On the Radio

It was a real pleasure to be one of the inaugural guests on Bernie Wolford's new radio show, Accelerator Avenue.  His first guest, Solange Warner is the founder of the World Chamber of Commerce.  And I, for some reason, was the second.  We had a great time and, it seems, put together a pretty good show!  Judge for yourself:  Accelerator Avenue radio.

How NOT to Execute A Strategy

Today is November 3, 2010, the day after a massive repudiation of the last two years.  But a repudiation of what?  The goals?  The plan?  Or the process?

Several of the commentators I've heard suggest the goals were wrong, and that's certainly possible.  Clearly, President Obama's vision was not for everyone.  In fact, I'd suggest that his goals were not aligned with those of everyone who voted against him in November, 2008 including almost everyone who calls him or herself a Republican. 

But what about those who voted for him in 2008?  What happened to the thousands and thousands of Independents who went to the polls in November, 2008 and voted for a new vision, a new approach, a new set of goals?  It's apparent that they didn't like what was happening.  They turned out in mass yesterday to vote another way.  Were they voting, however, for new goals or a new process?

Voting for new goals means they changed their mind.  It means that, once they understood the implications of the original goals, they were no longer in favor of them.  What were the implications?  It would cost too much, take too long, require too much sacrifice, require not enough sacrifice - you name it.  So, one thing that happened was that the electorate went from "Uninformed Optimism" to "Informed Pessimism."  And they "Checked Out"  (please note that the phrases in quotations are borrowed from the writings of Daryl Conner, author of (among other books) "Managing at the Speed of Change."  Daryl is one of my mentors and a true visionary in this field.).

The other option is that they hated the process.  Perhaps that was because the process they were promised was not the process that was followed.  In the months leading up to the election of November, 2008, then-candidate Obama promised bi-partisanship, reaching across the aisles, an attempt to work together.  However, it never happened.  Or, if it did, it wasn't visible to the people.  And so, a normal reaction occurred:  "You lied to us.  You said you would reach across the aisle and you didn't.  I'm mad at you.  I'm voting you out."

It's a bit unpredictable to say what would have happened if the President had made visible and constant efforts towards bipartisanship - there are so many dynamics and variables at play.  But I'd be willing to bet that yesterday's results would have been somewhat, if not significantly, different.

You may disagree.  Here's the trump card:  I think the American people are smart.  They know it took years to get into the mess we're in today, and that it will take years to get out.  So, after only two years, they weren't voting on the success or failure of the programs - they know that there hasn't been time for new programs to make a huge impact.  They were voting on the vitriol, animus, arrogance, and downright hypocrisy that they saw for the last two years.  They didn't like the process.  They let people know it.

And two years from now, if nothing changes, they'll do it again.

Aligning Incentives with Goals: An Historic Perspective

 

Having the right incentives in place, with those incentives fully aligned to goals, is critically important to strategic success. 

I cannot tell you how often I have heard organizations complain about the "chasm" between sales and delivery, that sales sells something that implementation cannot successfully deliver.  In almost every case, we find the problem in minutes.  Getting management to have the will to make the corrections needed is the real challenge.

From NPR's Planet Money series comes one of the best and clearest stories I've ever heard about the immediate and positive impact that comes from having the right incentives in place.  Enjoy!  http://alturl.com/hy7kc

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!)

Priorities and Focus

It has been nearly eight months since my last post.  There is no good excuse.  But, perhaps, there are good reasons.

One of the most important skills in strategy execution is priority setting.  There are never enough time and resources to get everything done one wants.  So one has to focus on those efforts that are critical to success, that must be done.

I have been fortunate that RedZone Consulting has been remarkably busy over the last several months.  And so, the blog got cut.  Not easily and not without significant thought.  But it was cut intentionally.  


It is not that the blog is unimportant.  By no means.  If it was not important, then there would be no blog at all.  None of us have time to waste on unimportant busywork.  


No, it's just that the blog has not been as important as other priorities.  Now, with goals accomplished, there is time to return to the blog.


Will it be as frequent as before?  Who knows?  That all depends on what tomorrow brings.  For the moment, updating this blog is the most important task at hand. 


For successful Strategy Execution, one cannot allow preference to take hold over priority.  Focus on what must be accomplished to reach your goals.  That will guide where you spend your valuable and oh-so-limited time.

The Blind Pilot

You can't always believe your own eyes.  Understand, analyze - and verify:

I was flying from San Francisco to Los Angeles. By the time we took off, there had been a 45-minute delay and everybody on board was ticked.

Unexpectedly, we stopped in Sacramento on the way. The flight attendant explained that there would be another 45-minute delay, and if we wanted to get off the aircraft, we would reboard in 30 minutes.

Everybody got off the plane except one gentleman who was blind. I noticed him as I walked by and could tell he had flown before because his Seeing Eye dog lay quietly underneath the seats in front of him throughout the entire flight. I could also tell he had flown this very flight before because the pilot approached him and, calling him by name, said, “Keith, we’re in Sacramento for almost an hour. Would you like to get off and stretch your legs?” Keith replied, “No thanks, but maybe my dog would like to stretch his legs.”

Picture this, all the people in the gate area came to a completely quiet standstill when they looked up and saw the pilot walk off the plane with the Seeing Eye dog! The pilot was even wearing sunglasses. People scattered. They not only tried to change planes, they also were trying to change airlines!

Scary. Fascinating. Important.

Initial results from the RedZone Successful Strategy Execution survey:  

90% of all companies fail to execute successfully at least some of their important strategic initiatives.  

Even more frightening:

One-half of all companies fail to execute successfully 50% or more of their important strategic initiatives.

Unbelievable.