of their own and will be able to learn and create by themselves, without human supervision…
Around 2045, a single personal computer will be a billion times more intelligent than every human brains [sic] combined. (Hay 2014)
Whew! How tempting it is amid a world changing at warp speed to abandon solid business fundamentals and seek what's faster, sexier, more exciting, and extraordinary to get ahead in uncommonly complex times, but as It's Not Rocket Science will demonstrate, getting caught up in the “change faster just because everything else is” nonsense is completely foolish. The greatest successes in business annals have always been built on a foundation of doing ordinary things extraordinarily well, not extraordinarily complex things – not rocket science.
It's Not Rocket Science is an irreverent and contrarian thumb in the eye to the gurus, consultants, and so-called experts who promote the idea that business must revolutionize or reinvent itself continually to survive. It is a commonsense call for organizations to forgo today's enamoring with fairy-tale business enlightenment and to return to sustainable business success fundamentals that have proved themselves true over the centuries.
It's Not Rocket Science asserts that we have already heard, have been taught, and know full well the answers for sustainable personal and organizational growth; however, we've abandoned them and chased various versions of New Age business palaver because they deceptively appear more contemporary, and less Prussian; more relevant, and less old-school; more fashionable, and less mundane. This book will present a compelling, no-nonsense blueprint for returning business cultures and strategies to a foundation built on rock-solid fundamentals, not shifting sands. Most important, it outlines four simple steps for mastering the art of execution – for converting your loftiest visions and strategies into results:
1. Get the Process Right!
2. Get the Leaders Right!
3. Get the Culture Right!
4. Get the Team Right!
Although the strategies are basic and simple, they require immense work. This book is your guide to getting it done with excellence.
PART ONE
GET THE PROCESS RIGHT!
Sadly, most leaders do not have a step-by-step process for executing (a specific mechanism to help them convert corporate vision and strategy into results). It is that key ingredient – that missing something – that they intuitively know is lacking but are not exactly sure how to articulate or fix.
Strategy one, “Get the Process Right!,” is the glue that will bind the three subsequent strategies for mastering the art of execution (MAX) together. Technically speaking, “Get the Process Right!” should be the strategy that follows the other three: “Get the Leader Right!,” “Get the Culture Right!,” and “Get the Team Right!” However, because I will be referring to the execution terminology related to MAX extensively throughout the book, it is important to present it first so that you have a clear understanding of how it works before moving forward.
As a matter of priority, there is no doubt that without getting the leader, culture, and team right first, any process is likely to devolve into chaos. However, when the right leader, culture, and team are in place, the stage is then set for an execution process like MAX to lift an organization from good to great or from great to greater.
If a step-by-step, highly effective execution process sounds like what you have been lacking, then you have just found what you've been looking for – dear reader, meet MAX.
CHAPTER 1
WHY YOUR TEAM CANNOT EXECUTE AND HOW TO FIX IT
Leaders have a tendency to spend immense amounts of time creating goals and strategies. Many mark the start of a new year with a fresh vision to unite and excite their organization. All too often, however, their results miss the mark as the months wear on and the latest campaign fizzles into the most recent failed flavor of the month, so to speak. Why does this seem to plague many leaders? At the end of the day, conceptualizing vision and strategy is easy compared with the execution prowess necessary to convert them into results. In reality, the last thing most organizations need is another goal they will miss because their people cannot execute, oftentimes simply because they were never taught how. Ask a leader to outline his or her step-by-step execution process, and you will likely receive a blank look or hear general palaver like: “We hold meetings, prioritize strategies, and follow up.” Rarely, though, will he or she have a series of sequential actions that comprise an execution blueprint. Leaders do the best they can but still fall short of where they could be, and often should be.
Master the art of execution (MAX) is that step-by-step execution process for more effectively converting your vision and strategy into results. The five steps will be covered in depth over the next several sections. Although the following description of the five steps will not mean much to you yet, be encouraged by their simplicity:
Step 1: Get TUF!
Step 2: MAX it!
Step 3: MAP it!
Step 4: RAM it!
Step 5: Prune it!
MAX is more than a process; it is a skill set that will make you more valuable as a teammate. It is a structure you can take into almost any endeavor, department, or industry and immediately begin to improve results. Similarly, you can use it to achieve personal goals as well. In many respects, MAX is nothing new. Weight loss companies have used similar principles to help their clients achieve results, and many consultants across the continents have taught different versions of these principles for decades. You will notice, however, that MAX is unique in using these five particular principles in the sequential manner in which I present them throughout this section. The MAX system also stands out in that what I present is essentially easy to apply and nonacademic.
The need for my company, LearnToLead, to spend more time teaching execution principles evolved after years of observing what differentiated our elite clients from those who worked hard and had great intentions but repeatedly fell short of their potential. This need became particularly clear as I taught my most popular workshop, the Strategy Summit.
Now in its second decade, my annual three-day Strategy Summit is consistently ranked as our most helpful workshop offering of the year. I traditionally teach this course in the fourth quarter to help clients prepare for the upcoming year. The format is simple:
• The first day covers how to create a compelling vision that unites and inspires the team for the upcoming year.
• Day two covers strategies to reach that vision. I present dozens of sample strategies and teach the implementation principles to ensure they succeed.
• On the final day I teach tactical execution (how to convert the strategies into results).
Because a significant number of attendees return each year with their leadership teams to once again plan the upcoming year, they are comfortable sharing with each other their biggest challenge with the process. Those enterprises that are most frustrated with the past year's results consistently sound the following chorus: “We started the year with a vision people were excited about, and the strategy was sound. We knew what we needed to do; we simply didn't do a good enough or consistent enough job of getting it done. In a nutshell, we did a poor job of executing.” If you have ever said something similar, cheer up. You are well on your way to solving your execution woes once and for all.
• Resolve up front to close the gap between knowing and doing. You may know many of the principles in this section but still end up missing the mark because you do not do them consistently, if at all.
• Embrace consistency. Even if you are executing some of the disciplines in this book, you may not be doing them consistently enough to maximize your results. By the time you finish the final chapter of this book, every day means every day (EDMED) will become a valuable addition to your vocabulary and culture.
• Involve