Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Creating a Culture of Execution - Getting from Strategy to Results

Do you want to create high performance teams to achieve specific business results, or specific measurables?

Are you a leader with an excellent strategy, but don't know how, or can't get your people, to execute on that strategy?

Are you a leader or manager with challenges getting your people to focus on, and execute on, what is most important to you and your team or organization?

Do you have a great plan or strategy, but you can't implement it because the "day-job" or the "whirlwind" of day to day tasks, interruptions, firefighting, and regular responsibilities keeps getting in the way of making progress?

If you answered "yes" to any or all of the above, you're not alone.  Overcoming the above challenges is something almost every organization, or team, struggles with at one time or another, or perhaps constantly.

Franklin Covey has spent the past 9 years researching Organization & Business Execution in-depth.

The good news is, as a result of this research, we've found the answer, and the process, for achieving excellent execution, over and over again.

We call the solution "The 4 Disciplines of Execution"  click here to learn more

As Oliver Wendell Holmes said:
"I wouldn’t give a farthing for the simplicity on this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity."

This is a classic example of arriving at "simplicity on the other side of complexity".  And, oh, what a joy it is for hundreds of organizations who have adopted this simple, yet powerful process.

But don't be deceived by the simple model the 4 Disciplines presents.  As Chris McChesney, our Execution Practice Leader, often quotes, in the words of a client, "The 4 Disciplines says 'easy' but it does 'hard'."  What the client meant by this is that these disciplines read like "Business & Common Sense 101".  But what is common sense is often not common practice, and getting everyone executing on the most important goals, and pulling the right levers, all at the same time, is a challenge in any environment - whether at work or in our personal lives and families.

If you are a leader responsible for the activities and results of others and you would like to learn more about this, we have executive showcases across North America where you can go and learn more about this revolutionary new process.

In Ontario, our next sessions will be April 28 in Mississauga, and June 22 downtown Toronto.
Please click here to learn more

Please email me to register: steve2010@hotmail.com


A recent survey of more than 200 CEOs found that the top two challenges faced by executive leadership in today's economic environment are:

1. Excellence in Execution.
2. Consistent Execution of Strategy by Top Management.


There is no doubt that in a challenging economy, an organization's ability to execute its top strategic priorities is at a premium. Recent research on the topic of Strategic Goal Execution by Gallup and Harris Interactive Polling shows that:

  • Only 10% of managers are truly focused on what matters most to their organization.
  • 90% of managers are typically either distracted or disengaged from key priorities
Information workers typically devote only about 40% of their time to organizational priorities or tasks directly related to the organization's mission-critical objectives

As Ram Charan says in his book "Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done":

"...the gap that nobody knows. It's symptomatic of the biggest problem facing corporations today... These are good companies. They have smart CEOs and talented people, they have inspiring visions, and they bring in the best consultants. Yet they, and many other companies as well, regularly fail to produce promised results. Then when they announce the shortfall, investors dump their stocks and enormous market value is obliterated. Managers and employees are demoralized. And increasingly, boards are forced to dump the CEOs."
Reference: "Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done", by Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan, p.4, Crown Publishning, NY, NY, 2002

Is this a problem worth focusing on?

You bet it is.

To learn more about how to achieve excellence in execution with your team, division, or organization, please contact me at steve2010@hotmail.com



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