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

Click here to learn more about the amazing results our clients are achieving through the 4 Disciplines of Execution

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

Click here to learn more about the amazing results our clients are achieving through the 4 Disciplines of Execution

Abundance Mentality vs. Scarcity Mentality

Following on last week's post, let's examine the concept of an "abundance mentality" on a deeper level.

As mentioned last week, the Lose-Win mindset says that "there's only so much pie to go around, and if you get some there will be less for me".  This mindset could be viewed as a "scarcity mentality" and is part of the Lose-Win paradigm.

An Abundance Mentality maintains that there is "more than enough", and adopts the Win-Win mindset where "we can all achieve more together", and "there's plenty to go around and everyone can enjoy the plenty that we've been given."

Stephen R. Covey explains it well here in his book "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People":

"The Scarcity Mentality is the zero-sum paradigm of life.

People with a Scarcity Mentality have a very difficult time sharing recognition and credit, power or profit - even with those who help in the production.  They also have a very hard time being genuinely happy for the successes of other people - even, and sometimes especially, members of their own family or close friends and associates.  It's almost as if something is being taken from them when someone else receives special recognition or windfall gain or has remarkable success or achievement.

Although they may verbally express happiness for others' success, inwardly they are eating their hearts out.  Their sense of worth comes from being compared, and someone else's success, to some degree, means their failure.  Only so many people can be "A" students; only one person can be "number one".  To "win" simply means to "beat."

...It's difficult for people with a scarcity mentality to be members of a complimentary team.  They look on differences as signs of insubordination and disloyalty.

The Abundance Mentality, on the other hand, flows out of a deep inner sense of personal worth and security.  It is the paradigm that there is plenty out there and enough to spare for everybody.  It results in sharing of prestige, of recognition, of profits, of decision making.  It opens possibilities, options, alternatives and creativity.

The Abundance Mentality takes...personal joy, satisfaction and fulfillment...and turns it outward, appreciating the uniqueness, the inner direction, the proactive nature of others.  It recognizes the unlimited possibilities for positive interactive growth and development, creating new Third Alternatives.

Public Victory does not mean victory over other people.  It means success in effective interaction that brings mutually beneficial results to everyone involved. ...Public Victory is an outgrowth of the Abundance Mentality paradigm.

A character rich in integrity, maturity, and the Abundance Mentality has a genuineness that goes far beyond technique, or lack of it, in human interaction."

Reference: Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, pp. 219-230. copyright 2004.

The freedom and release a person can experience by embracing an Abundance Mentality and perspective on life and work and relationships can be incredible.  The rewards can be incredible.

I would encourage you to consider this concept as you go about your work and personal life, and be observant of the change an Abundance Mentality brings to you and those around you.

Some good examples of the Abundance Mentality in action can be found in these quotes below...

"You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want." ~ Zig Ziglar

“There is a lie that acts like a virus within the mind of humanity. And that lie is, ‘There’s not enough good to go around. There’s lack and there’s limitation and there’s just not enough.’

The truth is that there’s more than enough good to go around. There is more than enough creative ideas. There is more than enough power. There is more than enough love. There’s more than enough joy. All of this begins to come through a mind that is aware of its own infinite nature.There is enough for everyone. If you believe it, if you can see it, if you act from it, it will show up for you. That's the truth.” ~ Michael Beckwith

Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full--pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back." ~Luke 6:38, New Living Translation (NLT), The Holy Bible

Think Win-Win

One of the most life-changing attitudes we can adopt is the attitude of "Think Win-Win".

Stephen R. Covey explains, in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, that we are programmed into "win-lose" thinking from childhood.  In almost every game we played there was a "winner" and a "loser"; in how we were recognized in class, and in sports.

This has it's benefits, as we should learn to strive to achieve; be successful in what we are pursuing; and to make the most of what we have been given in terms of talents, skills, resources and ability.  But what if we could do all that, and still help others achieve along with us as we go? How different might our lives and relationships be?

The idea of "win-win" implies that, as we negotiate and work to achieve solutions and outcomes for ourselves, day-in and day-out, that we keep the attitude to achieve what we hope to achieve, while at the same time helping others to achieve what they hope to achieve, or at least gain some benefit while we achieve our own objectives.

Okay. That was my very in-articulate way of trying to explain win-win. Stephen R. Covey explains it much better here...

"Think Win-Win isn't about being nice, nor is it a quick-fix technique. It is a character-based code for human interaction and collaboration.

Most of us learn to base our self-worth on comparisons and competition. We think about succeeding in terms of someone else failing--that is, if I win, you lose; or if you win, I lose. Life becomes a zero-sum game. There is only so much pie to go around, and if you get a big piece, there is less for me; it's not fair, and I'm going to make sure you don't get anymore. We all play the game, but how much fun is it really?

Win-win sees life as a cooperative arena, not a competitive one. Win-win is a frame of mind and heart that constantly seeks mutual benefit in all human interactions. Win-win means agreements or solutions are mutually beneficial and satisfying. We both get to eat the pie, and it tastes pretty darn good!

A person or organization that approaches conflicts with a win-win attitude possesses three vital character traits:

1.    Integrity: sticking with your true feelings, values, and commitments

2.    Maturity: expressing your ideas and feelings with courage and consideration for the ideas and feelings of others

3.    Abundance Mentality: believing there is plenty for everyone

Many people think in terms of either/or: either you're nice or you're tough. Win-win requires that you be both. It is a balancing act between courage and consideration. To go for win-win, you not only have to be empathic, but you also have to be confident. You not only have to be considerate and sensitive, you also have to be brave. To do that--to achieve that balance between courage and consideration--is the essence of real maturity and is fundamental to win-win.""

Reference: https://www.stephencovey.com/7habits/7habits-habit4.php

Thank you for reading this posting.  I hope this idea of "Think Win-Win" helps you achieve better results, and better relationships, for yourself and those around you.

Please join me next Monday as I explore the life-changing concept of  "Abundance Mentality", that Stephen R. Covey mentioned above, in more detail.

Welcome to my Franklin Covey Canada blog!

Welcome to my Franklin Covey Canada blog.
I've been working at Franklin Covey Canada since the early 2000's
I think it's time for me to establish a blog presence for the work I do in my role at Franklin Covey Canada Ltd., specifically around Training and Development in Ontario, Canada.

There are so many exciting things happening at Franklin Covey, and so many new solutions, workshops, and dynamic organizational processes coming available all the time.

Our Online Training is state-of-the-art, user-friendly, and loved by those who have been trained by Franklin Covey online.
More info: http://www.franklincovey.com/tc/solutions/online-learning

Our Execution process is helping companies, governments and organizations, across Canada, and around the world, achieve incredible, breakthrough, bottom-line results, again and again.
More info: http://www.franklincovey.com/tc/solutions/business-execution-solutions

Our "Speed of Trust" content is helping organizations reach new levels of achievement, both in profitability, and operational effectiveness.
More info: http://www.franklincovey.com/tc/solutions/leadership-solutions/leading-at-the-speed-of-trust

And so much incredible training in the areas of Project Management, Business Communication (Presentations, Business & Technical Writing), Effectiveness, Leadership Training, Management Training, Business Acumen Training, Diversity Training, Training for Leading Across Generations...

Even customized corporate training solutions are here and available to you by world-class developers utilitzing state-of-the-art platforms, skills and technology.

What matters most to you and your organization?
If you know, then we can help you achieve it.

Where do you want to go as a team, department, company, or organization?
We can help you get there.

For more info, please visit: http://www.franklincovey.com/tc/
For Canada-specific Franklin Covey Training info, please visit:
http://www.franklincovey.ca/FCCAWeb/aspx/train.htm

Thank you for visiting my blog.  Come again soon to get the latest updates on what's happening at Franklin Covey Canada in Ontario.