1. There’s lots of discussion on what needs to be done, but very little clear, detailed communication on how to do it.
2. The common (and mistaken) belief of those at the top of an organization that it is the responsibility of the managers, the bosses, to come up with the plan and the strategies and then hand over those plans, strategies, ideas, to the “common folk” down below whose responsibility it is to implement them. (I have on more than one occasion heard it said from the corner office, “I don’t do grunt work.”)
3. There’s lack of training, so those who are “to execute” aren’t sure what is expected of them or don’t know specifically how to do it.
4. There’s lack of realization that the planning process and the execution process are not independent of each other. They are connected from start to end.
5. There’s lack of patience. Execution takes a long time, much longer than planning. It is a step-by-step process that must be organized and measured on an on-going basis. It’s not a one-shot deal.
6. There’s too little understanding that engaging, energizing, and rewarding staff is a vital and constant component of execution.
7. Too many fail to take advantage of all the internal and external resources available for the duration of the execution process.
8. Many fail to realize the role technology plays in today’s marketplace. They don’t utilize IT effectively.

-- Introduction, page XVI

THE EMERGENT WORKER
Analysis of the study provides a clear picture of this group of workers whose attitudes and expectations differ from their traditional co-workers. They feel more in control of their careers and want job rewards based on performance. They are more concerned with opportunities for learning and growth. For them, loyalty is defined by the value of their contribution to the organization rather than the length of the time they’ve worked for a company. According to the study they cross all boundaries including age, demographics, education, industry, the size of company in which they work, as well as their position in the organization.

-- Chapter 4 – page 24

SIDE QUOTE
“We need to constantly bring ideas to one another. We don’t
have any other choice. The world doesn’t make exceptions for
small companies.”

-- Chapter 5 – page 38

A recent 12-month study by HR research and consulting firm ISR, of more than 664,000 employees from 72 companies analyzed three traditional financial performance measures. Included were net income growth, operating income, and earnings per share growth (EPS).

• Companies with high employee engagement had a 13.2% improvement in net income growth, while those with low employee engagement had a 3.8% decline during the duration of the study.
• The differential between high-engagement companies and low-engagement companies showed a 52% performance gap. The high-engagement companies improved 19.2% while low engagement companies declined 32.7% during the 12-month period.

High-engagement companies had a 27.8% improvement in EPS, while low-engagement companies experienced an 11.2% decline in EPS over the same period.

-- Chapter 6 – page 47

MARKETPLACE LESSONS I’VE LEARNED ALONG THE WAY

What I now know:
The ever-evolving marketplace is a tough no-nonsense teacher—with real life lessons on execution—whether we are ready to learn—or not.

MARKETPLACE LESSON: Find the Right People
My son-in-law was recently wooed to a new job—and with it came the responsibility of revamping his department. He was to let the old guard go. Hire new blood.

He’s a young guy, and he wanted to get his department into shape as quickly as possible. However, he is also a smart guy—he wanted to make the most effective long-term changes—to hire well.

He realized he needed to do more than just fire the old people and get new people. By getting the right people in the right place he would be able to successfully execute his vision and his strategy. He made the changes slowly and thoughtfully.
 
Lesson Learned:
“Your most important asset as a leader is not just ‘any people’—it’s the ‘right people.’ “         
—S.G.

-- Chapter 7 – page 56

MEASURE WHAT MATTERS

Take this four-step approachto ensure that you measure what really matters, not just what your current information system happens to track regularly.

1. Identify the metrics that are critical for your business
Every business has key drivers for success. These drivers must be understood, measurements must be developed to assess them and attention must be focused on them.

SAS Institute, a major producer of software, recognizes that employee recruitment and retention are their key measures of performance. With this in mind, James Goodnight, CEO strives to hire and retain the best people. SAS then creates systems to ensure all employees feel equally valuable and important whether they develop systems or serve food. SAS measures its success against the number of employee applications it receives annually (34,761) and the percentage of voluntary turnover (4%).

Singapore Airlines measures training, where it spends 15% of its payroll costs. (Weigh this against the 2006 State of the Industry Report, in which the American Society for Training and Development estimated that corporations would spend more than 2.5% of payroll on training in the coming years, compared with 2.2% three years ago). Even more significant is the fact that its commitment to training is so strong that this is also tracked.

Of course there are many other metrics worthy of measuring, such as manager proficiency, leadership capability, percentage of sales from new products, and customer service. Because customer service probably has the greatest impact on your overall business performance it is frequently measured.

My two personal measurement favorites are: customer repeat rate and customer referral rate.

-- Chapter 14 – page 104