In my book 4 Secrets of High Performing Organizations, I point out that all successful organizations and the people who lead them have four things in common.
- Successful organizations and the people who lead them have identified and clearly communicated a clarity of purpose and direction.
- Successful organizations and the people who lead them have the sincere commitment of every organizational member.
- Successful organizations and the people who lead them skillfully execute the things that are critical to their success.
- Successful organizations and the people who lead them build mutually beneficial relationships with important outside constituencies.
This week, I will highlight the important points of each of the four secrets and then provides some words of wisdom from some well known (and some not so well known) thinkers that relate to each of them. Today, I’ll focus on execution.
Execution
Execution is where the rubber meets the road. An outstanding mission, vision and business plan and the most committed people in the world, still must do what it takes to turn an organization’s vision into reality. They start with well defined metrics that are linked to their strategic and annual business plans. They use these metrics to manage their business and measure progress towards their goals. They use both quantitative and qualitative measures to determine their performance versus metrics. They revise their plans based on the information they glean from regular reviews of their performance versus metrics.
They have an organizational structure that facilitates collaborative decision making and problem solving. They have robust, in control business processes. They make use of process improvement technologies, tools and techniques to ensure that these processes remain robust and in control. They make full use of available information technology to gather and analyze data that assist them in managing the business. Finally, successful organizations are skillful at anticipating, adapting to and managing change. They are proactive. They do the things that will help them achieve their goals.
Now, for a look at what some of the experts say about execution.
"Do, or do not. There is no 'try'." - Yoda
"Once I ran across the following statement: "In golf and in life, it's the follow-through that makes the difference." It's not only a true statement in golf, however, it really is true in real-life situations. Whether or not we follow through on our ideas, our goals, or our intentions is what really makes the difference. If we don't follow through on our ideas, they become only wishes, and wishes by themselves don't do anything." -Don Essig
"If you can't sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there and worrying. It's the worry that gets you, not the loss of sleep." Dale Carnegie
"Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand -- and melting like a snowflake." - Marie Beyon Ray
"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored." - Aldous Huxley
"It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness." -Chinese Proverb
"It is easy to sit up and take notice. What is difficult is getting up and taking action." -Al Batt
"Commit to CANI! -- Constant And Never-ending Improvement " - Anthony Robbins
"It's always too early to quit." -Norman Vincent Peale
"Disciplining yourself to do what you know is right and importance, although difficult, is the highroad to pride, self-esteem, and personal satisfaction." - Brian Tracy
"Executives owe it to the organization and to their fellow workers not to tolerate nonperforming individuals in important jobs." -- Peter Drucker
"Good management consists in showing average people how to do the work of superior people." -- John D. Rockefeller
"Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
"You're alive. Do something. The directive in life, the moral imperative was so uncomplicated. It could be expressed in single words, not complete sentences. It sounded like this: Look. Listen. Choose. Act." -- Barbara Hall.
"Few things are impossible to diligence and skill ... Great works are performed, not by strength, but perseverance." - Samuel Johnson
"Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there." -Will Rogers
"What happens is not as important as how you react to what happens." - Thaddeus Golas
"The 'how' thinker gets problems solved effectively because he wastes no time with futile 'ifs.'" - Norman Vincent Peale
“A competent leader can get efficient service from poor troops, while on the contrary an incapable leader can demoralize the best of troops.” - General John J. Pershing
"One of the tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency." -Arnold Glasgow
"The man who waits for roast duck to fly into his mouth must wait a very, very long time." -Chinese Proverb
"In the modern world of business, it is useless to be a creative original thinker unless you can also sell what you create. Management cannot be expected to recognize a good idea unless it is presented to them by a good salesman." - David M. Ogilvy
“Suck it up, be a man. Do the best you can.” John Mellencamp
"Castles in the sand slip into the sea, eventually" – Jimi Hendrix
"The expectations of life depend upon diligence; the mechanic that would perfect his work must first sharpen his tools." - Confucius
"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." -Theodore Roosevelt
“I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.” - Russell C. Taylor
"Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do." -Johann von Goethe
That’s it for today. Thanks for reading. Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense. Check out my other blog: www.SuccessCommonSense.com for common sense advice on becoming the career and life success you are meant to be and to get a copy of my new ebook Star Power: Common Sense Ideas for Career and Life Success.
I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.
Bud
PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open. Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.
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