Quotes, Definitions, and Getting Things Done
I like quotes. They are snippets of wisdom that make you think about new ideas, or about the same old ones with a fresh set of eyes. In the morning, I often read a couple of quotes from different authors, thinkers, & entrepreneurs to start the day with a new perspective.
So, I want to start today with one of my favorite quotes about execution:
“In real life,” says Jack Welch, “strategy is actually very straightforward. You pick a general direction and implement it like hell.” All of his books are highly recommended.
It’s a shorthand for saying, don’t just strategize and plan; it won’t matter unless it’s actually carried out in the real world! Planning is important, but the most brilliant plans are absolutely useless without execution. And since time and energy at our disposal are limited, it makes sense to make a simple (but well-defined) plan, and focus the rest of our resources on implementing it.
I also like definitions. I have a feeling that a lot of arguments could be avoided if we took the time to say precisely what we mean. So here, I want to advocate for a definition by the Oxford English Dictionary:
Execute- To carry out, perform (an action, operation, movement, etc. that has been planned or prescribed, or that requires skill or care).
I love this definition, because it’s short and clear. And even if something isn’t planned, if it requires skill or care, performing it counts as execution.
It’s obvious what execution means when I am one of the team members. I contribute by performing the tasks assigned. But what does it mean to execute when I am a manager? I ‘get’ things done. We often hear that phrase, “Just get it done!” Or sometimes complimenting, “She knows how to get things done!”
But what to do to ‘get’ things done? For once, let’s define it!
Make the Purpose Clear to Your Team Members
It sounds like a waste of time to answer the question ‘why’. If I ask my team to do something, it’s their job to do it, right? Nothing could be further from the truth.
By understanding why a task needs to be performed, my team will work with a purpose. Making the purpose clear not only gives meaning to work, it makes the job more enjoyable. It also allows the team to work intelligently. If they understand the purpose, they can suggest alternatives, or have a long-term perspective.
Let’s take a classic example: if any competent salesperson is not able to reach their target, it’s often because their sourcing pie isn’t large enough. Mahesh, a fictional salesperson, converts 80% of his leads into orders, but he has only four to five solid leads coming from cold-calling. So, he ends up making only three sales per month. Mahesh’s manager asks him to spend more time on cultivating other sources: new relationships. So, next month, Mahesh still gets four to five leads, but his conversion is only 50%. Mahesh is angry at his manager, because now his sales have dropped even further and he loses his monthly bonus. Mahesh quits the job.
If Mahesh’s manager had explained the purpose behind his decision, this could have been avoided. After two months of cultivating new sources for leads, Mahesh would have fifteen to twenty leads coming in, and all he would have to do is convert 40% of them to meet his target. Mahesh was not given this logic because his manager thought he didn’t need to know the purpose. So, a good team member was lost.
In the long term, I would certainly regret it if I thought my mind alone was better than ten minds put together who actually understand the purpose.
Set a Stretched Goal, and Divide It into Small Pieces
To carry out the plan, set a stretched target. Even by observing my own task list, I can easily see that if I set a goal of completing twenty tasks, I end up doing only fifteen. So, I set a goal of thirty, discounting ahead. But since that can be overwhelming, I say to myself: I will just do one task a day. That makes it digestible, and I end up doing twenty even if I miss on ten days.
The same thing applies to execution through my team. Set a stretched goal, and divide it into smaller pieces to focus on it.
Train Your Team Members
I am not talking about the mandatory training sessions that are done as a formality. They are important, but not sufficient. I am talking about the manager giving hands-on training, by showing their team how to do tasks. If you don’t tell your team how to do something, and just bark orders and demand results, they will not be able to execute their tasks. But even worse, they will leave your team, eventually. This is a sure-fire way of getting into the never-ending cycle of low performance- high attrition. So, I would urge you to take the time to explain how to do the tasks you assign.
Spending those two hours on everyone will probably save you six months down the line.
Delegate Effectively
I wrote a whole article about it. But it overlaps here. To put it simply, Execution at the managerial level means delegating, and then making sure that it is actually done. Just telling the concerned executive to do it does not mean my job is done. If only it were that easy! If I simply pass on the message that something needs to be done, it does not make me a manager; it makes me a messenger.
I have to review it frequently enough- at least once a week for long projects. I have to guide the person who is actually doing it, and I have to get it over the finish line through all the obstacles. So, when my boss asks about it, I don’t end up saying, “I had sent an email…” or “I’m sure it must have been done, let me check.”
Hit the Ground Running
If you want to travel, don’t wait for the car to be built. Start walking. You get a bicycle along the way. And the bicycle can be upgraded to a car, if needed. Eventually, you might discover that you didn’t need a car, you actually needed a speedboat. So, you can make the upgrades as and when required. Don’t waste time and energy on planning big projects without testing them out. And the best way to test them is from the beginning, while executing the plan on a small scale.
So, these are some of the key points, according to me. But there are many more things connected to execution. I often find that in a business, all things are inter-linked with each other. And if some things are done right, a lot of the other things fall into place as well. Right execution needs many other things to go right: hiring, strategy, prioritization, time management, etc. And getting it all right can be challenging. But the challenge makes it exciting, doesn’t it? And the good news is that all these other things will get a lot easier with the right approach to execution.
Enough theory, let’s implement!
