There is nothing more important than making sure that your strategy is executed in a timely and efficient manner.
Execution disciplines help improve the linkage between your plan and your desired results.
If you are not getting the results you want, this may be the most important presentation you ever view!
Why Your Strategic Plan Does Not Get Executed and What You Can Do About It
1. Why Your Strategic Plan Does Not Get Executed And What You Can Do About It Howard Litwak, CBC President and Certified Business Coach Measurable Results LLC- Improving Thinking, Behaviors, and Results Call us: 518-664-5033 Visit us: www.howardlitwak.com
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Editor's Notes
If you are not getting the results you want, this may be the most important power point you ever view!
Note! Anything in this presentation that your organization may suffer from can be measured. If it can be measured, it can be managed and improved. So, you will not only be made aware of issues and the cause of the issues, but take heart, you will be shown how they can be fixed!
There are other critical factors supporting these disciplines such as commitment, personal motivation, and elimination of self-sabotaging behaviors. (These are for another time…) Top performing organizations, those that are really working towards realizing their potential, make these disciplines part of their routine all of the time. Let’s take a closer look at each.
What are your organization’s top priorities? Who besides you knows this? Who besides you should know this?
Do you have time management issues? Your solution may be here. Organizing and executing around priorities is a core principle of effective time management. When you are clear on what is most important, it is easier to decide how to spend your time. ACTION ITEM! It is important to identify the 3-5 top things that you want to accomplish monthly and quarterly. One should absolutely be the most important thing.
Fear and/or a lack of knowledge on how to handle a task are two major factors behind procrastination, which is a symptom of low scores in Goal Directedness. These need to be addressed for priorities to be carried out fully.
It is important for your people to be clear on what the priorities are, so that they are taking “right action”. (Right Action=The Right People, Doing the Right Things, for the Right Reasons.) Balanced decision making around priorities helps people make the right decisions for what they should be doing. If you are the one setting the priorities, without an ability here, the wrong things might be given focus. Which can be costly in terms of lost time, energy, and frustration.
Concrete organizing is a critical component of goal setting and achievement. The right action steps must be developed that lead to the realization of goals which are priorities. An inability to problem solve is a symptom of a low score in Concrete Organizing.
What are you measuring? What should you be measuring?
You should have a dashboard which allows you at a glance to see where your organization is trending on your KPI’s. Review this on a regular basis! This is a tool which will allow you to see if you are getting off track.
Metrics are the details necessary to making sure that your priorities are being executed. Do you have people who say “that’s good enough” when their responsibilities are not fully completed? This is a symptom of low attention to detail scores.
Proactive thinking leads to a focus on avoiding potential problems, and continuous improvement. You might not be using this attribute enough if you are constantly putting out fires.
Are deadlines and quotas constantly being missed in your organization? This is a symptom of a low score in results orientation.
On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest) how effectively does communication flow in your organization? What would be the benefit to you of improving that score by one or two points? The next slide gives you some ideas on how to improve.
Do you have people in your organization who come across as “cold”? Or who have a “know it all” or “it’s my way or the highway” attitude? These are symptoms of a low empathetic outlook.
There are many factors which may impact peoples ability to effectively communicate with each other. Attributes such as Diplomacy can be measured in individuals and across teams. Preferred communication styles across teams can also be measured.
Are self-confidence and self-image issues in your organization? What is that costing you (financially, emotionally, or otherwise?) These issues are effectively addressed through professional development programs. Personal growth is a Discipline too. Can you see how these are intertwined and interdependent?
Who is making sure that you will do what you say you will do? An accountability partner can help here. How will the group hold each other accountable?
This capacity can be improved by increasing the understanding, or awareness of importance, a person has for the priorities and metrics associated with their role or job. The companies’ rewards system can be used to help here also, as long as the rewards are meaningful and motivational to the individual.
Persistence is necessary to carry out the “No Matter What” attitude of the goals defined in your plan. Lack of persistence leads to…lack of execution.
What percentage of your people would you not identify as self-starters? Low scores in this attribute may be part of the cause. This attribute is related to low scores in persistence, goal focus, and initiative. These can all lead to people not having the internal drive to carry out their roles and responsibilities to 100% completeness. A system of accountability and rewards can help here.
Does everybody in your organization work together sharing tasks and information? Do they trust and look out for one another? Or are there silos and turf wars? If these exist, how is that working for you?
There are ways to determine people’s values and preferred communication styles. How would you benefit from knowing this?
Executive leadership and management are responsible for creating an environment and culture where people are internally motivated. Low scores here can contribute to a culture of motivating only by fear, and not by what is important to the individual. Skills and knowledge on this topic can be learned and applied if low scores here are an issue in your organization. It’s with awareness that you can start making changes.
We see this attribute also impacting the discipline of Communication. Showing how interconnected teamwork and communication are.
Very few things will impact the ability of a team to be high performing more than people who don’t pull their weight. Implementing the discipline of Accountability can help improve this trait and improve teamwork.
What do you offer your team in regard to continuous personal and professional improvement? What more could you offer? You will see the importance in the next slide.
To what degree is personal growth a part of your strategy and rewards system? Should it be more? What is this costing you?
A clearly defined and focused professional development program which ties organizational goals with personal goals can help here.
“ Know it all’s” are not motivated by self-improvement. Are there any in your organization? Do they impact your ability to have a culture of continuous improvement and proactive thinking?
Recognizing areas of improvement organizationally and individually are keys to having a high performing company. Diagnostic tools can help with this.
“ Empty the coins of your purse into your mind and your mind will empty coins back into your purse.” Ben Franklin “ You never have to push a Champion to invest in their mind. They know that if you put better ideas into your brain, better performance will come out.” Tom Hopkins Top performing leaders never stop learning about their profession, human relations, success principles, and how to best serve their customers.
These disciplines are not a “sometimes” or “take a few” proposition. They are an “all the time, all of them” commitment!
Answers to communication and performance problems may be easier to diagnose and to solve than you may think! You just need someone with the right skills and competencies.
My Certifications: Attribute Index, DISC Index, Values Index- Innermetrix Corp (Together these equal the “What”, “Why”, and “How” of Human Performance.) Certified Business Coach- Resource Associates Coaching Academy DIALOG (Organizational Assessment tool) Resource Associates Corp.