Creating a Culture
of Execution
JFK Speech to Congress
“I believe that this nation should commit
itself to achieving the goal, before this decade
is out, of landing a man on the moon and
returning him safely to the earth.”
JFK AT RICE UNIVERSITY
“We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and
do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are
hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our
energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept,
one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win…I realize
that this is, in some measure, an act of faith and vision, for we
do not know what benefits await us. But if I were to say, my fellow
citizens, that we shall send to the moon, 240,000 miles away from the control
station in Houston, a giant rocket more than 300 feet tall, the length of this
football field, made of new metal alloys, some of which have not yet been
invented, capable of standing heat and stresses several times more than have
ever been experienced, fitted together with a precision better than that of the
finest watch, carrying all the equipment needed for propulsion, guidance, control,
communications, food and survival, on an untried mission, to an unknown celestial
body, and then returned it safely to earth, re-entering atmosphere at speeds of
over 25,000 miles per hour, causing heat about half that of the temperature of the
sun and do all this, and do it right, and do it first before this decade is out, then
we must be bold.”
- President John F. Kennedy
“Up is not an easy direction.”
The Challenge: Ability to Execute
“Leadership without the discipline of
execution is incomplete and ineffective.
Without the ability to execute, all other
attributes of leadership become hollow”
— Larry Bossidy Chairman, Honeywell
International
THE POWER OF FOCUS
01–22–3Goals
Achieved
With
Excellence
11–204–102–3Number of
Goals
A leader who says “I’ve got ten
priorities” doesn’t know what he
is talking about. He doesn’t
know himself what the most
important things are. You’ve got
to have these few, clearly
realistic goals and priorities…
Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan, Execution: The Discipline of
Getting Things Done, New York: Crown Business, 2002
Our Partner
WILDLY IMPORTANT
important adj. 1: meaning a great deal; having
significance, value
wildly important adj. 1: of visionary and
strategic import; carrying serious economic
consequence; potential for unbelievable satisfaction
of key stakeholders; causing intense excitement and
enthusiasm
Wildly
Important
Goals =
The BIG WIGS
Why WIGS?
HarrisInteractiveSM
McKinsey & Company
Ram Charan
Synergy
Focus
8 Standards of Execution
Clarity
Commitment
Translation
Discipline
Enabling
Collaboration
Trust
Accountability
Synergy
Focus
1. Do people know what to do?
8 Standards of Execution
Lack of Clarity
Clarity
Commitment
Translation
Discipline
Enabling
Collaboration
Trust
Accountability
Synergy
Focus
8 Standards of Execution
1. Do people know what to do?
2. Do they want to do it?
3. Do they know how to do it?
4. Do they sustain the course?
5. Do they work together?
Clarity 52
Commitment 52
Translation 43
Discipline 65
Enabling 32
Collaboration 49
Trust 59
Accountability 57
Synergy 49
Focus 53
XQ51 (National Averages)
2
xQ Results: Individuals in Typical Organizations
• I clearly understand my organization’s most
important goals
• Can name their organization’s most important goals
• Percent of time spent on organization’s most
important goals
• The goals of my work group are translated into my
individual work goals
• My individual work goals are translated into daily
tasks and/or performance standards
44%
15%
49%
25%
32%
xQ: Teams in Typical Organizations
• My organization’s most important goals are translated
to the goals of my work group
• Individual tasks are reviewed at least monthly with
my manager
• We work in an atmosphere of trust where people can
express differences of opinion freely
• We hold each other accountable for doing what we
commit to do
27%
12%
56%
46%
xQ: Typical Organizations
• My organization has decided what its most
important goals are
• My organization has clearly communicated its
most important goals
• People get recognized and rewarded for doing
things that support key goals
• My organization consistently achieves its most
important goals
52%
43%
33%
21%
Four Disciplines of Execution
• Focus on the “wildly important” not the merely
important.
• Build measures that motivate.
• Translate 30,000 foot goals into new front line
behaviors.
• Win as a team.
My manager . . . Ranking
Is a hard worker 1
Prioritizes work so our time is spent on the most
important issues
74
Sets clear expectations when assigning tasks 75
Plans ahead to reduce having to work in a crisis
mode
76
Provides feedback on our group’s performance 77
MANAGERS WORK HARD BUT FAIL TO PROVIDE
FOCUS AND DIRECTION
More than million workers were asked to rank their managers on a scale of 77 pre-determined characteristics in
this FranklinCovey Profile study. (Source: FranklinCovey Profile Center Aggregate Report, 2002)
Where it began…
Work Compass—Execution Tool
Four Disciplines of Execution
#1: Focus on the Wildly Important
“After five years of research,
I’m absolutely convinced that if
we just focus our attention on
the right things—and stop doing the
senseless things that consume so much
time and energy—we can create a
powerful Flywheel Effect.”
Jim Collins
Good to Great
Execution Discipline #1: Focus on
the Wildly Important
• Identify 2 or 3 “MUST DO” goals
• State them so that they are self-orienting
and galvanizing
• Gain line-of-sight understanding and
commitment all the way to front-line
• Align resources, recognition, and incentives
to reinforce commitment
Four Disciplines of Execution
#2: Build Measures that Motivate
#2: Build Measures that Motivate
Once you reach a certain level, everyone is good, and everyone trains
hard. The difference is who is more meticulous, willing to find the
smallest increments of time, and as you get older and more
experienced, the percentage gains grow smaller and smaller. You have
to become a slave to data, to performance indicators like pedal
cadence, and power output measured in watts. You have to measure
literally every heartbeat, and every morsel you eat, down to each
spoonful of cereal. If you weigh too little, you won’t have the physical
resources to generate enough speed. If you weigh too much, your
body is a burden. It is a matter of power to weight. Who knows when
you might find a winning margin in a wind tunnel in December, during
equipment testing? You might find another fraction of time in your
position on the bike, or in a helmet, or in the composition of a
wheel…because the smallest thing, like moving your hands on the
handlebars, could make you three seconds slower over 25 miles.”
-Lance Armstrong-
Four Disciplines of Execution
#3: Translate 30,000 foot goals into new and
better front-line behaviors
#3: Translate Goals into New and
Better Activities and Behaviors
• The goals of my work group are translated
into my individual work goals:
25%
• My individual work goals are translated into
daily tasks and/or performance standards:
32%
Translating Goals into New and
Better Behaviors
“The best thing about not planning is that
failure comes as a complete surprise, not
preceded by a period of worry and
depression.”
-Author unknown
TRANSLATE GOALS INTO ACTION—Activities & Tasks
Set up WOW
display
Purchase
product
Set up WOW
display
Purchase
product
Run an ad
Run an ad
Four Disciplines of Execution
#4: Win Together
#4: Win Together
• We hold each other accountable for doing what we
commit to do:
46%
• Individual tasks are reviewed at least monthly
with my manager:
12%
• We work in an atmosphere of trust where people
can express differences of opinion freely
46%
Four Disciplines of Execution
• Focus on the “wildly important” not the merely
important.
• Build measures that motivate.
• Translate 30,000 foot goals into new front line
behaviors.
• Win as a team.
JFK Speech To Congress
“I believe we possess all the resources and talents necessary.
But the facts of the matter are that we have never made the
national decisions or marshaled the national resources
required for such leadership. We have never specified long
-range goals on an urgent time schedule, or managed our
resources and our time as to insure their fulfillment.”
JFK Speech to Congress
“This decision demands a major national commitment of
scientific and technical manpower, material and facilities, and
the possibility of their diversion from other important activities
where they are already thinly spread. It means a degree of
dedication, organization, and discipline which have not always
characterized our research and development efforts.”
