EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS
“Typically, businesses achieve 60% of their strategic intent due to flaws in planning and execution.”
This quote is from a Harvard Business Review article after extensive research. From my experience, it’s pretty accurate. This means that if a leadership team crafts 5 strategic initiatives intended to drive growth, they only get 3 of them over the goal line. Or worse, they execute at 60% for all 5.
High growth companies not only intend to achieve the growth plan, but to exceed it
Leadership teams of high performing enterprises have figured out that achieving an ambitious revenue goal takes more than setting the goal and then encouraging everyone to work hard. There are fundamental elements behind the plan that must become part of an execution framework. Simply working harder and relying on heroic effort are not the ingredients for long term success.
THE BIATHLETE
I love to watch the Olympic Biathlon. Competitors ski the equivalent of a marathon and periodically stop to shoot at a target the size of a silver dollar while their heart is racing at 180 bpm. Think about what is required to have success. The biathlete must be in superb condition and have the skills to ski and shoot. They must learn to control their breathing and literally pull the trigger between heart beats. The rifle must be sighted accurately and be highly reliable in all conditions, including sub-zero temperatures. The shooter must factor in wind conditions.
It is no different in business. Yet, all too often, targets are set with little attention to the variables that will determine success. The variables include who (the biathlete), resources (rifle) and organizational distractions/clutter (the wind).
It's a fact that most companies struggle with execution. The HBR article bears that out. If leadership teams intend to hit the target or overachieve, it requires serious examination of all the variables required to execute. Ask your self these questions once you have a growth strategy developed:
- Do we have the right talent focused on these growth initiatives?
- What is the plan to recruit and/or upgrade?
- What resources and cross functional support will be required to win?
- Do we have near term milestones that will keep us on track?
- What can get in the way organizationally? Is there too much “clutter" or bureaucracy?
A FINAL WORD
An honest evaluation of these variables will lead you to what you might call your execution framework. When you plan and set targets for the business, don’t stop there. Address the variables of talent, resources, milestones and distractions. In doing so, you will be giving yourself the fighting chance to overachieve.