You Don’t Need a Better Plan—You Need to Execute the One You Have

A few weeks ago, I met with a group of operations executives who were struggling to meet their targets. Their numbers were sliding, customer service was suffering, and financial performance was declining.

When I asked what they believed was holding them back, they answered without hesitation: “We need a better plan.”

I almost laughed. Not out of disrespect, but because I’ve heard this excuse a hundred times before. And that’s exactly what it is—an excuse.

One executive leaned forward: “We have dashboards all over the place. We track everything: OEE, yield, downtime, labor efficiency—you name it.”

Another added: “We hold a morning stand-up every single day. We go through the metrics, discuss the issues, and assign action items. And then we have follow-up meetings throughout the day.”

I nodded. “And?”

He sighed. “And nothing’s changing.”

Another chimed in: “That’s why we need a better plan. Maybe we’re focusing on the wrong things. Maybe our KPIs aren’t right. Maybe our strategy isn’t aligned with what’s actually happening on the floor.” And then he adds my favorite part, "we need LEADING indicators."

Wrong. That’s not your problem.

So I asked a simple question: “What’s stopping you from executing the plan you already have?”

Silence.

Because deep down, they knew. They weren’t lacking a strategy; they were lacking the leadership to enforce execution rigor.

• They had dashboards full of data, but no real action.
• They held meetings, but those meetings weren’t driving execution, they were just talking about execution.
• They tracked issues, but they weren’t eliminating them.
• They assigned action items, but no one followed up to ensure things actually got done.

I told them bluntly: “Your problem isn’t that you don’t have a plan. Your problem is that you’re not executing the plan you already have.”

The room got real quiet, real fast.

The Illusion of the ‘Better Plan’

Most leaders think their biggest challenge is strategy. It’s not. It’s execution.

Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan expose this myth in Execution: “Many leaders think of execution as the tactical side of business, something they delegate while they focus on the ‘big picture.’ But real leaders know that execution is the big picture.”

The executives I met were drowning in dashboards, meetings, and analysis but weren’t moving the needle where it mattered. Planning felt productive, but it was nothing more than a well-dressed excuse for inaction. As Chris McChesney warns in The 4 Disciplines of Execution, most organizations are trapped in the ‘whirlwind’, where daily operations consume all attention, leaving no time for real execution.

Let me be brutally honest; your meetings, dashboards, and planning sessions are worthless if they aren’t driving relentless execution.

The Real Problem: Lack of Leadership & Execution Discipline

Execution doesn’t fail because of market conditions, supply chain challenges, or labor shortages. Execution fails because leadership tolerates weak accountability.

Jocko Willink puts it simply in Extreme Ownership: “There are no bad teams, only bad leaders.” When leadership fails to demand execution rigor, excuses thrive, and nothing gets done.

If your team is missing targets, it’s not the economy. It’s not the labor shortage. It’s YOU.

5 signs that execution and not strategy is your real problem:

1. Decisions keep getting delayed because "we need more data."
2. Leaders are constantly re-explaining the strategy, but nothing changes.
3. Problems that were discussed last quarter are still being discussed today.
4. Meetings produce action items, but no one follows up to ensure they’re completed.
5. Performance is inconsistent because accountability is weak.

4 Ways To Fix:

1. Make execution a non-negotiable priority, not an afterthought.
2. Hold leaders accountable, not just for planning but for delivering results.
3. Measure success by what gets done, not by how well you track things.
4. Treat execution failures as unacceptable, just like you would a bad strategy.

Breaking the Cycle: Moving from Planning to Execution Mastery

Ben Horowitz makes it clear in The Hard Thing About Hard Things: “The hard thing isn’t setting a big vision—the hard thing is executing when things go wrong, when people resist, and when leadership decisions get tough.”

Execution is brutal. It’s messy. It’s unforgiving. It requires pushing people beyond their comfort zones, and most leaders won’t do it because they’re afraid of friction.

The difference between companies that execute and those that don’t isn’t their plan, it’s their ability to make hard calls, enforce accountability, and push execution forward even when things get tough.

As Execution warns, “Leaders must run the business, not just think about the business.” That means setting non-negotiable execution standards, measuring action, not just tracking data, and eliminating the culture of excuses.

Chris McChesney reinforces this point: “The whirlwind will consume you unless you have the discipline to execute.” Most leaders think they are prioritizing execution, but in reality, they are reacting to daily fires instead of driving meaningful progress.

Execution is the Real Strategy

Bossidy & Charan say it best: “Execution is the missing link between aspirations and results.”

You don’t need a better plan. You need a backbone. You need discipline. You need execution.

So the real question is: Are you executing or are you just talking about execution?

Most executives assume they have strong execution discipline, but when they truly assess their leadership and accountability structures, they find major gaps. If you want to know where your organization stands, let's talk.

I have developed an Execution Discipline Self-Assessment to help you uncover whether your company is truly executing or just planning to execute. Let's hop on a quick discovery call and I will walk you through it, and then share it so you can do it yourself.