity because of his knowledge and level of preparedness. This, however, should not be the model for running your business (except for the ‘preparedness’ part). To set a result-oriented business execution system therefore, you have to deliberately define what you want to achieve (results), and how you want to achieve the results (that is, which actions need to be taken, when, how and by whom). Execution will then be all the efficient activities that need to be performed to yield the desired outcome.
Preparation: Having defined your mission, you will then need to identify all resources that you may require. If for instance, you want to commence direct delivery of your products to your customers (as against your existing self pick-up system), then you will need to identify what mode of transportation should be adopted? Will you acquire and use own trucks, or rent the vehicles? Will you maintain a central or decentralised warehousing facility? Exactly who will do what? etc. Everything that is required should be identified and provided.
Communication: Ideally, the processes above should involve all key and senior people within the organization. Once the details of want you want to achieve is clarified; who will do what and how; as well as what resources are required, the next key thing you need is to communicate to all those who will be directly involved as well as those remotely affected. Discussing this and ensuring that all those to be involved are very clear about their roles and responsibilities is very important.
Integration: Next, you are to integrate all components of the system you are developing to work towards realising the same objective. Even individuals and units that may only be tangential to the mission should be carried along. They should be made to understand that their support is also key to the success. As the saying goes, a chain is only as strong as it’s weakest link. Your excellent work can be completely marred by your delivery van driver who fails to deliver the goods on time as agreed with, and expected by your customer.
Your effort to integrate the system should also address possible areas of conflicts between individuals and units. At the end, achievement of overall objective should be supreme. Teach your people to learn how to get things done efficiently irrespective of who ‘earns the credit’. At the end, if the organistion wins, you are all winners.
Execute: This is the ultimate test. Deliberate actions should be taken by the person(s) assigned to do so. It should be done within the time agreed and how it is to be done. Obviously and frequently, changes may be required or even necessitated along the line as execution progresses. This is where adequate training of your people will come to the rescue, as they apply their best judgments to make amendments without loosing sight of the objective. Sometimes even changes to the objective might be ‘forced’ onto your team by circumstances. Again, their training will come to bear as they make best situational calls. Ultimately, you sometimes do not get hundred percent of what you set out for. But the methodical and deliberate approach to execution will always create value and gain benefits for you.
Monitoring and Management: You have by now defined your mission or objective; prepared your by team by reviewing and providing requirements; and communicated to all participants and other stakeholders. As execution progresses, the next challenge will be to monitor and manage what is happening. Monitoring the execution process involves ensuring that actions are taken to achieve sub goals and meet timelines. Managing the process involves leveraging on achievements and handling unexpected and unwanted outcomes. Monitoring and managing the execution process and system is very important in eliminating undesired consequences and reinforcing positive behaviours.
Reviews: To learn and fully internalize the benefits of your execution process and system, you and your team will regularly need to review your actual performance vis-à-vis the targets set. In the military, which has a lot to teach business, ‘debriefs’ are a necessary component of each and every mission, irrespective of size or ‘importance’. It is taken seriously and all those involved and in the need-to-know loop are fully involved. The review or ‘debrief’ purpose is to assess what went right, what went wrong, why, what areas need to be improved upon and other relevancies, and how.
In the course of your reviews, you should celebrate your wins along the way and learn from your setbacks and failures. Execution should offer you the opportunity to continuously learn and improve, as well as have fun in what you do daily.
