You have been in a room with your team for 4 days straight! Core values are agreed upon, business purpose has never been clearer, the BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) is HUGE and the revenue goals for the next 5 years are engrained in every ones minds. You all ‘high five’ each other for a great weeks work and then you leave!
Fast forward 18 months. Revenues are flat lining, clients are leaving, employee moral is down and margins are taking a hit due to increased expenses. What happened? All was good at the end of the planning session….wasn’t it?
The issue, as with most strategic plans, is in the execution. There is little or no point to strategic planning if you are going to take your eye off the ball when it comes to executing what has been agreed. So, what should you do? How do you get great execution? Having a good execution systems are critical if you want to reap the rewards of all the hard work you and your team have put in and there seems to be commonality between the great performers and every one else.
4 areas to stay focused on.
1. Focus on the top goals
Great performers establish much higher levels of clarity and commitment among team members about desired outcomes. Distraction can and frequently is, the reason why so many businesses fail to realize their previously agreed to goals. In our turbulent times, you cannot afford to take your eye off the key goal. Organizations fail to execute their key goals when (1) there are too many goals, (2) there are no defined goals, or (3) people get distracted from the goals.
2. Make sure everyone knows the specific job to be done to achieve these goals
Great performers involve team members in defining how these goals will be achieved. Leaders may and should decide what the goal is, but they don’t decide how to achieve it. That’s where the team comes in. Only by allowing the team to figure out HOW the goals will be achieved can you get certainty that they have bought into it. Also, remember that by handing down the goal and letting the team figure out how to achieve it, they will bhy definition learn to do things in a way that they may never have done before.
3. Keep score
Great performance track measures that will lead to achievement of the goals and recognize and reward people for meeting those measures. Leaders recognize that there are 2 kinds of measures – Lag measures and Lead measures. Lag measures are the ones we usually think of since they tell us where we have been or what just happened. They are necessary but you can’t do much about them. They’re history. Lead measures, on the other hand, are predictive and influenceable. They tell you what is likely to happen. You can control them. Accelerating performance means monitoring a few key metrics..looking forward. After all, no one drives by looking in the rear view mirror.
4. Set up regular cycle of follow through
Great performers conduct regular, frequent meetings where team members hold each other accountable for achieving outcomes. Achieving your team goals requires a system for regular follow through. The biggest mistake leaders make is to announce a grand goal and then sit back expecting it to miraculously happen! You need to revisit progress often otherwise team members will begin to feel that you didn’t mean the goal in the first place and go back to what they normally do.
STRATEGIES4SUCCESS 
