ValuExecBlog

Nature's lessons # 1: Get Rid of the Weeds

Nature has a way of providing us with simple lessons that we would do well to embrace and remember. Although I do not have 'green fingers', I do find working in the garden relaxing and an excellent tonic for being in the present.

Quite a few months ago I decided to get rid of all the weeds in my lawn, and so armed with weed-killer, I proceeded to spread it across my lawn. In my haste to get the job done and because my eyesight is probably (OK, definitely) not what it used to be, I failed to read the small print on the label that happened to mention that not only did the weed-killer kill off all known varieties of weed, but it also killed off various strains of buffalo grass (which just happened to be about 95% of my lawn). Within 10 days, I had no weeds, neither did I have any lawn. 

The good news was I could now start my lawn from scratch. I prepared the soil, laid the turf and watered the new lawn regularly. Soon, I had a lawn that looked far better than it had previously (which wasn't hard) and I was happy to say the least.

It wasn't long before I noticed a few weeds making their uninvited appearance on my lawn again. This time I quickly dealt with the offending culprits; not with weed-killer but by hand. A few weeks would go by, the weeds would appear again, and they would be dealt with. Soon, I realized the first of Nature's lessons:"Getting rid of weeds is an on-going process."

Weeds are like our bad habits. If left unattended and unrecognized, they will consume our lives. We may get rid of them through various shock treatments like attending a 3-day seminar, or other personal self-help programs (in my case it was the weed-killer), but if we do not continuously monitor our environment or our progress, they will reappear and keep on reappearing until we have developed new and better habits. 

How often have we enthusiastically started a goal or task only to be way-laid at the first major hurdle and then find ourselves retreating back to our comfort zones and the safety of our bad habits? How often have we felt we could have done better at a particular task or activity if only we had not procrastinated or wasted time and energy focusing on unimportant issues? 

So, persevere with those weeds; make no mistake about it, they will keep popping up, but by continuously dealing with them when they do raise their unsightly heads, you will win in the end. Nature is a wonderful teacher.

What have been some of the lessons that Nature has given you over the years?

Personnel Assessment - Key to Execution Excellence

I am a firm believer in people. People make things happen. You can not execute with any form of excellence if you do not have the right people in the right roles. So why then, do companies use a method that is at best only 30% successful in ensuring that "A" players fill vacant positions within the organization? I am of course referring to the traditional method of job recruitment.

The other day we were asked to quote on providing reference checks for a number of potential candidates that were short listed for a particular role with a client of ours. Usually, we do not provide reference checks as a stand-alone service since we believe that they are am integral and very important part of the larger Topgrading (or personnel assessment) process that we provide. But in this case, for one reason or another, we were prepared to make an exception.

When we took our client through the procedure we would follow, they were somewhat shocked by the depth and scale of the process. We wanted, for example, to have access to the hiring manager and the HR director so that we could discuss and/or prepare the job scorecard as well as understand the competencies and expectations required of the role and the candidate. We also needed to have access to everyone who had interviewed the potential candidates so that we could understand their perceptions of each candidate. Then, and only then, would we feel comfortable in undertaking any form of reference check of a potential candidate. Those checks themselves would involve interviews with at least 7 of the candidate's previous supervisors, peers and suppliers with each interview lasting approximately one hour.

The reason I relate this story is because underlying one of the key principles of execution excellence, is the principle of "Preparation." Companies and people who execute flawlessly or with excellence and obtain outstanding results, prepare and prepare hard. There are no half measures in their preparation.

So when next you approach a project, a task or an event - make sure that you prepare and prepare hard.

I would love to hear your story. Simply click on the "comment" button below.

ian

Execution Excellence - The difference between two teams

Two teams, one a cricket team the other a soccer team. Both teams have recently represented their country on the world stage and both had a desire to bring back trophies. One team succeeded whilst the other team failed. One coach retired a hero; the other is in the process of losing his job. What was the difference between the two teams? Simply, it was the degree of execution. One team executed flawlessly with excellence; the other team executed well but it was not enough to beat the competition. Not only did they let their supporters down; they let themselves down.

Interestingly, the team that executed with excellence had, the year previously suffered a dramatic loss which lead to every member associated with the team (from the CEO to the coaching staff as well as the players themselves) reviewing the reasons for the loss. Rising from that review was a realization that everyone in the team and associated with the team, needed to change their preparation, their approach and their skill sets. Rising from that loss, was a new found determination to win and everyone knew exactly what the end goal was and what they needed to do to get there.

The other team however, had come off a season of high hopes having progressed further during the World Cup than they had ever done before. The enthusiasm that accompanied them into their latest competition was soon shattered as they suffered defeat after defeat only to eventually exit the competition earlier than expected. Soon thereafter, the finger pointing began; the commitment of certain key players was questioned and rumors surfaced of personal rifts amongst players (all denied, by the way). It was not a happy camp but that is the price you pay for losing. People and the Media in particular, like winners.

Which begs the question, "Do we need to fail to succeed? Is failure our wake up call to executing with excellence?" It certainly does wake us up, but is it enough? What do you think?

ian

Execution Excellence; The art of getting things done flawlessly

Welcome to ValuExecblog; a blog that looks at "execution excellence" or the art and science of getting things done flawlessly.The purpose of this blog is to provide tips, case studies and to share experiences on execution excellence that will be of value to you. If I fail in that endeavor, then my execution is flawed and I hope that you will tell me.

It is my objective over time to be able to provide a framework that will enable you to execute flawlessly no matter what line of work you are in and no matter what field or industry you are engaged in or no matter how complex or simple the tasks you are hoping to undertake. The framework of execution excellence that we develop should be applicable to CEO's running complex organizations as well as to entrepreneurs starting-up a new business. The framework should apply not only to a product manager getting ready to launch a new product but also to an individual hoping to start out on a new career. Everyone and every company executes. Some of us just execute better than others.

Why a blog dedicated to execution excellence? First as a consultant, I come across a lot of firms that have challenging goals and excellent strategies but somehow, are unable to deliver their top-line or bottom-line growth projections. The reason - poor execution! As a career coach, I have come across individuals that are clear as to what role they want next in their careers but complain that despite all their best efforts, they don't seem to be moving in the right direction. The reason - poor execution!

But my main driving force for this blog is because I believe that we all have within us the potential to be great, but that it is our execution that leaves us stagnating in a pool of mediocrity or averages. If we look back at a time when we excelled, at a time when we outshone all around us and probably in the process surprised even ourselves, it was in all probability a time when we executed with excellence.

So, please join me as we embrace "execution excellence" and always feel free to share your stories, thoughts and ideas by simply clicking on the "comments" button below.

ian