Execution is more important than strategy, and here's why: An idea without execution remains just a dream, but in a business school one will learn much more about strategy than execution.
Yes, I was reading another old but still relevant book, "The 4 Disciplines of Execution," by Chris McChesney, Sean Covey, and Jim Huling, which was published in 2012. Organizations put a lot of effort into developing the right strategy because creativity is believed to be hard work and making choices involves big risks. However, we tend to underestimate the importance of execution because we've always managed to get at least something done, and we assume that smart people will figure out what to do by themselves. In reality, execution requires as much, if not more, attention than ideation.
So the book suggests four steps:
1. Focus on the wildly important - set the spotlight on only "the one thing," the first domino piece in the row of many, which must be kicked down first by a specific time.
2. Act on the lead measures - lag measures like past sales tell much less about the future than the number of meetings with potential customers, so focus on 1-2 leads instead of lags.
3. Keep a compelling scoreboard - make the results visible to everybody at any moment.
4. Create a cadence of accountability - people with the same goal meet regularly to oversee individual results, celebrate successes, and, in case of variations, provide actionable ideas for those who are falling behind.
The key is to stay disciplined. 😎
So the book suggests four steps:
1. Focus on the wildly important - set the spotlight on only "the one thing," the first domino piece in the row of many, which must be kicked down first by a specific time.
2. Act on the lead measures - lag measures like past sales tell much less about the future than the number of meetings with potential customers, so focus on 1-2 leads instead of lags.
3. Keep a compelling scoreboard - make the results visible to everybody at any moment.
4. Create a cadence of accountability - people with the same goal meet regularly to oversee individual results, celebrate successes, and, in case of variations, provide actionable ideas for those who are falling behind.
The key is to stay disciplined. 😎