Delivering Results as a

Principle-Centered Leader
Execution: The Leadership
Challenge of the 21st Century
The Challenge: Ability to Execute
“Leadership without the discipline of
execution is incomplete and ineffective.
Without the ability to execute all other
attributes of leadership become hollow”
— Larry Bossidy Chairman, Honeywell
International
 Business Plans--Execution

#1 REASON WHY LEADERS FAIL?

70% of strategic failures are due to poor
execution of leadership. …

It’s rarely for lack

of smarts
or vision.
Source: Charan, R. and
Colvin, G. “Why CEOs
Fail”, Fortune, June 21,
1999.
Ram Charan
McKinsey & Company

HarrisInteractive SM
 Agenda
1. Leadership and Execution

2. Identify your agency’s “Execution Challenge”

3. Research on root-cause break downs in

execution.

4. What a Leader Needs to Know (The Principles

of Execution)

5. What a Leader Needs to Do (The Process for

Executing)
 WILDLY IMPORTANT
important adj. 1: meaning a great deal; having
significance, value

wildly important adj. 1: of visionary and strategic

import; carrying serious economic consequence;
potential for unbelievable satisfaction of key
stakeholders; causing intense excitement and
enthusiasm
 THE POWER OF FOCUS
Number of 2–3 4–10 11–20
Goals
Goals
Achieved
2–3 1–2 0
With
Excellence
 A leader who say’s “I’ve got ten
priorities” doesn’t know what he
is talking about. He doesn’t
know himself what the most
important things are. You’ve got
to have these few, clearly
realistic goals and priorities…

Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan, Execution: The Discipline of

Getting Things Done, New York: Crown Business, 2002
 Execution Challenge

W.I.G.s
Wildly Tasks / Execution
Important Activities
Goals

Who?_____________
_______________
_______________ What Different?
_______________ __________________
Model Not yet Never
__________________
What is the most
important goal of the __________________
business unit?
__________________ What % models this behavior?
__________________ What % need to, in order for you
to achieve your WIG
Is there a group of people that have to
learn something new or do something
different, in order for you to be
successful?
 Ritz-Carlton
3
1 Strategic Bet 2 Execution Bet

Wildly
Tasks /
Important
Goals
Activities Execution
100% Guest Who: (Group) House Keeping
Retention
What: (Do Different)…
80
1. Gather information on
20
___% 60
___% 20
___%
individual preferences

2. Converse with guests Model Not yet Never

?
3. Input data into computer
system
Technical or Human
Process Buy – in
Plan Clarity
Tools Accountability
W.I.G.s Tasks / Execution
Activities
Principles Process

What a Leader What a

needs to Know Leader
needs to Do
W.I.G.S. Tasks / Execution
Activities
Principles
Gauge Process
Process

Clarity
Commitment
Translation
Discipline

Enabling
Trust
Collaboration
Accountability
 8 Principles of Execution

Focus

Synergy
 8 Principles of Execution

Clarity
1. Do they know what’s most Important

Commitment
Focus Translation
Discipline

Enabling

Synergy Collaboration
Trust
Accountability
Lack of Clarity
 8 Principles of Execution

Clarity
1. Do they know what’s most Important

Commitment2. Do they want to do it?

Focus Translation3. Do they know how to do it?
Discipline 4. Do they sustain the course?

5. Do they work together?

Enabling

Synergy Collaboration
Trust
Accountability
 xQ Results

1. Do people know what to do? 44% of employees say they don’t know their
company’s highest priorities

2. Do they want to do it? Only 19% feel a strong sense of commitment to the
company’s goals

3. Do they know how to do it? 9% believe their work has a strong link to their
organizations top priorities

4. Do they have the discipline? People spend less than half their time (49%)
on activities linked to the organization’s key priorities

5. Do they work together? Only 31% feel they can express themselves
honestly and candidly at work
The Focus & Execute Gap:

“Execution is a systematic way of

exposing reality and acting on it.
Most organizations don’t face reality
very well . . . that’s the basic reason
they can’t execute.”
(Ram Charan, Execution, pg. 22)
 XQ51 (National Averages)

Clarity 52
Commitment 52
Focus Translation 43
Discipline 65

Enabling 32
Collaboration 49
Synergy Trust 59
Accountability 57
 Cortez Example 1st Survey

XQ 34 (First XQ Survey)
4/02 National Ave.

Focus 35 Clarity 24 52
Commitment 39 52
Translation 19 43
Discipline 61 65

Synergy 33 Enabling 31 32
Collaboration 39 49
Trust 30 59
Accountability 34 57

3
 Cortez Example 2nd Survey

XQ 59 (Second XQ Survey)
4/02 10/02

Focus 61 Clarity 24 51
Commitment 39 41
Translation 19 61
Discipline 61 65

Synergy 56 Enabling 31 31
Collaboration 39 59
Trust 30 69
Accountability 34 66

4
 Delivering Results as a
Principle-Centered Leader
Execution: The Leadership
Challenge of the 21st Century
 Other
Approaches?
W.I.G.s Tasks / Execution
Activities
Principles Process

What a Leader What a

needs to Know Leader
needs to Do
W.I.G.S. Tasks / Execution
Activities
Principles
Gauge Process
Process

Clarity
Commitment
Translation
Discipline

Enabling
xQ
Execution
Trust Quotient
Collaboration
Accountability
The Focus & Execute Gap:

“Execution is a systematic way of

exposing reality and acting on it.
Most organizations don’t face reality
very well . . . that’s the basic reason
they can’t execute.”
(Ram Charan, Execution, pg. 22)
 Process

Wildly Tasks / Execution

Important Activities
Goals
Principles Process

Execution: 1. Focus W.I.G.s

The 4 Disciplines of
High-Performing
Teams
 1. Focus on the Wigs

Humans beings are genetically

hard wired to focus on one
thing at a time with excellence
 Process

Wildly Tasks / Execution

Execution
Important Activities
Goals
Principles Process

Execution: 1. Focus W.I.G.s

The 4 Disciplines of 2. Build Measures
High-Performing
Teams
 2. Build the Measures

There is no such thing as a

clear goal without a
measure.
 Process

Wildly Tasks / Execution

Important Activities
Goals
Principles Process

Execution: 1. Focus W.I.G.s

The 4 Disciplines of 2. Build Measures
High-Performing 3. Translate to Action
Teams
 3. Translate into Action

New goals you’ve never

achieved before require new
behaviors you’ve never
done before
 Process

Wildly Tasks / Execution

Important Activities
Goals
Principles Process

Execution: 1. Focus W.I.G.s

The 4 Disciplines of 2. Build Measures
High-Performing 3. Translate to Action
Teams
4. Report the Results
 4. Report Results

Individuals on high performance

teams do not tolerate
mediocrity, they hold
themselves and each other
accountable for results and
activities.
 Wildly Tasks / Execution
Important Activities
Goals
Principles Process

Execution: 1. Focus W.I.G.s Qtr / Yr

The 4 Disciplines of 2. Build Measures Qtr / Yr
High-Performing 3. Translate to Action Wk
Teams
4. Report the Results Wk
 The Process

Wildly Tasks / Execution

Important Activities
Goals
Principles Process

Execution: 1. Focus W.I.G.s Qtr / Yr

The 4 Disciplines of 2. Build Measures Qtr / Yr
High-Performing 3. Translate to Action Wk
Teams
4. Report the Results Wk
Herding Cats
 Norfolk Naval Shipyard

• Norfolk is a 200+ year old shipyard,

• Largest in the world,

• Civilian, Military, and 8 Unions

• 8,000 people
 Norfolk Naval Shipyard

• Handles every type of repair and

refueling

• Handles every type of ship in the

Navy

• Anytime… Anywhere…
 Norfolk Naval Shipyard

Impact of Execution Disciplines over the last 5 years:

What they did?

1. Focused the leadership from 16 goals at a time to 5
- currently moving to 3

2. Took the five goals and translated them to the deck-

plate (front-line).
 Norfolk Naval Shipyard

Impact of Execution Disciplines over the last 5 years:

What they did?

3. Built scoreboards in the shipyard, ship by ship

4. Defined performance standards and codes of

conduct, and put them "on the ground" from the
leadership team to the deck workers
 Norfolk Naval Shipyard

Impact of Execution Disciplines over the last 5 years:

What they got?

1. Reduced cycle time on major maintenance
from roughly 27 months to 20
2. Minor maintenance from 14 months to 11
3. They went from a $16 mm operating loss to a
$40 mm profit (to return to the Navy) over the
five year period.
4. Union Grievances went from 60 a year to
virtually none
“This Execution Approach was ‘born’ at
the shipyard at the demand of the
Shipyard Commander to be able to take a
specific goal and get it to the deck plate
(the front-line) very fast, very effectively,
and completely.
…He demanded it and we created it.
…That's the short story.”
-Jim Stuart, Franklin Covey