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Excellence Through Execution & Accountability Susan Marshall, Backbone Institute
Excellence Through Execution & Accountability
Susan Marshall, Backbone Institute
What is Execution?
• Discipline of Getting Things Done• Systematic way of exposing reality & acting on it.• Speeding up decision-making & making company more
efficient.
From “Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done”Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan
What is Accountability?
Webster says:• Personal responsibility• Holding yourself and others
around you accountable for delivering results.
What could (and does) go wrong?
Our definitions of execution may differ.
01My ability to assign responsibility and your ability to deliver may not be aligned.
02Our ideas about who should be accountable for what may be (wildly) incompatible.
03
Learn it. Lead it. Live it.
Execution
• Setting Goals• Assigning Resources• Establishing Deadlines• Following Through
Setting Goals• What needs to be accomplished?
– Key Initiatives– Department Projects
• What is the context (Bigger Picture)?– Strategic Plan– Charter
• What is negotiable?
Learn it. Lead it. Live it.
• Who is on the team?• What skills and experience are required?• How much time, money, equipment?• What rewards are attached (bonus, visibility)?
Assigning Resources
Learn it. Lead it. Live it.
Establishing Deadlines
• REAL, not padded• Practical, with considerations for overall workload,
available resources, and client demand.• With room for Plan B?
Learn it. Lead it. Live it.
Following Through• Setting checkpoints• Reviewing progress to plan• Talking about snags, acceleration points• Additional support needed?
Accountability is a Different Animal
“Make up your mind. Don’t
make someone make you.”
It does not exist without Feedback and
cannot succeed on its own.
It relies on honest, open
communication.
It’s consistent.
It’s personal.
Accountability Actions
Take ownership for strategic results.
Notice things. Ask questions with intent to learn.
Share knowledge. Help your organization get smarter—team,
department, company.
Commit to growing your knowledge, skill
and capacity.
Learn it. Lead it. Live it.
Strategic Results
Connect work to what comes before and after
- What departments are involved?- Are there typical bottlenecks or acceleration
points?- What are client demands now and next?
Prioritize work
- What else is on our plate?- How full is your plate?
Notice!
Specific things that work well.
Insights you haven’t heard
before.
Techniques you didn’t
know.
Specific ways people
encourage one another.
Question to Learn – If Strategy Is Not Being Executed as Planned
Did we mistake the opportunity? (What assumptions did we make?)
1
Did we misalign resources? (Time, talent, equipment, rewards, etc.)
2
Did we lose the plot? (Too many priorities, limited or ineffective feedback, etc.)
3
Question to Learn – Project Updates
NOT: “How’s it going?”
RATHER: “What progress can you report?”
NOT: “How come we missed the deadline?”
RATHER: “Where did things begin to slip that we ignored or downplayed?”
Learn it. Lead it. Live it.
Share Knowledge
Specific actions or ideas that have worked in the past and why they might work now.
How to get around specific obstacles.
Where to find additional resources.
Help Others Get Smarter -About the Business
• Why this work is profitable• Where this project fits in our value stream• How we excel vs. competitors• Why our customers prefer us
Help Others Get Smarter –About Success
• Say what success looks like.– Additional information about customers,
resources, competing issues, change requests, etc.
– Task completion on deadline.– Efficient use of resources.– Discovery of error and plan to correct.
Commit to Your Growth
• Knowledge– Technical– Industry/Market– Managerial
Commit to Your Growth
• Skill– Doing– Observing– Listening– Coaching
Commit to Your Growth
• Capacity• As you develop competence in one aspect
of your work, seek to learn others.• Have conversations when they are needed,
not when they can no longer be avoided.• Appreciate strength – yours and others. It is
a distinctive competitive advantage.
Creating a Culture of Excellence
• Standards are essential.• Patience yields rich rewards.• Persistence trumps
perfection.• Practice makes better. • Accountability starts with
you... and it’s contagious!
Questions?
Thank you for your time.
