excellence in execution

Excellence Excellence InIn

E tiE tiExecutionExecutionRamkiRamki

ramakrishnan@gmrgroup.inramakrishnan@gmrgroup.in@g g p@g g p

PreludeOn a casual reading of the above topic, it looks simple. After all, a culture ofexecution is where you “walk to talk”. But then in real life it is really not so. There isalways a gap between expectations and achievements goals and ends and

Prelude

always a gap between expectations and achievements, goals and ends andobjectives and results.What causes this Gap? Is it lack of planning, absence of systems, paucity of effortsor inadequacy of training? Were wrong people put on the job, was the operatingq y g g p p p j , p genvironment not conducive, were the support systems inaccurate, the interactionand integration of objectives, functions and tasks poorly done, leadership notinspiring, follow through inadequate etc. etc. The answers to these questionswould emerge in the post mortem of failure in all cases Companies would realizewould emerge in the post mortem of failure in all cases. Companies would realizewhy and where they went wrong by asking the right questions- but alas at thewrong time. They will learn from their mistakes- hopefully-or else will disappearfrom the corporate landscape sooner than later.Companies with an Execution Culture address all these issues BEFOREHAND andhence ENSURE achievement of the desired results.What is the Execution culture, what are its components, inter-linkages and how tobuild such culture is the challenge the companies have in hand

The Changing face of StrategyThe Changing face of Strategy Archaic Modern

Strategy in intellectual domain Strategy in action domain

Strategy separated fromexecution

Strategy is executionexecution

Strategy dictated execution Execution dictates strategy

A winner was one with goodstrategy

A winner is a good executorgy

What is Execution ?What is Execution ? The art of “GETTING THINGS DONE”

Science with clear INPUTS, PROCESSES & OUTPUTS

“Dictates” Strategygy

Bridges the gap between “Promises & Results”Promises & Results

Walk the Talk

Execution is not•Distinct from Strategy, People & Operations, but central tothem

Execution is not…

them

• Mere Compliance / ConformityMere Compliance / Conformity

• Mere intellectual capability to perceive, but the power ofli b t dlimbs to produce

• Keeping pace with the Organization but sets the pace atKeeping pace with the Organization, but sets the pace atwhich Organizations move

ExecutionExecution

Then why this is neglected

• Not intellectually challenging• Not intellectually challenging

• Confused with micro Management &“Do it yourself”

• Considered subservient to strategy

Traditional Execution of the StrategyTraditional Execution of the Strategy

Clarity of purpose Vision

Role Clarity

Course corrections

-Review

Components of

Execution

Interdependence

Resource availability

Execution

Performance Standards

Clarity

Clarity of Purpose & VisionClarity of Purpose & Vision

Focus & SynergyFocus & Synergy Clarity –Do they know what is most important ?

Commitment – Do they want to do it ?

Translation –Do they know how to do it ?

Discipline –Do they sustain the course ?

Synergy – Do they work together ?

Enabling

Collaboration

Trust

Accountability

External FocusExternal Focus

Three building blocks of ExecutionThree building blocks of Execution

Having Right people in Right Place 3

2Creating Execution Culture 2

Leader’s 7 essential behaviors 1

Building Block -1

Leader’s 7 essential behaviors

Know your People & Business Leaders have to live their business. In companies that don’t execute the leaders are usually out

Know your People & Business

In companies that don t execute, the leaders are usually outof touch with the day-to-day realities

The bulk of the information that reaches them is filtered-presented by their direct reports with their own perceptions& agendas

Insist on Realism The reality Check Realism is the heart of execution,

but many organizations are full of

Insist on Realism- The reality Check

but many organizations are full ofpeople who are trying to avoid orshade reality because it isshade reality, because it isuncomfortable or too revealing ofthe mistakes madethe mistakes made

Start by being realistic yourself.Then make sure realism is theThen make sure realism is thegoal of all dialogues in theorganizationorganization

Set Goals & Priorities Leaders who execute focus on a very few clear

i iti th t

Set Goals & Priorities

priorities that everyone can grasp

Focusing on three of four priorities will produce thebest results for the resources at hand

People in contemporaryorganizations need a smallnumber of clear priorities to

t llexecute well

Follow Through Clear, simple goals don’t mean much if nobody

takes them seriously

Follow Through

takes them seriously

The failure to follow through is widespread inbusiness, and a major cause of poor execution

Leaders must surfaceconflicts that stand in theway of achieving results &create follow-through

Reward the Doers If you want people to produce specific results, you

d th di l

Reward the Doers

reward them accordingly.

This fact seem so obvious, yet many corporation dosuch a poor job of linking rewards to performance thatthere’s little correlation at all

When companies don’texecute, chances are theydon’t measure don’t rewarddon t measure, don t reward,and don’t promote peoplewho know how to get thingsg gdone

Enhance People’s Capabilities via Coaching• As a leader, you’ve acquired a lot of knowledge and

experience even wisdom along the way Your job is

Enhance People s Capabilities via Coaching

experience – even wisdom – along the way. Your job ispassing it on the next generation of leaders.

Thi i h d th biliti f l i• This is how you expand the capabilities of everyone else inyour organization, collectively and individually.

Know yourselfWithout emotional fortitude, you can’t be honest with yourself,d l h tl ith b i & i ti l liti i

Know yourself

deal honestly with business & organizational realities, or givepeople forthright assessments.

This emotionalfortitude is comprised of4 core qualities:4 core qualities:

Authenticity S lf Self-awareness Self-mastery Humility

Jack Welch’s Hands On Management

In the mid-1990s, a friend told Jack Welch, General Electric’s CEO, about a new

Jack Welch s Hands-On Management

methodology for making a quantum increase in inventory turns in manufacturingoperations. It was thought that GE could generate cash if it could increase itsinventory turns across the company. The leading practitioner of the methodologywas American Standard whose plants had achieved as high as 40 inventory turnswas American Standard, whose plants had achieved as high as 40 inventory turnsper plant, compared to the average of four at most companies.Welch wasn’t content to just get the concept, or to send some of his manufacturingpeople out to investigate it. Instead, he paid American Standard CEO EmmanuelK i i it i d t d t d th ki ll H lKampouris a visit, in order to understand the workings personally. He alsoaccepted an invitation to speak at the company, and spent the better part of oneevening’s dinner querying two successful American Standard plant managersabout the details of their respective operations — the tools, the social architecture,p p , ,and how they overcame resistance to the new methodology. By involving himselfdeeply and personally with the subject, Welch learned what it would take toexecute such an initiative at GE, and was able to get the necessary changes rollingquickly throughout his huge company By the time of his retirement in 2001 Welchquickly throughout his huge company. By the time of his retirement in 2001, Welchsaw GE’s inventory turns double.

Building Block -2

CreatingCreating Execution Culture

The way we do things

Amalgam of shared beliefs

Second natureCULTUREEncompasses, Philosophy, Process &Practice

Internalize InstitutionalizeInternalize, Institutionalize

Execution Culture is

• Where everyone knows

Execution Culture is…

y

• What to do

• When to do

• How to do

• With available resources

U d t di i t d d f t k• Understanding interdependence of tasks

• Moving the organization towards its goals

The basic premise is simple:The basic premise is simple:Culture change gets real when your aim

is execution.

You don’t need a lot of complex theory or

employee surveys to p y yuse this approach. You just need toYou just need to change people’s

behavior so that they produce resultsproduce results.

Fi ll l lFirst, you tell your team clearlywhat results you’re looking forwhat results you re looking for.

Th di h t t thThen discuss how to get thoseresults as a key element ofresults, as a key element ofthe coaching process.

Then you reward people forproducing the results. If theyp g ycome up short, you provideadditional coaching withdrawadditional coaching, withdrawrewards, give other jobs, orlet them go.When you do these thingsy gconsistently, you create aculture of getting things done!culture of getting things done!

Execution Culture EvolutionExecution Culture-Evolution

DO IT

I’LL DO IT

WE’LL DO ITWE LL DO IT

WILL TO DO IT WELL

I tit ti li ti Th StInstitutionalization – The Stages

Should be aligned toShould be aligned toShould be aligned toShould be aligned to

Institutionalization The StagesInstitutionalization – The Stages

Whi h i h ld b li dWhi h i h ld b li dWhich again should be aligned toWhich again should be aligned to

Institutionalization The StagesInstitutionalization – The Stages

Institutionalization AlignmentInstitutionalization – Alignment

Building Block -3

The Job no Leader should delegate

Right People Right Place

Wh th Ri ht P l A ’t iWhy the Right People Aren’t in the Right Jobs?the Right Jobs?

The leaders may not know enough about the peoplethey’re appointingthey re appointing

The leaders may pick people with whom they’recomfortable (ps chological comfort) rather than otherscomfortable (psychological comfort), rather than otherswho have better skills for the job

Th l d t h th t di i i t The leaders may not have the courage to discriminatestrong and weak performers and take the necessaryactionsactions.

Why right people are not in right jobLack of knowledgeLeaders often rely on sometimes fuzzy or prejudiced staff

Why right people are not in right job

y y p jappraisals when placing people into positions.

They should, instead, define the job in terms of its three or fournonnegotiable criteria —things the person must be able to do tononnegotiable criteria things the person must be able to do tosucceed.

Lack of courageLack of courageInnumerable cases of the wrong person being kept in the wrong

job, simply because the person’s leader doesn’t have theemotional fortitude to take decisive action confront the personemotional fortitude to take decisive action, confront the person,and make a change.Such failures do considerable damage to a business; indeed, if

the non-performer is high enough in the organization he or shethe non-performer is high enough in the organization, he or shecan be particularly destructive.

Why right people are not in right jobThe psychological comfort factor Many jobs are filled with the wrong people because the

Why right people are not in right job

Many jobs are filled with the wrong people because theleaders who promote them are comfortable with them,and the employees are loyal to those leaders.

H if th t l lt i b d th f t However, if that loyalty is based on the wrong factors(social reasons, rather than professional, etc.), it couldbe damaging.

Often, breaking free of this comfort factor is exactly What a leader must do to bring about change

When Reginald Jones — a cerebral, well-spoken person — selected Jack Welch —When Reginald Jones a cerebral, well spoken person selected Jack Welcha blunt, irreverent, from-the-gut leader — to replace him as CEO of GeneralElectric, many questioned the move. Jones, however, knew GE had to change, andthat Welch possessed the right kind of personality and professional approach to getth j b d J b k f f th f t f t t th b fit f ththe job done. Jones broke free of the comfort factor, to the benefit of the companyand its shareholders.

Performance - Behavior MatrixPerformance Behavior Matrix

S i D thAttit di l Ch Succession DepthAttitudinal Change

Skill C tSeparation Skill Competence

Core processof

Execution

Core Process of Execution Strategy ProcessStrategy Process

Core Process of Execution

People ProcessPeople Process People ProcessPeople Process

OperationalOperational Operational Operational ProcessProcess

St t PSt t PStrategy ProcessStrategy ProcessDefines where a business wants to goe es e e a bus ess a ts to go

Strong Strategic Plan must address the following

What is the assessment of the external environment?

Strong Strategic Plan must address the following

What is the assessment of the external environment?

How well do you understand the existing customers andmarkets?markets?

What are the critical issues facing the business?

What is the best way to grow business profitably? What is the best way to grow business profitably?

Can the business execute the strategy?

What are the important milestones for executing theplan?

Strategy Execution Review Questions

How strong is the

Strategy Execution Review Questions

organizational capabilityto execute the strategy?

Is the plan scattered orsharply focused?p y

Are the linkages withpeople and operationspeople and operationsclear?

P l PP l PPeople ProcessPeople ProcessDefines who’s going to get it thereDefines who s going to get it there

Robust People ProcessA robust people process provides a powerful

framework for determining the organization’s talent

Robust People Process

framework for determining the organization s talentneeds over time, and for planning action that willmeet those needsmeet those needs.

Linking to strategic plan and business results

Developing the leadership pipeline thoughcontinuous improvement, succession depth, andreducing retention risk

Deciding what to do about non-performersDeciding what to do about non performers

The execution orientedThe execution-orientedleader devotes ani di t t f tiinordinate amount of timeand emotional energy tohiring, providing the rightexperiences for, anddeveloping leaders.

O ti PO ti POperation ProcessOperation ProcessProvides the path for those peopleProvides the path for those people

A robust operation process focuses on anoperating plan that links strategy andoperating plan that links strategy andpeople to results.

Operating plan includes the programs yourp g p p g ybusiness is going to complete within oneyear to reach the desired levels of suchyear to reach the desired levels of suchobjectives as earnings, sales, margins,and cash flow

ToTo SummarizeSummarize

Execution Leaders are central to execution.

K lf

Execution

Know yourself.Be engaged in both the “whats and hows.”Be honest about all realities.Promote ongoing honest dialogue

Create and maintain an execution cultureTranslate visions and goals into tangible

deliverables and actions.

Execution Put the “right” people in the “right” places.Be involved in selections

Execution

Be involved in selections.Reward the doers.Expand the capabilities through coachingExpand the capabilities through coaching

Put processes and mechanisms in place top peffectively operationalize execution.Strategic plan – stretch goals.Strategy reviews.Operating plans.Realistic resources and budgets.

Question

What Can I do to executeWhat Can I do to executeMore effectively

Need for Personal Transformation

Network & LearnNetwork & Learn

BrainstormingBrainstorming

Factory SettingsFactory Settings

Personal -Factory SettingsPersonal -Factory Settings

Personal Factory SettingsPersonal Factory Settings

Reset your -Factory SettingsReset your -Factory Settings

Reset your Factory Settings

The hard wayThe hard way

Mental ActivationMental Activation

It starts with youIt starts with you

Capture your big ideasCapture your big ideas

Integrate & AssimilateIntegrate & Assimilate

“Leadership without the discipline of execution is

i l t d i ff ti With t th bilit tincomplete and ineffective. Without the ability to

execute all other attributes of leadership becomeexecute, all other attributes of leadership become

hollow”

Larry Bossidy Chairman, Honeywell International