Execution: More Than “Just Do It”
A few weeks ago I moderated a breakfast panel on telecom convergence, attended an afternoon conference on disruptive technologies, went to an evening forum on nanotech, and participated in a days worth of sessions on building market leading technology companies, all in the space of about 72 hours. It was intellectually exhilarating.
But despite all the topical discussion, what executives worry about most at these kinds of sessions isn’t their ability to innovate new business ideas and technologies or build great teams or pick the right markets, etc., although all of these issues concern them a great deal.
What matters most to CEOs is execution
What matters most to the CEOs I talk to at young private and public technology companies these days is execution. Despite their authority as the top officer, they feel they have the least control over their company’s execution. Despite the individual track records of their management team, they know that as a company, they have a limited history of successful execution. And despite the great strategies, technologies, markets, and people they can access or develop, they realize their company’s value is most at risk to its ability to execute.
Execution is often made out to be a tactical, blocking and tackling undertaking. Nike reduced it to a three word slogan — just do it. But behind the championship athletes that promoted that slogan and the high value companies for which great execution is a value creating advantage, there stands three more meaningful words — Commitment, Clarity, and Capability.
Do you have the three C’s at your company? We’ve provided a simple self-diagnostic that you can click to take now or at the end of this article to rate your own company’s execution along these dimensions.
Here is a brief description of the three Cs and how to build them.
Clarity — When my wife is trying to get something across to one of our darling and gifted children, who also come packaged with short attention spans, she annunciates a succinct, kid comprehensible message and then wraps it up with “do I make myself clear?” The spirit (if not always the tone) of this question embodies much of why clarity is a key part of successful execution.
Each person in the company must get a focused and measurable set of goals, describing both what they individually must accomplish and what the company collectively must achieve during execution. They also need to see how their individual execution goals tie with others’ goals and how they all contribute directly to the company wide goals.
To execute with clarity, each person must have a good understanding of whatever domain they are expected to execute in, be it customer, technology, operations, management, etc. Ongoing informal communication and analyzed, shared learning must also flow easily during execution. And finally, external and internal direct feedback must be received quickly and in a measurable way.
Capability — While you should always try to staff your companies with born leaders and the most talented freaks of business nature, you have to be ready to make and nurture your execution capability.
Hire people who have good experience doing the kind of things you want them to do and provide the training to execute specifically what you need done. Have the infrastructure and process support mechanisms in place that will allow your people to best leverage their professional talents. And help them with mentors and coaches to enable them to constantly improve their execution abilities.
How do you build the three C’s into your company to help you achieve execution excellence and turn that into a strategic and value creating weapon? There are specific tactics we use with clients for each of the areas I’ve italicized. It takes a combination of ongoing and intervention-based approaches and they must link neatly to your company’s business strategy and its specific organizational, operational, financing, and management efforts.
Great execution takes much more than “just do it.” With commitment, clarity, and capability built into your execution, you’ll be able to do great things.
Rate your own company’s execution skill along the Commitment, Clarity and Capability dimensions.
