Six Disciplines

MARCH 30, 2011

As large numbers of baby boomers retire, knowledge transfer becomes critical to an organization's sustainability and competitive edge. In a knowledge economy, firm-specific knowledge is critical to the sustainability, performance and innovation of organizations facing the imminent retirement of large numbers of baby boomers. According to a report from The Conference Board, the global research and business membership organization, most companies do not have a plan to manage and transfer knowledge

Balanced Scorecard 101

Balanced Scorecard Execution Strategy Storytelling 101

Six Disciplines

MARCH 30, 2011

The first quarter of 2011 is almost history. Are you satisfied with the way your business is performing today? How are you tracking against the goals you set for Q1? What are you going to do differently? The challenge is how to change, not if. What are you going to do - to change ? Here are seven steps for effective organizational change for the rest of 2011: Create a commitment to change.

Company 101

Company Commitment Resistance Learning-by-Doing 101

Six Disciplines

MARCH 29, 2011

Poor strategy execution is the #1 reason why businesses fail in today’s marketplace. Poor execution of the strategy is most often the culprit - not the strategy itself. Here's the top four reasons why your strategy execution may not be working: Your strategy fails to recognize the limitations of your organization. Strategy execution makes huge demands on an organization’s capabilities and resources.

Execution 101

Execution Strategy Tools System 101

Six Disciplines

MARCH 28, 2011

A few years back, change management guru, John Kotter, published his latest book, A Sense of Urgency. Kotter has written about urgency before. Raising urgency is the first of his eight-steps for successful organizational change.(it's also a topic we focus on a lot here at Six Disciplines.). For a quick review, here's Kotters " Eight Steps To Transform Your Organization ": Establish a Sense of Urgency.

Kotter 101

Kotter Short-term Tactics Crisis 101

Six Disciplines

MARCH 28, 2011

Although always important, communication is absolutely critical when deciding to adopt a strategy execution coaching program (.like Six Disciplines.). It’s challenging to manage the transition ("if nothing changes, nothing changes.") when people have no sense of where the changes are headed. Painting a picture for them can be difficult. The truth is that many organizations head into a transition state with nothing more than some basic ideas, some lofty goals and cherished values to guide t

Executive Coaching 101

Executive Coaching Planning Goal Strategy 101

Six Disciplines

MARCH 25, 2011

From a FastCompany blog entry, " Leading Ideas: Know What NOT To Do : "A client of mine uses a powerful tool to help his executive team decide what not to do with their time. He has each member keep a pie chart of where his/her energy is focused. When new projects come along, they discuss how sections and percentages should shift. "You've got to know where your energy should and shouldn't go each day," he explains.

Energy 101

Energy Tools Project Blog 101

Six Disciplines

MARCH 24, 2011

A while ago, Rosabeth Moss Kanter wrote a short but profound post about execution for Strategy & Business magazine entitled Our Ten Most Enduring Ideas. Below are excerpts from her article Execution: The Un-Idea. "Twenty-five years ago, management meant control. Managers put in controls, handed workers specifications, and established formal structures that ensured that people did what they were told.

Execution 101

Execution Six Sigma Strategy Information Technology 101

Six Disciplines

MARCH 22, 2011

Bluffton Motor Works (BLMW) manufactures fractional horsepower electric motors for commercial and industrial markets. Located in Bluffton, Indiana, the privately owned company originally began as a division of Franklin Electric Company, Inc. in 1944. Bluffton Motor Works serves a wide variety of manufacturers and industrial production facilities, across many industries.

Case Study 101

Case Study Industry Marketing Company 101

Six Disciplines

MARCH 21, 2011

The cumulative effects of misalignment are a significant constraint on the ability of an organization to execute its strategy. It's what we describe in detail in Discipline III. Align Systems (see video). In fact, research has shown up to 50% of the resources of a typical organization are not being effectively applied to the mission and vision of the company.

Constraint 101

Constraint Objective Video Resources 101

Six Disciplines

MARCH 21, 2011

Creating organizational cultures don't just happen by chance. Indeed, the innovative folks over at 37 Signals argue that " You Don't Create A Culture " at all. According to37 Signals: "You don’t create a culture. Culture happens. It’s the by-product of consistent behavior. If you encourage people to share, and you give them the freedom to share, then sharing will be built into your culture.

Execution 101

Execution Cooper Innovation Resources 101

Six Disciplines

MARCH 21, 2011

Harvard Business School Working Knowledge offers up this interview with professor Robert S. Kaplan, one of the original creators of the Balanced Scorecard. Key take-aways from their latest research: Companies often manage strategy in fits and starts. Though executives may formulate an excellent strategy, it easily fades from memory as the organization tackles day-to-day operations issues, or what most think of as "fighting fires.".

Balanced Scorecard 101

Balanced Scorecard Execution Strategy Kaplan 101

Six Disciplines

MARCH 18, 2011

Harvard Business Review has published an interesting 10-slide overview of the Barriers to Strategy Execution. Some of the key statistics from the survey respondents included: Only 37% say their companies are “very good” or “excellent” at execution. Only 23% blamed the current economic conditions for limiting their company's ability to execute.

Execution 101

Execution Strategy Survey Review 101

Six Disciplines

MARCH 18, 2011

The Lord's Prayer has 50 words. The Ten Commandments have 297 words. The Constitution of the United States of America has 4,500 words. How many words does your organization's strategic plan have? How about your mission, vision, values statement? How about your strategic position? It's not the sheer quantity of words that's important. It's how they're communicated - and how they're used.

Strategic Planning 101

Strategic Planning Planning Positioning Strategy 101

Six Disciplines

MARCH 17, 2011

" The Secrets to Successful Strategy Execution " was published in the June 2008 issue of Harvard Business Review, based on a survey of 26,000 people in 31 companies. In the article, the authors defined execution as: ".the result of thousands of decisions made every day by employees acting according to the information they have and their own self-interest.".

Survey 101

Survey Information Execution Review 101

Six Disciplines

MARCH 17, 2011

Simply put, the focus and capability of an organization can be understood in two dimensions: strategy (deciding what to do) and execution (getting it done). Leaders who build organizations with strong execution over long periods of time achieve enduring excellence. The combination of strategy (the choices of what we do versus what not to do) and execution (how well the choices are carried out) becomes the field upon which the Execution Revolution occurs in any given company.

Competitive Advantage 101

Competitive Advantage Execution Strategy Operations 101

Six Disciplines

MARCH 16, 2011

The execution of strategy most often fails because leaders do not focus on the critical issue of aligning their people to execute the strategy. The essential steps are: Formulate the strategy. Communicate the strategy. Align people to ensure strategy execution. Monitor and measure the results. Learn and repeat. Consequently, managers at every layer are abandoning the idea that "good management" is about planning their people’s work.

Execution 101

Execution Strategy Planning Management 101

Six Disciplines

MARCH 16, 2011

Creating a strong strategy for an organization is not an easy task. It takes several of the organization's leaders to articulate and agree on vision and direction. Yet, of the two, execution is much harder, as it requires the activity of every person, every day. Here are five tips for strategy formulation: Analyze the current situation. Determining where your organization stands is an important first step that some leaders take for granted.

Execution 101

Execution Strategy SWOT Tips 101

Six Disciplines

MARCH 15, 2011

Brian Lassiter, president of the Minnesota Council for Quality, a state-level Baldrige Quality program, posed the age-old question: "Why is executing strategy so difficult – especially during today’s tough economic conditions, when strategy is really so paramount to long-term success?". Lassiter sites a recent study by Minnesota-based Digineer in which they found: 69% of the leaders surveyed are NOT confident in their organization’s ability to execute strategy.

Balanced Scorecard 101

Balanced Scorecard Execution Strategy Long-term 101

Six Disciplines

MARCH 15, 2011

From Inc. Magazine comes the article: Does Discipline Squelch Flexibility and Creativity? "Can a business have formal disciplined systems, yet still provide a creative environment for employees while profitably providing responsive flexibility for customers?". "The reality is you have a much better chance with disciplined systems than you do without them.

Creativity 101

Creativity Magazine System Environment 101

Six Disciplines

MARCH 15, 2011

A while back, Harvard Business Review published an article: Stop making plans; start making decisions. Their premise? Most executives view traditional strategic planning as worthless. Why? The process contains serious flaws. First, it’s conducted annually, so it doesn’t help executives respond swiftly to threats and opportunities (a new competitor, a possible acquisition) that crop up throughout the year.

Planning 101

Planning Strategic Planning Committee Review 101

Six Disciplines

MARCH 15, 2011

As reported in the Harvard Business Review's Daily Stat , the consulting group Bain's updated global database of Sustained Value Creators found only 12% of companies worldwide managed to grow profits and revenues more than 5.5% over the 10 years ending in 2008 and earn back their cost of capital. Here's another take on the same issue: As reported in the best-selling book Six Disciplines Execution Revolution , (How Big Is The Challenge, page 29), a McKinsey study concluded that few large global c

Cost of Capital 101

Cost of Capital McKinsey Globalization Consultative 101

Six Disciplines

MARCH 14, 2011

Webster's Dictionary defines entropy as " a measure of the degree of disorder in a system.". When an organization makes plans, the chaos of everything changing around it gradually erodes those plans - causing unchecked organizational "entropy" or decay. Your organization must have a systematic and ongoing way to to offset these forces, or it will eventually become ineffective to the point that your survival will be at stake.

System 101

System Planning Strategy Execution 101

Six Disciplines

MARCH 4, 2011

The March 2011 edition of the Six Disciplines Strategy Execution newsletter with a focus on Performance Measurement - is now available for viewing. To sign up for the monthly newsletter, here's all you need to do: NEWSLETTER SIGN-UP. Full Name. Email Address. Enter Word Verification in box below. {module_captchav2}.

Newsletter 101

Newsletter Execution Strategy 101

Six Disciplines

MARCH 31, 2011

CEO Holly G. Green (and author of "More Than A Minute") offers up a post " Using Performance Management to Create a Culture of Excellence.". Holly's prescription for a good performance management process involves five key steps: Establish Goals. Start by linking what needs to get done to the strategic planning framework. Align the competencies, skills and knowledge of the employee to create specific action items that will guide the employee’s behavior going forward.

Management 98

Management Strategic Planning Short-term Long-term 98

Six Disciplines

MARCH 28, 2011

In a survey of 163 CEOs by Forbes Insights, chief executives report that one-third of corporate strategies fail, and they fail for five reasons. The five reasons why strategies fail are: 24% - Unforeseen external circumstances. 19% - A lack of understanding among those involved in developing the strategy and what they need to do to make it successful. 18% - The strategy itself is flawed. 16% - There is a poor match between the strategy and the core competencies of the organization (16 percent).

Strategy 98

Strategy Core Competence Download Survey 98

Six Disciplines

MARCH 28, 2011

A prior issue of the Harvard Business Review included an article entitled " Can You Say What Your Strategy Is? ". Their premise? "Can you summarize your company’s strategy in 35 words or less? If so, would your colleagues put it the same way?". Their conclusion? "Very few executives can honestly answer these simple questions in the affirmative.

Strategy 98

Strategy Strategic Planning Long-term Document 98

Six Disciplines

MARCH 24, 2011

In a Harvard Business Publishing article " Lessons Learned from 30 Years of Leadership ", Dick Harrington, former CEO of Thomson Reuters discussed the three most significant lessons learned over his very successful 30-year career as a Fortune 250 executive. Harrington's top three lessons learned: First, you have to have an "approximately correct" strategy -- you have to know where you are going, but directionally correct is the key.

Execution 98

Execution Strategy Learning-by-Doing CEO 98

Six Disciplines

MARCH 21, 2011

In researching how to build a sustainable strategy execution program, we’ve uncovered three major barriers that have to be overcome if the program is to be successful. They are insufficient expertise, prohibitive economics and simple human nature. We’ve determined that these three barriers are actually the major design requirements any truly effective strategy execution program must be able to address.

Execution 98

Execution Strategy Resistance Technology 98

Six Disciplines

MARCH 16, 2011

Building company-wide accountability is a key element to making a business sustainable over a long period of time. Not surprisingly, all high-performing organizations are moving toward more empowerment, enlightenment -- and building their own organizational accountability. So what is accountability? To some, it’s something you make people do, as in “making people accountable.

Organization 98

Organization Goal Learning-by-Doing Definition 98

Six Disciplines

MARCH 14, 2011

In an guest article authored by Jim Crisafulli (a certified Six Disciplines Business Coach) entitled, " Six Disciplines To Execute Your Strategy ", Jim discusses why it's so difficult to execute strategy and the steps to take to ensure it can work for your organization. Read the entire article " Six Disciplines To Execute Your Strategy ", published by the Providence Business News.

Execution 98

Execution Strategy Article Organization 98

Six Disciplines

MARCH 14, 2011

Next time you consider embarking on a strategic initiative, be aware of the following five factors that are common elements of failed initiatives (from IndustryWeek's article: " Top Five Reasons Why Strategic Initiatives Fail "). Strategy is Not Clearly Communicated to the Stakeholders. Lack of Support by Key Leaders in the Organization. Decision-Makers Do Not Understand the Relevance or are Unable to Measure Progress.

Technology 98

Technology Article Strategy Organization 98

Six Disciplines

MARCH 14, 2011

Your ability to execute strategy on a daily basis is dependent on your ability to prioritize and focus, but we all recognize how easily and quickly it is to be distracted. Here are specific ways to stay focused at work: Write out a daily task list and plan your day. Allocate time slots colleagues can interrupt you. Setup filters in your email. Do not check personal email in the morning.

Planning 98

Planning Blog System Goal 98

Six Disciplines

MARCH 21, 2011

W. Edwards Deming was a supreme practitioner of quality management. He summarized his ideas in these Fourteen Points of Quality Management : Create constancy of purpose towards improvement. That means short-term out, long-term in. Adopt the new philosophy. From top to bottom. Cease dependence on inspection. You don’t inspect quality into products and services - you design it in.

Deming 108

Deming Quality Management Short-term 108

Six Disciplines

MARCH 1, 2011

A while back, there was an insightful article, " Why We Resist the Weekly Review and Plan (and What You Can Do About It)". The author's premise? "Regardless of whether you are keeping your life organized using the Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology or the FranklinCovey methodology, a central component of both systems is the “weekly review” or the “weekly plan” For many practitioners, this is the single most difficult discipline and yet also the most crucial discipline.

Resistance 101

Resistance Planning Software Document 101