Most organizations don’t fail at strategy.
They fail at execution and accountability.
- In most companies, the plan itself is sound.
- Your priorities make sense.
- Your intent is clear.
What breaks down is what happens after your plan is rolled out to the team.
- Your ownership blurs.
- Your follow-through weakens.
- Your urgent work crowds out important work.
Execution doesn’t fail because people don’t care. It fails because accountability is inconsistent or unclear.
Without a visible chain from Strategy -> Decision Ownership -> Weekly Execution -> Celebration or Consequence… even a strong strategy loses momentum.
Execution is not a motivation issue. It’s a system issue.
Try this instead:
- Get your plan done fast. If you’ve ever suffered through the every-month-for-a-year version of strategic planning, then you’ve experienced the re-hashing, re-explaining, and re-assuming that kills momentum. Get a good facilitator and get your roadmap done so your team knows where they are headed and how they fit. (Shameless plug – we’re really, really good at this.)
- Involve the right team members. Some will be on your leadership team; some will be at different levels in your organization. Each person owns their part of your plan. If it’s obvious that someone doesn’t want to participate, don’t let them. Be picky about who’s on your planning team.
- Build in formal systems to monitor and advance your plan. QUARTERLY PLANNING DAYS with your local ActionCOACH community keep you on track with a network of other high-performing companies. MONTHLY REVIEWS keep focus and attention on high-level initiatives. Weekly agenda items and Green-Yellow-Red visual cues help your team move and accomplish weekly goals.
- Make your plan and progress visible. 80% of adults learn and process information visually (by seeing it) or kinesthetically (by experiencing it). Your plan tucked away on a shared network drive is “out of sight, out of mind.” Get your goals and metrics up on the wall and show progress each week. Hold your morning huddles in front of it. The more important you make executing the plan, the more your team will too.
- Celebrate progress, not just the end result. We worked with a vehicle manufacturer who was producing 1 of a certain type of vehicle per week. Their KPI (Key Performance Indicator) was 1 vehicle per day. 7 months into the year, the team was producing 3.5 vehicles per week, and the manager was constantly talking about how short they were from hitting the goal. Imagine being on that team. In 7 months, your team went from producing 50 vehicles per year to 175! That’s a HUGE improvement! Celebrate every one of those gains, and the gaps will take care of themselves.
Your Plan is the foundation of your company! When your team has the roadmap, they can move SO much faster, and they stop wasting time and money getting pulled into the whirlwind that demands all their time.
Ready to redo your Strategic, Business or Succession Plan so that you get the results you’re looking for? As Benefit Works Clients, you get a healthy discount off our normal investment. $1,000.00 off a bootcamp (next one is February 12th & 13th in Madison and $20,000.00 off your Private Planning Retreat. Learn more here: https://www.makemoreworklesswi.com/businessplan
About Susan Thomson: Susan Thomson is Founder & CEO of the globally award-winning ActionCOACH of Dane County, helping Business Owners & CEOs scale, strengthen leadership teams, and prepare for succession. SusanThomson@ActionCOACH.com
www.MakeMoreWorkLessWI.com
608-441-5374.