Taking A Sharp Curve

You see it all the time. Companies that are great at running their business suddenly have something big go wrong.  The examples are endless:  System implementation failures, new product introductions gone wrong, an acquisition integration botched, an expansion plan scuttled.  But why? 

Consider….

Companies spend most of their time racing down a straight line. They hire managers that are excellent at keeping things going in the right direction, making adjustments along the way.  They’ll even pick up speed, keeping their eye on the ball, working hard at accomplishing their goals. They’re good at it. 

But every so often, a company has to take a curve.  Sometimes by choice, more often pushed by conditions outside its control.  Not a little curve or a slight change, but a major-league, ninety-degree plus curve.   And that’s the problem.

Most companies are really bad at the sharp curves.  They don’t happen often.  They haven’t been built for them.  The management team isn’t skilled at navigating them.   So they struggle.  Eventually most get through the curve, but it takes much longer and costs a lot more than planned.  Sometimes they fail completely. 

Helping companies take the sharp curves.

Successful Strategy Execution uses a structured and disciplined process, strong sponsorship, a thorough understanding of execution risks, and a tool kit of tactics to mitigate those risks.  The right Strategy Execution approach enables companies to realize the goals of their most important initiatives on time and within budget.  

Use a specialist.  It’s all we do.  What looks like a sharp curve to you is our straightaway.  We’ll get you through it fast and efficiently and then leave you to do what you’re really good at – running the company, fast and strong, down a straight line. 

Rarely A Straight Line

One of the hottest groups in music today is Sugarland.  Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush have hit it big.  

But, success did not come easily.  Both of these great musicians, individually, have fought hard for what they have achieved.

Kristian and Jennifer have trained as musicians.  They have been in different bands, playing different genres of music. Even when they started Sugarland, it was as a trio.  Although their first album was a runaway hit, the trio had challenges and, next thing you knew, Sugarland was a duo.  The industry wondered - What next?  Was this the end of the road for Sugarland?

But over the years Kristian and Jennifer, both individually and together, kept focused on their goals.  They adjusted, changed tactics.  To start Sugarland, they moved into country music. No, country music was not where they started.  My guess (and it's only a guess) is that it wasn't necessarily where they wanted to be.  But they had clearly defined their goals, recognized a path to achieving them and, with focus, clarity, and flexibility, went after them.

And today, Sugarland is (to borrow from the title of their upcoming album) an incredible machine.  Five #1 singles.  Country Music Association Vocal Duo of the Year for the last three years.  CMT awards, ACM awards.  A Grammy.  Now, they are headliners, filling venues across the country.  All in their first 5 years of existence. 

I am sure, if you had asked Kristian or Jennifer ten years ago how they were going to become stars, you would have heard a path - and it would not have been what actually happened.  But these two musicians didn't hold tight to a tactic, insisting that was the only way for them to succeed.  No, they stayed fixed on a target, focused on a goal, kept their eyes on it - and willingly changed tactics along the way, to keep aligned with reaching their goals.  As a result, Sugarland is one of the biggest - and best - acts in music today.  As for Kristian and Jennifer, you'd have to ask them, but I'm willing to bet that they are each very close to reaching their true goals.

(Check out their newest video:  Stuck Like Glue!)

True Goals

I spend a lot of time talking to people about "reaching (their) true goals" - but what does that mean?  

There are 4 components to reaching true goals:

1) Accomplish the objective.  Do what you want to do.  Get it done.  Succeed.  Reach the finish line.  Anyway you want to define it, it's all about figuring out what you want to do and doing it...

Umm - hey, Gregg.  You said there were 4 parts to "reaching true goals."  But number 1 seems to sum it up pretty well.  What are the other pieces? 

Easy:

2) On time.

3) Within budget.

4) And with the right level of quality.

It's a constant struggle.  True goals, done right, is defined in the context of all four quadrants:  What you want to accomplish, by when, at what cost, and with what level of quality.

Accomplishing any subset of those - by my definition - means you haven't reached your true goals.

Let me belabor the point for a minute to, well, make a point:

• I got what I wanted, but later than I needed.  True goals?  No.
• I didn't quite get what I wanted.  TG? No.
• Got it - but it cost more than planned.  Nope.
• Well, I got it, on time, within budget - but it wasn't as good as it should have been.  Strike 4.

Too many organizations take the easy way out.  They don't fully identify what they're trying to accomplish up front, defined by all 4 attributes of the Challenge.  That way, it's easy to claim that you've succeeded... even when you really haven't.

The best result?  Know exactly what your True Goals are before you start - defined as reaching the desired result, on time, within budget, and with the right level of quality - and then go get them.