01.2011
Success in 2011: Learning to Leverage
As I spent much of 2010 traveling around the world observing companies, I found that there was a "theme" for those organizations, which were the most successful. Because of the economic change, the organizations achieving the best results were those that recognized the need to adapt to reduced resources. Rather than making everything "priority 1," these successful companies are in the mindset of choosing to focus on only the most important goals.
The game is no longer just about completing tasks or getting more done. The new game is focused more on achieving results and only doing those things that will serve a higher purpose of getting those results. This means eliminating wasted activity, wasted meetings, wasted micro-management, wasted bureaucracy and wasted effort to best leverage the resources you do have. It is also a learning process, since during the year it is easier to continue adding more to our list of priorities, activities and goals, without saying "no" to anything.
3 Steps to Leveraging Your Resources to Achieve the Success in 2011
Step #1: Establish "Non-Negotiable" Priorities
Wherever you are ending 2010, the goal of your organization is to be at a "higher level" at the end of 2011. Higher levels could include profitability, growth, quality standards, new products/services, employee morale, efficiency and market share. The key is choosing what the 3 to 7 priorities are that, if accomplished, will definitely place the organization at a new level of success that is sustainable. And, while you may have 100 other priorities you want to accomplish, these 3 to 7 become the "primary" focus for everyone in the organization.
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Step #2: Outcome-Driven Execution
Once you have identified your "non-negotiable" priorities, execution is your key to success and the trap is becoming "activity-driven" in your execution. Activity-driven execution is demonstrated in the following way:
- Silo behavior and execution which is demonstrated by isolated or autonomous decision making, coordination, problem solving and information sharing that results in wasted resources, rework and delays in schedule
- Beginning to taking action on a project or goal before clarifying the results desired within a specific time frame
- Setting up endless meetings to share information that is 30% or more duplicated in each meeting
- Scorecard or Monitoring reviews that focus more on establishing what is "on or off-track" and less on "cross-functional" problem solving that is necessary to remove roadblocks to success
- Improvement Projects that are designed to reach a "perfect" end state, rather than specific results that would demonstrate progress within a limited time frame
- Training programs that are only focused on building awareness and skills that aren't accountable for a true return on investment that can be measured based on business results
When organizations implement "outcome-driven execution" the following benefits are realized:
- Project plan action items are typically reduced by 20 to 30 percent while increasing project success and timeliness
- Managers spend less time in meetings and more time managing and developing their direct reports resulting in greater ownership, initiative and engagement of employees
- Cross-functional problem solving takes place as a proactive effort rather than a reactive "crisis-management" process that costs an organization in delays, conflicts and reduced customer satisfaction
- Management teams are more decisive and support decisions in an aligned manner because the basis of making decisions is agreed upon outcomes and criteria for success
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Step #3: Workarounds That Work
While many organizations are talking about the need for more innovation and creativity, the successful organizations have refined this need to include "critical thinking" that is innovative and creative. In other words, when resources are limited, more problems tend to show up requiring a higher level of critical thinking and innovation to develop effective solutions that get results. Russell Bishop, an expert on improving organizational and personal effectiveness recently wrote a book, Workarounds That Work, to address this need. The idea is that we constantly need to develop workarounds in the most positive way to address the many roadblocks that we run into from living in a constantly changing environment with limited resources. The commonly heard solution, "we need more resources" is simply no longer an option.
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Step #4: Meaningful Employee Engagement
There are two ways that organizations have responded to the new economy of reduced resources. One way is to micro-manage activities to make sure everyone is doing what they are supposed to be doing, which results in wasted time, effort and resources. The second way is to increase employee engagement for the purpose of improving processes, workflow, quality, teamwork and internal customer service. Employees represent an untapped resource because they have great ideas for improving effectiveness and efficiency that never get voiced due to the following traps:
- People are so busy getting activities accomplished that they don't have time to discuss ways to reduce the number of activities necessary to achieve successful results
- Supervisors aren't skilled to facilitate problem solving or improvement-oriented discussions
- People are too busy solving the "crisis of the day" and don't have time to discuss ways to prevent problems
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While the focus of this article is on improving organizational success in 2011, the same concept holds true for our personal success. Answer these questions to get your year started on the right foot!
- Setting Your Personal Priorities
If this were December of 2011, what would you want to have accomplished for yourself? If you could only select 3 accomplishments, which ones are the most important to you? Those are your "non-negotiable" priorities for 2011. - Improving Your Effectiveness
The key to getting different results is "doing things differently." What can you do differently to achieve a new level of excellence or to accomplish your stated priorities? What are the 2 or 3 things that if you did those differently, it would make a huge difference in your results? - Workarounds That Work
Making sure you have a plan to address potential breakdowns, for reverting back to old habits, and for unforeseen challenges is critical to success. It is vital to have a proactive "recovery plan" developed so that you aren't caught off guard when your plan goes awry. - Engaging Others in Your Success
One of the biggest breakdowns I witness for people wanting to improve is the belief that they have to do it alone. This sometimes comes from the need to "prove oneself" or from fear of asking others for assistance. Leveraging resources means that you aren't trying to learn everything by trial and error. You utilize people who have expertise and experience to provide you guidance in order to avoid common pitfalls, clarify your purpose and approach, and to provide support along the way for addressing challenges.
Let's all make 2011 the best year ever! Let's make 2011 the year of doing things differently to get better results! Let's make 2011 the year that we create greater balance in our lives through clearer priorities on what is meaningful to us at work and personally. Let's make 2011 the year that we all support someone else in need so that everyone experiences success. Let's make 2011 the year we have fun achieving our goals and commitments together.
Have a great and blessed year in 2011.
Mark Samuel, CEO
IMPAQ
7785 W. Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90046
323 969 0088
contactus@impaqcorp.com