Every day we are confronted by events that distract us from what we are focusing on. This 'noise' can be anything from unproductive meetings to conflicting activities. Whatever they are, they are costly both to the organization and to the people that they impact and they are a poison to ensuring effective execution of strategy. Few CEO's have lost their jobs because of strategy. More, lose their jobs because of poor execution.
Here are some startling facts on 5 of the most common 'poisons':
1. Unproductive meetings
> $3.7 billion is the estimated salary cost of unnecessary meetings for US businesses every year
> 50% of all meetings are considered time wasted
2. Ambiguity
> 37% of employees understand what their organization is trying to achieve and why
> 38% of employee time is unproductive due to unclear objectives and poor team communication
3. Distractions / Information overload
> $900 Billion is the estimated cost in lowered employee productivity and reduced innovation due to information overload
> 8 hours per week is the estimated impact of information overload on each knowledge worker
4. Disorganization
> 43% of Americans consider themselves disorganized
> 59% of managers miss important information every day
5. Off-plan work
> 90% of manager time is squandered on ineffective activities
> 21% of managers have missed vital work deadlines
Other key 'noise' include duplication, conflicting actions, bungled hand-offs and missed deadlines or targets.
The solution to diluting this 'noise' can be found in 9 areas, 5 of which are key:
1. Direction
2. Leadership
3. Culture and climate
4. Accountability
5. Co-ordination and control
So if you are continuously falling short of strategic expectations, lookat the 'noise' that is bombarding your team every day and see what you can do to muffle it.
Yours in execution,
ian
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