Creating A Sense of Urgency

Change management guru, John Kotter, has released his latest book, A Sense of Urgency, published by Harvard Business School Press.

Kotter has written about urgency before. Raising urgency is the first of his eight-steps for successful organizational change, a topic we talk about a lot here at Six Disciplines.

For a quick review, here's Kotters "Eight Steps To Transform Your Organization":

1. Establish a Sense of Urgency
2. Form a Powerful Guiding Coalition
3. Create a Vision
4. Communicate the Vision
5. Empower Others to Act on the Vision
6. Plan for and Create Short-Term Wins
7. Consolidate Improvements and Produce Still More Change
8. Create a New Culture.

In his latest book, Kotter reminds us that "70 percent of large scale initiatives in companies failed or were not fully launched. Only 10 percent of the cases achieved what they set out to do--and in some cases overshot their expectations."

"In those ten, a similar formula was used in virtually all instances, and they all began by creating a sufficiently high sense of urgency among enough people to set the stage for making a challenging leap into some new direction."

BOTTOMLINE: How do you create a heightened sense of urgency and then sustain it? Do it by appealing to individuals heads - and hearts. Within that heart-head strategy there seem to be four sets of tactics that work best:

1. Use a variety of methods to help people better see the hazards and opportunities that are all around them--and incredibly, people don't often see them.
2. Become an urgency-beacon in the way you behave each and every day. The vast majority of people do not.
3. Always look to see if there is an opportunity in a crisis to help increase urgency.
4. Confront those people who hate change and are remarkably skilled at fostering both complacency and false urgency.

(Hat tip to Todd at 800-CEO-Read)

Ten Golden Rules of Continuous Improvement

1. Problems create opportunities
2. The impossible is a paradigm - Change your mind to change your performance
3. Ask why five times to get to the real answer
4. Eliminate excuses - do it right the first time
5. Correct errors immediately
6. Involve everyone - we are smarter as a group than a single individual
7. Reconsider rigid thoughts, situations change
8. Think simple, not perfect solutions
9. Use your mind more than your money
10. The goal: continuous improvement over delayed perfection

(Hat tip to @JohnPotterMPE)

The Consultant's Next Frontier - Strategy Execution Consulting

If your consulting firm offers management consulting services such as strategic planning, operations management, human resources consulting, or business advisory services, now is the time to investigate the competitive advantages of offering the most transformational next generation service for your clients: strategy execution consulting.

Find out why consulting firms throughout the country are becoming licensed affiliates for a revolutionary consulting and coaching service based on proven best practices -- called Six Disciplines.

Management consulting firms are becoming Six Disciplines licensed affiliates at a quickly increasing rate -- so NOW is the time for you to get involved.

Register to attend the next exclusive webcast "Establishing a Strategy Execution Practice" on Tuesday August 11, from 12:00-1:00 PM EST.

This live webcast will be conducted by veteran CEO, strategy execution expert, and best-selling business author, Gary Harpst.

Don't miss out - register for the webcast here.

CEO Profiling – the Four Kinds of CEOs

(The following article was written by Eric Kurjan, President of Six Disciplines Northwest Ohio. Six Disciplines brings “big company” process improvement to organizations looking to break beyond the status quo. For more information visit http://www.SixDisciplines.com/Toledo, or call 419-348-1897.)

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In my line of work I see all kinds of CEO’s. Young and old, male and female, decision makers and decision avoiders, leaders and shrinking violets. The bottom line is that the personalities, skills, abilities and success factors vary by CEO just like they vary in their shapes and sizes.

My experience has shown me that you can group CEOs into four basic categories. Call it “profiling” if you like, but as I look at the businesses that are truly successful and those that need help (and more importantly, those who will accept it) the differences in CEOs becomes clear.

CEO #1 The True Leader – this CEO gets it. He or she has a clear vision for where they want the company to grow. They have communicated it effectively. They set the expectations, they measure the results, and they hold their people accountable. They demonstrate compassion for their people and have built a culture of earned trust. This CEO is open, honest and transparent. They know they will gain more by sharing information than by withholding it. Their employees, or in these cases, “Associates” or “Team Members”, work diligently toward the goals of the company. There is an uncompromising, mutual respect being exhibited. Their goals and plans are pursued with passion, and the results are strong and consistent. Unfortunately, this is a rare breed. I have only met a handful of these CEOs.

CEO#2 The Know-It-All – this CEO thinks he/she gets it. This group is too smart for its own good. These are the CEOs who pride themselves on having never asked anyone for help, guidance or assistance. They tend to be ego-driven, arrogant, controlling and intimidating. They “rule” with the iron fist and make “employees” or subordinates nervous. They may or may not be quick to solve problems with staff. Some will fire with the swiftness of a hit squad in the dark of night with or without justification, while others can’t confront issues and only demonstrate chest-beating and bluster, leaving the problem “employee” in place to continue to contaminate the work environment. There are some who really are more fear-driven and put on the “tough guy/gal” mask. They fear making a bad choice and in most cases are lacking the leadership skills needed to truly run or change the business. They surround themselves with weak, low-horsepower leadership teams in an effort to make themselves appear “smarter”. Unfortunately, this is a common breed. There are tons of these CEOs out there. Many actually run, reasonably successful (based on revenue and/or profit measures) organizations in spite of their behavior, style and methods. But think how successful they could really be with goals, a plan and a defined process for getting things done.

CEO#3 The Heart Attack – this CEO has had one. Hopefully just in the figurative sense. They have been running the business and they are seeing things get worse and worse. They don’t work to change the behaviors, actions or direction -- they just fret as the business begins to tailspin. Then, some sort of major catastrophe hits, loss of a major client or two, the bank calls in the note or the line of credit is gone and they determine the need to make a change. This is much like the individual who ignored all the warning signs of an impending heart attack: high blood pressure, overweight, high cholesterol. They’re sure the bathroom scale is wrong. The heart attack is a big “surprise” but now they are going to straighten out their lives. Under a doctor’s supervision they begin to manage their diet, start working out and change the behaviors that led to the heart attack. There are lots of lessons learned (by the CEO and the company) if they survive the heart attack. They realize that the ways they have “led” the business were ineffective and that they need to get help from the outside to get them back on course for survival and fitness. By the way, no surprise here: CEO#3 almost always started out as a CEO#2 Know-It-All.

CEO#4 The Humble Leader – another fairly rare breed. He or she is actually a good leader. They’ve built a successful business and possess many of the same traits and behaviors as the “true leader”. They have not honed their skills to the degree of CEO#1, but they aspire for more. They are not satisfied with the status quo and are looking for every advantage to build a better team, to grow their business, to deliver higher, bigger and better. They look to outside resources and advisors to aid them in their journey toward their vision. They work to develop better and more effective processes and better alignment across the company. They are looking for help to manage the challenges of growth and all the thrills and challenges that come with it. They are hungry and open to learning. They are on the journey to become a CEO#1 True Leader.

So, which CEO type are you? If you can’t see it yourself, look for the "CEO Effectiveness Exam" in next month’s article. The numbers rarely lie.

The Seven Critical Elements of Strategy Execution

"The greatest strategy in the world is useless - if you cannot execute it."

Here are the seven critical elements of strategy execution:

1. People. Strategy formulation often gathers the "smartest people in the room." However, it's not the senior leadership team that executes strategy - it's everyone in your workforce. Get the right people in the right positions.
2. Communication. Strategy can only be executed if your employees know about it and really understands it. Most importantly, each person needs to understand how their daily activities fit with and support the strategy.
3. Direction. When your new business strategy is communicated, do your employees know what to do differently? Do they have the right tools and individual plans to execute the strategy?
4. Measurement. "You can't manage it, if you can't measure it." Do you have the right measures for monitoring the new strategy?
5. Alignment. Your organization needs to be aligned between what you say you are going to do (strategy) and what vital few objectives, initiatives and daily activities (execution) you are undertaking to effectively support the strategy.
6. Reward and Recognition. The introduction of a new strategy often introduces change in behavior. To ensure success, new behaviors need to be reinforced (rewarded for positive behaviors) so they are repeated.
7. Continual Review. The execution of strategy must be continually reviewed in order to make mid-course corrections and to understand measurement success. Finding errors early in the process and making corrections improves your ability to execute strategy successfully.

What Are CEOs and Managers Talking About Now?

A Harvard Business article recently showcased a the results of a CEO-peer group survey, indicating that the nature of CEO top concerns is changing as we move toward economic recovery.

While many of the CEOs had previously focused on topics of layoffs, profitability, and cash management, new concerns are beginning to emerge:

• Strategy to invest in web 2.0/social marketing to capture consumer market share
• Sales channel strategy to ramp sales of new products while driving down long-term costs
• New service positioning pitch to capture an emerging market in the telecom space
• Opportunity analysis--which projects to accelerate, which to cut?
• New "Software as a Service" product roadmap
• Investments in Marketing--where to experiment, how to allocate funds?
• Taking advantage of a "fire sale" acquisition and plan to leverage it
• Financing strategy--which term sheet, if any, to take?

BOTTOMLINE: HBR's summary: "Even the words contained in that list--strategy, ramp, opportunity, roadmap, experiment--are promising. The challenge isn't in believing that a bad economy is a time of opportunity, but rather in executing on the opportunities while staying prudent with day-to-day operations."

Using Performance Management to Create a Culture of Excellence

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:

1. 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.
2. Plan Development. Discuss short- and long-term development needs, including agreement on how and when development will occur, as well as prioritization of development to support more immediate business needs. Create a plan to accomplish the required and the desired learning and growth.
3. Take Action. Provide ongoing and frequent direction and support while the employee applies energy and focus toward accomplishing the goals.
4. Assess Performance. Evaluate the progress being made toward the goals and provide ongoing feedback to the employee on a formal and informal basis.
5. Provide Reward. Acknowledge and reward employees through organizational programs, local recognition, and other approaches tailored to individual employees. This may also involve consequences and disciplinary action for poor performance.

BOTTOMLINE: "Who has time to do all this on a regular basis?

Consider the consequences of not doing it: Lack of trust between employees and management; declining productivity and lost business due to missed deadlines and broken commitments; lower employee morale and higher turnover. These are just some of the more obvious consequences of a poorly implemented performance management system."

Management Consulting Firms Becoming Licensed Affiliates for Six Disciplines

Professional service firms that offer management consulting services (strategic planning, operations management, human resources consulting, business advisory services) are quickly discovering the competitive advantages of offering a complete strategy execution coaching program to their clients.

In fact, four management consulting firms -- in just the past four months

• Pareto Consulting (Pittsburgh, PA)
• AmeriStride (Chattanooga, TN)
• James Crisafulli (Rhode Island)
• The Total Management Group (Washington, D.C.)

...have become licensed licensed affiliates for the Six Disciplines strategy execution program to complement their management consulting service offerings.

Find out why management consulting firms are getting involved with Six Disciplines, by registering to attend the next webcast "Establishing a Strategy Execution Practice" on Tuesday August 11, from 12:00-1:00 PM EST.

This live webcast will be conducted by veteran CEO, strategy execution expert, and best-selling business author, Gary Harpst.

Register for the webcast here.

The Total Management Group, LLC Joins the Six Disciplines Strategy Execution Coaching Network

Washington D.C.-Based Consulting Firm Sees Growth through Strategy Execution Coaching Program

FINDLAY, OHIO – July 27, 2009 — Six Disciplines announced today that it has added the Washington D.C.-based consulting firm, The Total Management Group, LLC, to its nationwide network of business coaching practices that offer the Six Disciplines® strategy execution program to its clients. Six Disciplines is unique in the growing industry of business coaching because of its completeness, which includes the synergy of a repeatable business-building methodology, accountability coaching, an execution software system, and a shared community to accelerate organizational learning.

“Having served as the CEO of a strong engineering and software development company for 18 years, I can readily see the value that Six Disciplines brings to our clients,” said James Garrett, CEO of The Total Management Group. “The Six Disciplines methodology will help them achieve their goals, not just through planning, but through focused execution.”

“Six Disciplines is the perfect compliment to our consulting practice,” added Dr. David Christovich, The Total Management Group’s Vice President. “By using the Six Disciplines methodology and tools, our clients will be able to connect their vision to their strategies, and align their plans and activities for more consistent and predictable execution.”

“Forward-looking CEOs are starting to understand their biggest challenge is not what they think it is,” said Gary Harpst, founder and CEO of Six Disciplines. “They’re finally figuring out that it’s all about the balance of strategy and execution. The Total Management Group understands the tremendous opportunity ahead of them with Six Disciplines, and because of their expertise and proven success, we’re excited to welcome The Total Management Group to our business coaching network.”

About The Total Management Group

The Total Management Group provides strategic planning and execution services to business and government. Total Management CEO Jim Garrett co-founded SENTEL Corporation, an award-winning engineering and technology firm, which he led for eighteen years as its president and CEO. Under his leadership, the company -- which specialized in software and hardware engineering solutions for the military and U.S. government -- grew to 375 employees and $45 million in annual revenues. Visit The Total Management Group at http://www.thetotalmanagementgroup.com/ , email jGarrett@SixDisciplines.com, 571-346-7690 (office) or 301-661-2922 (cell).

Webcast: Why Management Consultants Are Establishing a Strategy Execution Practice

Professional service firms that offer management consulting services (strategic planning, operations management, human resources consulting, business advisory services) are quickly discovering the competitive advantages of offering a complete strategy execution coaching program to their clients.

In fact, four management consulting firms -- in just the past four months --have signed on to offer the Six Disciplines strategy execution program to compliment their professional service offerings.

Find out why management consulting firms are getting involved with Six Disciplines, by registering to attend the next webcast "Establishing a Strategy Execution Practice" on Tuesday July 28, from 12:00-1:00 PM EST.

The webcast is conducted by veteran CEO, strategy execution expert, and best-selling business author, Gary Harpst.

Invest an hour of your time and investigate the competitive advantages of the Six Disciplines strategy execution coaching program.

Register for the webcast here.

Management Consultants Are Evolving Into Strategy Execution Coaches

Professional service firms that offer management consulting services (strategic planning, operations management, human resources consulting, business advisory services) are quickly discovering the competitive advantages of offering a complete strategy execution coaching program to their clients.

In fact, four management consulting firms -- in just the past four months --have signed on to offer the Six Disciplines strategy execution program to compliment their professional service offerings.

Find out why management consulting firms are getting involved with Six Disciplines, by registering to attend the next webcast "Establishing a Strategy Execution Practice" on Tuesday July 28, from 12:00-1:00 PM EST.

The webcast is conducted by veteran CEO, strategy execution expert, and best-selling business author, Gary Harpst.

Invest an hour of your time and investigate the competitive advantages of the Six Disciplines strategy execution coaching program.

Register for the webcast here.

Knowledge Transfer - A Generational Challenge

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 new report from The Conference Board, the global research and business membership organization, most companies do not have a plan to manage and transfer knowledge and even fewer factor cross-generational challenges into business strategy.

The key challenge?

• As the Baby Boom generation of corporate leaders and experts approaches retirement, businesses face the loss of experience and knowledge on an unprecedented scale.
• Younger workers can't be counted on to fill the void, as they lack the experience that builds deep expertise.

The result?

• A significant drain of business wisdom that decreases innovation, lowers growth capacity, and reduces efficiency in the organization

The solution?

• Knowledge transfer methods include formal education and training, interviews, mentoring, apprenticeships, simulations and games, instant messaging, peer assists, communities of practice, job transfer, knowledge elicitation interviews, storytelling, Wikis, Blogs, research papers, and conferences.

BOTTOMLINE: To enable knowledge transfer, your strategy execution system must have a built-in method for recording and storing processes and procedures, document management, innovation exercises, historical activity archiving, and measure management. Without a repeatable process, knowledge transfer is unpredictable at best, and non-existent at worst.

James Crisafulli Joins the Six Disciplines Business Coaching Network

Rhode Island-Based Consulting Firm Sees Growth through Strategy Execution Coaching Program

FINDLAY, OHIO – July 23, 2009 — Six Disciplines announced today that it has added Rhode Island-based consultant, James J. Crisafulli, to its nationwide network of business coaching practices that offer the Six Disciplines® strategy execution program to its clients. Six Disciplines is unique in the burgeoning industry of business coaching because of its completeness, which involves the synergy of a repeatable business-building methodology, accountability coaching, an execution software system, and a shared community to accelerate organizational learning.

“Six Disciplines is the only program that offers a complete strategy execution framework extending from the corner office to front line personnel. It includes the technology to easily monitor and measure the progress from a management and coaching perspective. Our efforts are focused on achieving a sustainable growth path by reviewing the execution progress and its impact on business performance. At the end of the day, it is about results; the Six Disciplines framework of strategy formulation, goal setting, initiative planning, leadership training, and 360 review process keeps strategy, policies and professionals aligned and focused on the target,” said Crisafulli.

“Forward-looking CEOs are starting to understand their biggest challenge is not what they think it is,” said Gary Harpst, founder and CEO of Six Disciplines. “They’re finally figuring out that it’s all about the balance of strategy and execution. James understands the tremendous opportunity ahead of him and his team with Six Disciplines, and because of their expertise and proven success, we’re excited to welcome James to our business coaching network.”

“Six Disciplines is the perfect complement to our consulting practice,” added Crisafulli. “By using the Six Disciplines methodology and tools, our clients will be able to connect their vision to their strategies, and align their plans and activities for more consistent and predictable execution.”


About James J. Crisafulli
James J. Crisafulli has been providing strategic planning and business coaching services to New England businesses since 1996. As a consultant to more than 200 businesses, he has developed a reputation for helping owners to improve their organizations and, in turn, their lives. James has a proven track record for identifying challenges that may be holding businesses back, helping the owners to resolve those issues, developing action plans that will help them meet their stated goals, and holding them accountable during the implementation phase. Contact James via email at JCrisafulli@SixDisciplines.com or (401) 762-2430.

What Are The Six Disciplines - Video

Watch this short video as Six Disciplines CEO and founder Gary Harpst explains "What Are The Six Disciplines?"

During the interview, Harpst talks about each of the six disciplines described in detail in his award-winning book "Six Disciplines for Excellence."

The Ten Myths of Strategic Planning

CEOs of small businesses often appear to believe in myths surrounding the subject of strategic planning and execution - myths that can prove dangerous to the health of their organization.

1. Myth #1: “We don’t need a strategic plan!” The truth is that every organization needs some form of plan to guide its actions or it will simply “drift off course” in the chaos businesses often face in their daily operations.
2. Myth #2: Strategic planning can only be done at a resort. Strategic planning is serious and shouldn’t be equated with a vacation. Getting away from the distractions of the company environment is important, but all that is needed for a productive planning process is a meeting room at a local hotel, conference center
3. Myth #3: “It interferes with our real jobs.” Strategic planning is arguably the most important part of any management team’s real job because it can determine the effectiveness of all the rest of its efforts. Working hard to advance along the wrong path does not constitute progress.
4. Myth #4: “We can do it without any help.” It is extremely difficult to both participate in and facilitate the same meeting. For most executives, there is an almost irresistible urge to problem solve on detailed issues and therefore lose track of the big picture. An outside facilitator can manage the flow of the meeting to avoid uneven participation, shifting to problem solving, bogging down on one subject, accepting conventional wisdom as fact, etc.
5. Myth #5: Planning will predict the future. Planning can reduce risk, but not eliminate it. It is easy to forget that any plan is a set of actions based on an assumption of how the future will unfold. Using the planning process to explore alternative futures, and the actions needed under those conditions, improves a firm’s ability to respond to whatever happens.
6. Myth #6: Planning is done when the retreat is over. Planning is a process, not an event. If it is not a continued, integral component of the management of the firm, it is indeed a waste of time. It is best to check progress against the plan, and take corrective action for any deficiencies or changes --at least quarterly.
7. Myth #7: The plan is a binder on a shelf. Documentation is necessary but the real benefit of a good plan is the mental framework for problem solving that it provides to employees. A strategic plan is really a way of thinking about the business, and it should change to some degree the way everyone goes about their job.
8. Myth #8: The plan will automatically produce results. Without frequent, systematic oversight and review by the CEO and the management team, there will be little execution -- and the plan reduced to merely a set of words.
9. Myth #9: If the CEO says it, it will happen. Actual execution of any plan only takes place when employees change their behavior to comply with the requirements of that plan. To implement the plan, employees must understand it and be willing to make the necessary changes to how they go about their individual responsibilities.
10. Myth #10: “The plan is too confidential to be shared with regular employees.” See Myth #9. Even the best strategic plan will not produce the desired results if the people who have to execute it don’t know what it is. Your company will gain more competitive advantage from actually executing its plan, even if information about the plan falls into the hands of competitors, than it will from keeping the plan a perfect secret, and, as a result, not doing anything.

Webcast: The Evolution of Management Consulting

As a leader of your management consulting practice, you’re faced with the following challenges:

1. How can I build a new, complimentary business practice – while increasing the value of my existing consulting services?
2. Is there an effective way I can generate an additional $20-$40+k per client per year?
3. How can I offer a new service to my existing clients – without a huge investment?
4. What can I do to offer a new service - that will attract new clients too?
5. How can I substantially increase the market value of my consulting practice?

Invest an hour of your time, and you’ll get answers to these questions by discovering a complimentary strategy execution coaching practice called Six Disciplines.

Join us on July 16 for an exclusive free webcast presentation “Establishing a Strategy Execution Practice” by veteran CEO and best-selling author, Gary Harpst.

WHEN: Thursday, July 16, 2009, from 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Eastern

TO REGISTER: http://50cityjuly16webcast.eventbrite.com/

Knowledge Transfer Is Key To Sustaining Business Excellence

As baby boomers retire, companies are failing - in a big way - to transfer knowledge to the next generation of workers.

According to a recent study conducted by the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp), only 29% of responding organizations report that they incorporate retirement forecasts into their knowledge transfer practices, and only a third add "skills gap analysis" into those forecasts.

The crux of the problem?

"For all the public gnashing of teeth about the impending retirement of all those knowledgeable, hard-working Baby Boomers, relatively few organizations are doing much about it," says Jay Jamrog, SVP of research at i4cp. "They're going to wind up in a mad bar-the-doors scramble in the near future if they don't start trying to tap the knowledge of their most knowledgeable Boomers."

The solution?

Training remains the most conventional way to transfer knowledge in organizations, with 82% reporting that training is an ongoing knowledge transfer practice. This is especially true in larger companies (those with 5,000 or more employees), where more than 90% employ ongoing training. Another top practice cited was coaching, utilized by 55% of all reporting companies, and mentoring programs are used on an ongoing basis by 44% of organizations.

BOTTOMLINE: For small and midsized businesses to remain competitive, a formalized process of knowledge transfer (of trends, policies, procedures, information gathering, competitive intelligence, and so on...) must be deployed. This process must be open, transparent, collaborative and immediately available (think Twitter, Skype, SharePoint, Slideshare, Posterous, etc.) to share, capture, retain, and disseminate the knowledge.

Top 10 Reasons To Hire a Business Coach

There are all types of coaches: a tennis coach, golf coach, swim coach, music coach, executive coach, and so on.

What do all these coaches have in common?

More importantly, why should you consider working with a business coach?

A coach won't do the work for you, but here's how a coach can help launch you (and your business) to the next level:

1. A coach can be a confidant. You can tell your coach things you wouldn't tell others, because a coach is trained to understand and be non-judgmental.
2. A coach can help you see your blind spots. Everyone, even the coach, has personal areas that are out of view or awareness until someone points them out. A coach is perfectly poised to perform this critical function.
3. A coach can provide objective feedback. Other people may have agendas. Your coach has your best interests in mind in providing feedback and counsel to you.
4. A coach provides another set of eyes. Even the top performers in the world have coaches to help them see what they themselves can't see.
5. A coach can keep you accountable. Your coach can help you take on more responsibility by having you report weekly on your accomplishments and initiatives.
6. A coach can be a sounding board. Your coach can be another set of ears as you talk about the things that are bothering you. As you hear yourself have a conversation new personal realizations emerge.
7. A coach can be another source of creative ideas. You can brainstorm and try out new ideas, behaviors and mental processes as your coach provides a safe place to experiment.
8. A coach can help you create your vision. Your coach can assist you in developing your plans for success based on your values, personal strengths, background and assets.
9. A coach can help celebrate your successes and be a source of strength when you fail. Your coach can be a supportive and nurturing source of energy.
10. A coach can help you process life. Life is a process and a good coach can assist you in reviewing and reframing what happens in your business, your sports and your life!

BOTTOMLINE: A business coach is not a therapist, not a consultant or even a mentor. Yet, a certified business coach, one that is trained in a repeatable business-building methodology, can make all the difference.

(Copyright © Bill Cole MentalGameCoach.com)

The Difference Between Coaching and Consulting

If you've seen professional coaches portrayed on TV or spotlighted in magazines, you may not always come away with an accurate perception of coaching.

Like any young profession that has experienced rapid growth, misconceptions have surfaced about the nature and purpose of professional coaching. As part of its work to advance the art, science, and practice of professional coaching, the International Coach Federation (ICF) works to educate the public on what to expect from a coaching partnership.

In a recent press release by the ICF, they made the attempt "to correct these inaccuracies by educating the public about our distinct profession and stressing the importance of working with a coach who has undergone formal coach-specifictraining and is credentialed."

One of the common misconceptions about coaching is that "Coaching and consulting are the same."

According to the ICF, coaches are experts in the coaching process and are trained to listen, observe and customize their approach to individual client needs. Whereas, consultants typically give clients answers or solutions based on expertise or knowledge in a certain area, coaches seek to elicit solutions and strategies from the client; they believe the client is naturally creative and resourceful."

At Six Disciplines, we offer a complete strategy execution coaching program through a network of Six Disciplines coaching practices, which are staffed by professional coaches who are certified on the Six Disciplines methodology. These accountability coaches are not "consultants" in the traditional sense. They offer companies training and assistance on how to adopt the Six Disciplines methodology throughout the organization -- not just at the senior leadership team level, but through an approach of "total organizational engagement".

What makes Six Disciplines coaches different from consultants is they "show" as opposed to "tell", and, unlike consultants, they don't leave. They are available to the client organizations throughout the adoption and implementation of the Six Disciplines program - which is an ongoing process.

Visit more information - visit Six Disciplines.

Effective Planning Retreat Best Practices

For business leaders who go on an annual planning retreat or "off-site", here's an article from the Harvard Business Review about "Off-Sites that Work"

Some key considerations:

• Of all the meetings top executives go to in a year, none is more important than the strategy off-site, where the most essential conversations for the future of the business occur. Yet it is the rare management team that can say its strategy off-site truly changed the way the business is run.
• At best, participants do some vague direction setting and work on team-building skills; at worst, they write off the retreat as a waste of time and resources. It needn’t be like that.

Here's a a set of best practices that businesses can use to make the most of this planning retreat process:

• Essentially, the problem with most strategy off-sites is that they’re insufficiently structured. People think that if you schedule a meeting, invite top leaders (and perhaps an outside expert), and block off units of time to discuss big subjects, the rest will take care of itself. In reality, formlessness leads to aimlessness.

• Oddly enough, only rigorously designed meetings give rise to truly candid strategy discussions. That rigor starts before the meeting, when the scope of the matters discussed must be limited, the participant list drawn up accordingly, the relevant materials (and only those) sent out and absorbed, and a detailed agenda established.

• During the meeting, the pace and quality of the conversation can be managed through attention to politics and by using carefully tailored frameworks, decision points, and group exercises.

• After the meeting, an action plan ensures clear accountability and follow-through."

BOTTOMLINE: "If you and your executive team spend four days a year rafting down rivers together, you’ll eventually get good at rafting down rivers.

Spend four days a year having well-designed strategy conversations together, and you will transform your annual off-site from a meaningless junket into a genuine turning point for your business."

Strategic Planning Retreat? Don't Skip This Year's!

This Year's Management Off Site: Necessary or Negligent?

That's the title of a new article from Harvard Business Publishing, which offers up the pros and cons of scheduling the "annual planning retreat" during times of economic uncertainty.

The pros?

• Hunkering down is not a strategy.
• Management alignment is critical and at risk.
• Creativity is more important than ever.
• Pure ROI

The cons?

• Managers are talking more than ever now.
• It wouldn't be prudent to spend money on a hotel, food and facilitator.
• It sends a bad message to those still on-site.

BOTTOMLINE: The authors suggest the following:

"I would not advocate postponing or skipping your strategic planning session. Strategy is as important if not more important than ever. They are meaningful events. Successful off sites build employee loyalty and camaraderie. When I think back on my positive business experiences, they cluster around positive team interactions happening during off site sessions. Also, much greater work happens when employees are unencumbered by both in-the-business and personal obligations."

Execution of Strategy Requires Change

The successful execution of strategy ultimately requires a change in the behavior of employees.

New research conducted over the last two decades has produced a more accurate view of human behavior change resulting from an integration of psychology (the study of the human mind and human behavior) and neuroscience (the study of the anatomy and physiology of the brain).

An article titled “The Neuroscience of Leadership“, from Strategy+Business provides an interesting discussion on organisational change, some of the interesting points raised in the article are:

Some key points from the research:

• Change Is Pain: Organizational change is unexpectedly difficult because it provokes sensations of physiological discomfort. Trying to change any hardwired habit requires a lot of effort, in the form of attention. This often leads to a feeling that many people find uncomfortable. So they do what they can to avoid change.
• Behaviorism doesn’t work: Change efforts based on incentive and threat (the carrot and the stick) rarely succeed in the long run. Present the right incentives, and the desired change will naturally occur…… Yet there is plenty of evidence from both clinical research and workplace observation that change efforts based on typical incentives and threats (the carrot and the stick) rarely succeed in the long run.
• Humanism is overrated: In practice, the conventional empathic approach of connection and persuasion doesn’t sufficiently engage people. This phenomenon provides a scientific basis for some of the practices of leadership coaching. Rather than lecturing and providing solutions, effective coaches ask pertinent questions and support their clients in working out solutions on their own…. People can detect the difference between authentic inquiry and an effort to persuade them.
• Focus is power: The act of paying attention creates chemical and physical changes in the brain.
• Expectation shapes reality: People’s preconceptions have a significant impact on what they perceive. How, then, would you go about facilitating change? The impact of mental maps suggests that one way to start is by cultivating moments of insight. Large-scale behavior change requires a large-scale change in mental maps.
• Attention density shapes identity: Repeated, purposeful, and focused attention can lead to long-lasting personal evolution. For insights to be useful, they need to be generated from within, not given to individuals as conclusions.
• Mindful Change in Practice. Start by leaving problem behaviors in the past; focus on identifying and creating new behaviors. Over time, these may shape the dominant pathways in the brain. This is achieved through a solution-focused questioning approach that facilitates self-insight, rather than through advice-giving.

BOTTOMLINE: "Perhaps you are thinking, “This all sounds too easy. Is the answer to all the challenges of change just to focus people on solutions instead of problems, let them come to their own answers, and keep them focused on their insights?” Apparently, that’s what the brain wants."

(Tip of the hat to George Amber at The Practice of Leadership)

2009 Is Half Over - How To Improve Your Strategic Planning Process

Hard to believe - but 2009 is now half over, which means it's time to assess how your organization faired so far.

The most important thing to do is step back and improve your strategic planning process.

Even top performing companies undertake a time-consuming strategic planning process that unfortunately leaves many executives frustrated with the results.

This sense of disappointment was captured in a recent McKinsey quarterly survey of nearly 800 top executives:

• Only 45 percent of the respondents said they were satisfied with the strategic-planning process
• Moreover, only 23 percent indicated that major strategic decisions were made during the process.

The operative question for organizational leadership is: "how can you make your strategic planning process more effective?"

Here are five ideas you can use to make make your strategic planning processes run better.

1. Start with the issues - conduct internal and external reviews and a SWOT analysis
2. Bring together the right people - involve the most relevant people in the organization, and consider involving external resources for new insights
3. Adapt planning cycles to the needs of the business - separate the strategic formulation process from the business planning process
4. Implement a strategic-performance-management system - that assigns accountability for results of initiatives and projects established to meet company goals.
5. Integrate human-resources systems into the strategic plan - include performance appraisal, 360 feedback surveys and incentive pay based on performance results

Linking Strategy And Execution - A Parallel Universe?

In their book "The Execution Premium: Linking Strategy to Operations for Competitive Advantage" (Harvard Business School Press), Harvard professors Dr. Robert S. Kaplan and Dr. David P. Norton (creators of the balanced scorecard) offer their lastest insights concerning the "rules" of successful strategy execution.

• The failure to balance the tensions between strategy and operations is pervasive.
• Breakdowns in a company’s management system, not managers’ lack of ability or effort, are what cause a company’s underperformance.
• By management system, they're referring to the integrated set of processes and tools that a company uses to develop its strategy, translate it into operational actions, and monitor and improve the effectiveness of both.
• By creating a closed-loop management system, companies can avoid such shortfalls.

Interestingly, Kaplan and Norton's description of such a closed-loop management system closely parallels the detailed steps of the Six Disciplines Methodology, (which are revealed in the award-winning business improvement book "Six Disciplines for Excellence," as indicated below:

• The loop comprises five stages, beginning with strategy development, which involves applying tools, processes, and concepts such as mission, vision, and value statements; SWOT analysis; shareholder value management; competitive positioning; and core competencies to formulate a strategy statement. (Discipline I)
• That statement is then translated into specific objectives and initiatives, using other tools and processes, including strategy maps and balanced scorecards. (Disciplines II and III)
• Strategy implementation, in turn, links strategy to operations with a third set of tools and processes, including quality and process management, reengineering, process dashboards, rolling forecasts, activity-based costing, resource capacity planning, and dynamic budgeting. (Discipline IV)
• As implementation progresses, managers continually review internal operational data and external data on competitors and the business environment. Finally, managers periodically assess the strategy, updating it when they learn that the assumptions underlying it are obsolete or faulty. (Discipline VI)

BOTTOMLINE: While Kaplan and Norton's observations and recommendations specifically target much larger enterprises, Six Disciplines is the first complete strategy execution coaching program that is optimized for small and midsized businesses.

The Power of External Accountability Coaching

Let’s consider what accountability is, and how we can build an organizational culture that encourages it.

Be definition, accountability is being answerable or responsible for something. Accountability opens the door to ownership – not necessarily financial ownership -- but certainly emotional ownership, where someone acknowledges they’re responsible for some aspect of the organization.

Accountability is not something you “make” people do. It has to be chosen, accepted or agreed upon by people within your organization. People must “buy into” being accountable and responsible. For many, this is a new, unfamiliar, and sometimes, uncomfortable way to work. Most importantly: individual purpose and meaning comes from accepting responsibility and learning to be accountable.

To learn to be accountable means coming to grips with an element of discipline. Accountability is the opposite of permissiveness. Holding people accountable is really about the distribution of power and choice. When people have more choice, they are more responsible. When they become more responsible, they can have more freedom. When they are more accountable, they understand their purpose and role within the organization and are committed to making things happen.

BOTTOMLINE: How can your organization become more accountable for its actions? Consider an external accountability coach, such as those who are certified to coach the Six Disciplines strategy execution program. Building organizational accountability requires not only a systematic method based on proven best-practices; it also requires technologies that make the framework practical to use and implement on a daily, weekly, monthly quarterly and annual basis. In addition, it takes an external accountability coach to hold you and your organization accountable and to help these cultural changes to “stick” – and to make the changes last. Find out more about how the Six Disciplines program works here.

Simplicity of Strategy Leads To Action

Authors Dan and Chip Heath (Made To Stick) offer a FastCompany article titled "Analysis of Paralysis," in which they assert:

"If your strategy doesn't help employees act, it's not a strategy. You don't need to embrace simplicity just so your people can comprehend your message. The point of simplicity is more fundamental: Simplicity allows people to act."

Their observation?

Decision paralysis is the culprit. Every business must choose among attractive options: growing revenue versus maximizing profitability, quality versus speed to market. Too many choices leads to confusion, overload, paralysis. Too many choices debilitates an organization.

The solution?

BOTTOMLINE: Simplicity. A simple strategy can resolve decision paralysis. Or at least, it needs to be expressed and communicated simply. The simpler, the better, so that all employees can understand and embrace the strategy. Start with your organization's mission and vision. Then move on to your shared values and strategic position. Without simplicity, your employees will not understand the strategy well enough to align their daily activities toward executing it.

The Impact of Business Coaching

The International Coach Federation recently surveyed 210 coaching clients for demographic data and feedback /opinions about the value and use of business coaching. The survey was conducted by Amy Watson, Principal, PROfusion Public Relations, with survey design assistance by Jackie Rieves Watson, Ph.D., professor of Management and Statistics, Amber University.

Some of the more interesting survey findings:

Main role of the business coach:

• 84.8 % sounding board
• 78.1% motivator
• 56.7% friend
• 50.5% mentor
• 46.7% business consultant
• 41% teacher

Typical issues encountered during coaching:

• 84.5 % time management
• 74.3% career guidance
• 73.8% business advice
• 58.6% relationship / family issues
• 51.9% physical / wellness issues
• 45.2% personal issues
• 39.5% goal-setting
• 38.1% financial guidance
• 11% creativity

Outcomes attributed to coaching:

• 67.6% higher level of self-awareness
• 62.4% smarter goal-setting
• 60.5% more balanced life
• 57.1% lower stress levels
• 52.9% self-discovery
• 52.4% more self-confidence
• 43.3% improvement in quality of life
• 39.5% enhanced communication skills
• 35.7% project completion
• 33.8% health or fitness improvement
• 33.3% better relationship with staff
• 33.3% better family relationships
• 31.9% increased energy
• 31.9% more fun
• 25.7% more income
• 25.7% stopped a bad habit
• 24.3% change in career
• 22.9% more free time

(Hat tip to Laseter Business Coaching)

CEO Fatigue and What You Can Do About It

“Well, Doc how bad is it?” asked Bob Bizibee, ABC Company’s CEO. “I’ve seen this before with other CEOs like you,” said Dr. Foster. “It starts out as a small rash, but before you know it, you’re not sleeping at night, you’re kicking the dog, and you’re yelling at your neighbors for looking at your grass.” “Hey I‘ve been busy, and the grass isn’t more than two feet tall,” screams Bob. “Bob,” said Dr. Foster, “I’m afraid you have NPNR - No Plan, No Results.” “Yep, Doc, that’s it – you nailed it,” said Bob.

Do you have NPNR? Do these symptoms fit you?”

• Crazy-busy – yet, you don’t exactly know where your time actually goes
• Overwhelmed - by the day-to-day tasks of running your company – but, you’re not spending enough time on building your organization
• Frustrated - by unfinished projects and the lack of consistent results
• Drained - by the energy it takes to make all the decisions – and want to delegate more
• Disappointed - that your team doesn’t have the same passion for your vision
• Exhausted - because you’re working too much, and playing too little

If misery loves company, then you’re in “good” company. Many CEOs just like you are fatigued from the pressures of managing the business during these tough times.

How do you know you might be suffering from NPNR?

Take the following quiz (4=strongly agree, 3=agree, 2=disagree, 1=strongly disagree)

1. I don’t have time to work on what’s really important.
2. We have a strategy, but no clear plan for executing it.
3. We can’t seem to follow a consistent plan from year to year.
4. We have great planning meetings, but lose all momentum within days or weeks following them.
5. We have employees who waste a lot of time on non-essential activities.
6. We don’t have a good way to know if we’re improving, getting worse or staying the same.
7. We seem to know what to do, but we just don’t seem to get it done.
8. We seem to make the same mistakes over and over again.
9. We don’t have an easy or consistent way to do meaningful employee reviews.
10. We don’t have a clear plan for leadership succession.

(If you scored over 25, stop what you’re doing and seek out professional business coaching help.)

Let’s face it – being the CEO (or president, or owner, or whatever title/role you have) – is a lonely job. And yes, the challenges of being the CEO are enormous – but, there’s good news: there IS a systematic approach to handle these ongoing pressures.

What if I were to suggest that there was a way for you and your organization to:

• Get better (by “get better” – you can use whatever definition makes sense to you –revenue, profit, productivity, utilization, customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction)
• More importantly – stay better
• And do all this - with less stress and more fun?

What does it take?

1. The ability to accept and embrace change. Face reality. If you’re willing to get out of your comfort zone, as the old saying goes: “If nothing changes, nothing changes.”
2. The ability to delegate. A big part of being a leader is to learn to trust your team. Be clear about your vision, provide direction and support, measure their progress - and let them do their job.
3. The ability to spend time ON your business. Creating a culture of ownership and accountability within your business and making sure that systems and processes are in place so you can spend more time working “ON” the business – not just “IN” the business. Set a realistic plan in place and live up to the plan

BOTTOMLINE: Execution is a systematic process of rigorously discussing what, how, and why, questioning, tenaciously following through, and ensuring accountability. In its most fundamental sense, execution is a systematic way of exposing reality and acting on it. Most companies and their leaders don’t face reality very well. That is the basic reason they can't execute. However, set a plan, communicate the plan, follow the plan and the business improves. (By the way, that rash will go away too....)

(Eric Kurjan is the President of Six Disciplines Northwest Ohio. Six Disciplines brings “big company” process improvement to organizations looking break beyond the status quo. For more information visit www.SixDisciplines.com/Toledo, or call 419-348-1897.)

Problems With Your Organization's Strategic Plan?

Need a sanity check on your strategic planning process?

Consider the following:

1. Does your process produce a plan that's "real?"
2. Is your plan "strategic?"
3. Do you have adequate external focus?
4. Do upi make sufficient use of outsiders?
5. Does your plan really work for the organization?
6. Is your plan actionable?
7. Is anybody doing anything?
8. Are you getting lost in executing tactics, but missing the big picture?

BOTTOMLINE: If your strategic planning process isn't producing the results you expect, it's time to contact Six Disciplines.

The senior leadership team of every one of our clients goes through an intensive strategic planning retreat - based on Discipline VI -Step Back, Discipline I - Decide What's Important, and Discipline II - Set Goals That Lead. We're so confident in our proven best-practices methodology, the 3-day strategic planning retreat comes with a 100% money-back guarantee (Watch Part III: How Can You Evaluate Six Disciplines?)

The result? Ninety-eight percent of our clients remark that this planning retreat is the most intense and valuable strategic planning process in which they've ever participated. Oh, that same 98%? They become fully engaged Six Disciplines clients.

The Payoff of Company-Wide Performance Management

In an exclusive report from BusinessWeek Research Services entitled "The Payoff of Pervasive Performance Management,"researchers found:

• Two-thirds of senior executives whose companies use performance management say it has a positive effect on shareholder value.
• Organizations exercising world-class enterprise performance management, including widespread dispersal of the tools, enjoy 2.4 times the three-year equity market returns of typical companies in their industry.
• The broader the distribution of business intelligence and performance management tools, the higher the potential return on the investment.
• A successful performance management program realizes that not all employees need to view data in the same way—or to view the same data.
• The biggest return on investment can come from extending performance management to front-line workers, like telemarketers and collections staff.

BOTTOMLINE: While these findings are for much larger businesses, the same rules apply for small and midsized businesses. When deploying any kind of performance management methodology or tool, it must be used by all team members, not just some.

It's what we at Six Disciplines refer to as total organizational engagement. Since strategy execution is the biggest challenge in business as it involves every person, every day, it only makes sense that everyone must be involved - not just those who create strategy.

Find out more by reading Six Disciplines Execution Revolution.

Business Coaching Webcast - June 25

If your professional service firm is involved in management consulting activities, you'll want to register for the June 25 webcast "Six Disciplines Business Coaching Opportunity" - conducted by CEO, strategy execution expert and best-selling author Gary Harpst.

During the webcast, Harpst will provide answers to the following questions:

1. How can you can add a new, complimentary business practice - while increasing the value of your existing consulting services?
2. How your can offer additional services to your existing clients - without a huge investment?
3. What can you do to offer a new service - that will attract new clients?
4. How can you substantially increase the market value of your consulting practice?

Invest an hour of your time, and you'll get answers to these questions, by discovering a unique business coaching practice called Six Disciplines.

Five Steps To Building Organizational Accountability

Here's a five-step process for creating organizational and individual accountability, which will help to achieve extraordinary results in any organization:

1. Establish the organization's top three objectives. This means the significant few, not the important many. (This is what we at Six Disciplines refer to as Vital Few Objectives- VFOs). Once identified, these vital few objectives must be clear, concise, measurable, obtainable - and assigned to one individual to be responsible for achieving.
2. Assign each of the objectives to a specific team member.
3. Ask each team member what resources he or she needs to win. To help people win, team leaders must remove the barriers or roadblocks that stand in the way. Do this by having each team member identify three things they need to accomplish each objective. Have them put it in writing.
4. Agree on what the team leader will do to help. Have the team leader meet individually with each team member to clarify the barriers and agree on what’s needed to achieve the objective and who will be responsible for making it happen. In all likelihood, the leader will assume some responsibility. Why? Because you’re responsible to people, not for them. Being responsible to people means helping them get what they need to win.
5. Reward results. When objectives are achieved, ensure that recognition and rewards are disproportionate and highly visible. Those who achieve the most get recognized and rewarded the most—and everyone should know that.

Execution Revolution - Now Available in Brazil

Now translated in Portuguese and available in Brazil through Elsevier.com.br, the best-selling strategy-execution and business coaching book, Execution Revolution, by CEO and founder of Six Disciplines, Gary Harpst.

Execution Revolution - Free Download Available

Now available for downloading - The Introduction, and Chapters 1 and 2 of the best-selling business improvement book, Six Disciplines Execution Revolution, by CEO and strategy execution expert Gary Harpst.

Business Coaching Continues To Emerge

A major 2008 global study conducted by the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) and commissioned by the American Management Association reveals the following trends in coaching over the next decade:

• The need for coaches will grow. The AMA/i4cp study indicates that coaching is continuing to grow as a corporate practice. In the coming decade, there will be a greater need for speed and effectiveness in developing the next generation of leaders, and coaching will be particularly well suited to handling the faster cycle times and more diverse management challenges associated with global business.
• Executive coaching will mature as an industry. Coaching will become less of a cottage industry and will grow to include more credentialed professionals who are part of larger associations, such as consulting groups or coaching agencies. This maturation process will reveal itself in the ways businesses use and contract with coaches. There will be more standard contracts, vetting of credentials and methods of trying to determine coaching's return on investment.
• The coaching industry will have more barriers to entry. More rigorous certifications and assessments will emerge, at least for the subset of coaches who work in corporate environments. As this occurs, there will be fewer unqualified coaches.
• Metrics will become standard practice. Coaching agencies and companies that hire coaches will become better at measuring coaching performance. In some cases, client companies might want to determine specific results such as increased productivity or improved skill on the part of the person or group being coached. In others, companies will look more at issues such as engagement levels or levels of performance among work teams.
• External coaching development sources will become more dominant. The AMA/i4cp survey shows that external development programs for coaching are more highly correlated with success than internal ones. This represents a market opportunity for universities and other institutions that provide education to those who wish to enter the coaching field. As the coaching industry matures, several institutions will become predominant "feeder schools" for organizations that wish to hire coaches
• Coaching will become more virtual. Coaching will always be more "high touch" than other forms of learning and development, yet it is increasingly a multimedia event. By 2018, technological advances will allow "virtual" coaching relationships to feel more like face-to-face interactions, and professional coaches will be better able to prescribe certain e-learning development modules for their clients in order to help them develop outside of the coaching dialogue.

BOTTOMLINE: Business coaching, by itself, is only one part of the equation for continual individual and organizational performance improvement. For a description of a complete strategy coaching execution, read Six Disciplines Execution Revolution.

What If...Part I

What if...

…there was a way for you to know exactly where you where – everyday, on key organizational metrics like financials, customers, production, and people?

...there was a way to help you – and everyone in your organization – to stay focused -- and be aligned -- with your mission, values, vision, strategy, and goals --- every single day?

…there was a way to help you focus not only on strategic planning, but also on daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual detailed execution of your plans?

…with all of the "systems" your organization uses today – you STILL don't have these competitive advantages?

...what if you read all the latesat business improvement books, attended all the seminars, listened to all the tapes, even implemented some new ideas - but there was still...something missing?

...what if ...after you read these books, attended the seminars, and implemented the new ideas - that the improvements still didn't last?

…you looked around, did the investigation and research, and found there was no complete program -- optimized for small and mid-sized organizations -- that had the right combination of “proven + practical + systematic + repeatable” - until now?

...you found a complete strategy execution program that helped to do this for your organization?

....you found a complete strategy execution program that included ongoing coaching and an innovate software system that made it easier for everyone in the organization to understand how their daily activities supported the organization's goals?

BOTTOMLINE: What if...for less than the cost of lunch, you could buy a best-selling business book that describes such a complete strategy execution coaching program?

Why Is Organizational Change So Hard?

Consider this new research from Michael T. Kanazawa at Dissero Partners:

• According to a summary of over 40 research studies on change, the success rate of strategy execution and corporate change programs is 33%.
• At the same time, a Conference Board survey of over 600 global CEOs revealed that the top two challenges they see are:

1. Generating consistent revenue growth, and
2. Strategy execution

This translates to weak performance on the top executive priority, a situation that needs to change. Because so many of these programs fail, some executives and managers start to believe the old saying that “people hate change” must be true. That is not true. In fact, employment surveys reveal that the top reason good employees leave companies is over a lack of new opportunities and boredom with stagnant, never-changing, dead-end jobs.

Other observations from the research:

• People don’t hate change; they hate corporate change programs.
• Think about this… is your goal to get the most out of people or the best out of people?
  You typically can’t get both.
• There is no such thing as "buy-in." When people are engaged up front and are a part of generating the tactical plans, there is no need to get “buy-in” at any point. The ideas are already theirs.
• Leaders who learn to share their power and control enable others to reach their full potential and effectively unleash organizational power.

BOTTOMLINE: "Consider one mindset shift that can unlock it all for you. If you believe that people hate change and that it is your job to change them, they will hate it. If you believe that people thrive on change and that your job is to unleash it, you will tap into a limitless source of ingenuity, energy and drive that will allow you to consistently take your big ideas into big results."

Download the complete PDF here, at ChangeThis.

The Five Most Important Questions You Can Ask

In the book "The Five Most Important Questions You Will Ever Ask About Your Organization," Peter Drucker, one of the leading management practitioners of our time, offers a tool for self-assessment and transformation.

Answering these five questions will fundamentally change the way you work, helping you lead your organization to an exceptional level of performance.

Peter Drucker’s five questions are:

1. What is our Mission?
2. Who is our Customer?
3. What does the Customer Value?
4. What are our Results?
5. What is our Plan?

The questions lead to action. By asking these questions, you can focus on why you are doing what you are doing, and how to do it better.

Answering the five questions will stimulate spirited discussions and action within any organization, inspiring positive change and a new levelof excellence.

Start the discussion in your organization - Today!

The Difference Between Strategy and Tactics

For many organizations, strategy (the "why we're going to do what we're doing") is one of those mysterious, behind-closed-doors activities conducted annually by a small group of senior leaders. It's viewed as a superior mental and managerial activity.

In contrast, tactics (the "how we're going to do what we're supposed to do" - the execution element) is typically thought of as the grunt work, relegated to and performed by the rest of the organization. Yet, it's these tactics - the focused activities performed by every person, every day - which are the difference between organizations that perform predictably and consistently - and those that don't.

It shouldn't surprise anyone, then, that:

• Less than 10% of even well-formulated strategies are successfully executed
• Only 5% of employees understand their organization's strategy
• Only 3% of executives think their company is successful at executing their strategies
• And that "excellence of execution" is the #1 top challenge of CEOs worldwide

Strategy forumation (selecting the right long-term objectives and envisioning a way to get there) -- AND consistent execution -- are the greatest sets of skills any organization can develop. And, successful organizations need BOTH skills.

BOTTOMLINE: Building an organization that can develop strategy, plan (formulating tactics) and execute is not easy. Developing and executing a strategy that's balanced in growth and profitability is extremely difficult - and is therefore rare. And what is rare, is considered valuable. It's time to seek out a revolutionary new approach to the oldest and most difficult challenge in business - one that focuses on the much harder of the two (execution).

Strategy Execution During Challenging Times

According to The Forum Corp., a consulting company that helps companies with strategy execution, organizations and the managers who run them are at increasing risk of being unable to execute their strategies due in part to economy-related jobs cuts and the uncertainty they create in the workplace.

Recent research by Forum into growing companies and high-performing managers shows that there are eight areas in which top managers out-perform their on-par peers.

According to the research, top leaders:

1. Successfully manage organizational dilemmas as well as their personal energy to maintain focus on clear goals at times of upheaval. By contrast, their on-par managerial colleagues struggle with competing and changing priorities, and burn out in environments of uncertainty and ambiguity.
2. Assign clear roles and accountability, enabling employees to understand their jobs and giving them the power to get them done. On-par managers speak without specificity, providing vague mandates with little decision-making authority.
3. Challenge the current state of affairs when necessary in order to ensure the organization stays on track and achieves its goals. On-par managers accept the status quo, even if policies and processes get in the way of growth.
4. Establish a climate in which employees are confident to act on ideas, and feel like they are important to the organization's success. On-par managers fail to provide recognition and connection, discouraging employee loyalty and 'above and beyond' behavior.
5. Make the organization more responsive and agile by incorporating non-traditional, non-hierarchical, networked, and flexible management processes and structures. On-par managers, by contrast, overplay the authority card, relying solely on a traditional command-and-control approach that limits the organization's responsiveness to critical new opportunities in uncertain times.
6. Manage the dilemmas presented by fluid situations by adjusting plans in response to changes while staying focused on overall strategic intent. On-par managers forget to flex, staying set in their plans and ignoring changing market conditions.
7. Actively encourage experimentation to drive learning -- even in a down economy -- and recognize that experimentation and innovation will include failures. On-par managers inhibit innovation, failing to distinguish between poor performance and appropriate risk-taking and innovation.
8. Have a profound curiosity about their customers and the markets in which they compete, not only understanding their customers' needs but also realizing which are being met and which are not. On-par managers fail to cultivate customers, neither understanding, nor seeking to understand, their customers' needs.

Introducing The Business Excellence Model™

The focus and capability of any organization can be understood in two dimensions:

1. Strategy (deciding what to do)
2. Execution (getting it done)

The Business Excellence Model™ above shows these dimensions using four quadrants of performance.

Organizations in Quadrant I exhibit strong strategy, which typically translates into a competitive advantage. They are characterized by periods of growth and market share gains.

Organizations in Quadrant IV exhibit strong operation execution, focused on doing things "better, faster, cheaper" They are characterized by periods of profitability.

Organizations in Quadrant III are typically weak in both strategy and execution, and frequently find themselves fire-fighting with daily issues.

Organizations in Quadrant II exhibit an appropriate balance between strategy and execution, and are characterized by consistent, predictable growth.

The ultimate goal is to grow the capacity of your organization to stay in Quadrant II for longer and longer periods of time.

This model is not about an organization's size. Every successful company once started small. The model does, however, offer leaders of every organization insight into where they are now, some of the forces that got them there, and anticipate what could happen next.

Execution Is Everything

In today's economy, execution is everything. If your organization can’t execute its plans, nothing else matters.

Think about it.

Vision isn't enough. Strong leadership isn't enough.

Even if you have a solid, well thought-out strategy, or an innovative business model, or even technology that could transform an entire industry, nothing is more important than execution.

Every organization grows until either its strategy or it execution fails, leading to fire-fighting until either the constraints are removed - or the business fails.

Executing plans, while overcoming the unending daily surprises and the complexity that comes with growth is the greatest challenge in business.

What does it take to create a culture of execution in your organization?

Because execution is far more difficult to manage than strategy (as it involves every person, every day), it takes nothing less than a complete strategy execution program. A long-term approach toward continual business improvement.

In fact, what it takes is a complete program to systematically increase your organization's ability to execute strategy.

BOTTOMLINE: Intrigued? Get the best-selling book: Six Disciplines Execution Revolution.

Strategic Planning Best Practices

Getting ready for your annual strategic planning meeting?

Here's a quick listing of strategic planning best-practices:

• Pick Your Strategic Planning Team. Bring together a small team (six to ten people) of company leaders and managers who represent every area of the company. Don't pick based on seniority - pick based on contribution to the thought process.
• Schedule an Off-Site Strategic Planning Meeting. Minimize distractions and maximize focus, conduct your strategic planning session away from the office. A well-run strategic planning retreat should take two days, three at the most. Don't schedule it so tight that you don't leave room for a little fun.
• Get Commitment From Your Strategic Planning Team. You can’t do it alone. If your management team doesn’t buy into the plan, it won’t happen.
• Use An Outside Facilitiator. The CEO should serve as the strategic plan's "spiritual leader," but he/she should not lead the planning retreat. Participate actively, but don’t dominate the session. To lead the session, hire a professionally trained facilitator who has no emotional investment in the outcome of the plan. An impartial third party can concentrate on the process rather than the end result and ask the tough questions that others might fear to ask.
• Set Goals That Lead. To have any chance at successful execution, your plan must clearly articulate goals, action steps, responsibilities, accountabilities and specific deadlines.
• Don't Put The Strategic Plan in a Binder, On A Shelf. Good strategic plans are fluid, not rigid and unbending. They allow you to adapt to changes in the marketplace. Your goals won’t change very often, but your initiatives and projects will.
• The Strategic Planning Team Writes The Plan. The facilitator merely serves as a meeting guide to keep everyone on track.
• Commit to The Plan. Before closing the strategic planning session, get team member "buy-in" pledge their commitment in writing to the plan and its successful execution. When you walk out of the room everyone must fully support the plan—even though they may not agree with everything in it.
• Review the Plan Regularly. Review the strategic plan for performance achievement no less than quarterly and as often as monthly or weekly. Focus on individual accountability for results and have clear and compelling consequences for unapproved or missed deadlines.

Be Excellent Blog Sets a Milestone - 1,500 Posts

It started humbly back on June 29, 2005 (you remember? back when most people said "A blog? What's that??") - the Be Excellent blog was launched.

Today, we're humbled again to announce that this blog now boasts over 1,500 posts!

The blog is also syndicated by over a dozen blog content aggregators, and routinely receives over 5,000 visitors from all over the world every month.

Topics covered: strategy, execution, employee engagement, leadership, productivity, accountability, managing change, small businesses, CEO challenges, organizational learning, business coaching, entrepreneurship, innovation, continual improvement, and of course - excellence.

Look around - dig deep, you'll find something of interest! Let me know what you think!

Leadership Priorities Change With Economic Performance

A survey of a group of more than 700 accountants found that they see productivity as the top challenge facing leaders during poor economic times.

The survey found that leadership priorities change depending on the performance of the overall economy.

• In good economic times, accountants say the top three most challenging decisions for leaders to make are: recruiting and retaining top talent (47 percent), pursuing growth opportunities (42 percent) and maintaining a competitive edge (42 percent).
• In contrast, the top challenges facing leaders in poor economic times are productivity, or doing more with less (49 percent), motivating the workforce (44 percent) and pursuing growth opportunities (33 percent).

Other findings:

• One-third (33 percent) of accountants feel an ability to inspire and motivate is the most important quality of leadership in the 21st century, followed by communications skills (15 percent) and people management skills (13 percent).

Project Failure: Is It The Team or Leader's Fault?

Over the years, numerous studies have looked at why projects fail.

Most of these studies conclude that common sense factors (better project management, communication, stakeholder involvement and change controls) would have reduced failure rates.

However, more recent research suggests that while best practices and better tools do indeed help - there is nothing more important than choosing the best qualified people to run the project.

Having the right people on the team makes everything easier. Great team members already understand the core competencies of project management - they know what needs to get done, and they are laser-focused on accomplishing the project's goal(s).

BOTTOMLINE: One of the most important assets an organization has - is its leadership. Without strong leadership to make the right decisions, it doesn't matter who you have working on projects, nor does it matter what best-practices and project management tools you use. Incompetent leaders can lead the best project teams, the best technologies and the best organizations with the most resources - into an abyss of total project failure.

#1. Leadership....#2. Project Teams....#3. Best-Practices and Technologies - in that order.

How Does Excellence In Organizations Degrade?

Gary Hamel is a management author and consultant, whose books include "Leading the Revolution," "Competing for the Future," and "The Future of Management."

In his recent WSJ blog post "GM: Why Good Companies Go Bad" Hamel asserts:

How does this happen? How do yesterday’s icons become today’s also-rans? How does excellence degrade? What are the causes of corporate dysphoria? These are important questions. When an organization stumbles badly everyone loses: shareholders, employees and customers. Through the years, I’ve seen a lot of companies lose their way. Here’s how it happens:

1. Gravity wins. In business as in biology, big things grow slower. Over time, it takes more and more effort to produce less and less in the way of incremental returns.

2. Strategies die. Clever strategies get replicated,venerable strategies get supplanted, and profitable strategies get eviscerated.

3. Change happens. Most businesses were never built to change—they were built to do one thing exceedingly well and highly efficiently—forever. That’s why entire industries can get caught out by change.

Procrastination and The Pursuit of Excellence

When we procrastinate, we get behind before we even start, and create a major time use problem.

If this sounds familiar, you may be one of the many people who procrastinates, and procrastination is probably the biggest time waster. Putting off the inevitable, sometimes until a deadline is staring you in the face, causes the highest stress level, and results in managing time by crises.

Why do people procrastinate?

Essentially, four reasons:

1. Poor work habits
2. Feeling overwhelmed
3. Trying to be perfect
4. Rather do something else

Perfectionists usually see their responsibilities as burdens, making it more difficult for them to accomplish tasks in a timely manner. They start tasks but put off completion until it meets their standards for perfection. However, these standards are most likely not recognized or appreciated by others, and thereby the perfectionist has wasted a lot of time to accomplish the unnecessary. The perfectionist should strive for excellence rather than perfection.

Excellence is defined as “very good of its kind” or "high-quality performance.” Perfection is defined as “the condition of being flawless” which is not impossible-- but most unlikely to achieve.

BOTTOMLINE: Focus on what is realistic rather than what is ideal. Do the best you can in the time allowed. The time investment should be appropriate to the magnitude of the task or project.

AmeriStride Joins The Six Disciplines Business Coaching Network

AmeriStride Joins the Six Disciplines Business Coaching Network

Tennessee-based Firm Sees Growth through Strategy Execution Coaching Program

FINDLAY, OHIO – June 2, 2009 — Six Disciplines announced today that it has added Tennessee-based AmeriStride to its nationwide network of business coaching organizations that offer the Six Disciplines® strategy execution program to its clients. Six Disciplines is unique in the burgeoning industry of business coaching because of its completeness, which involves the synergy of a repeatable business-building methodology, accountability coaching, an execution software system, and a shared community to accelerate organizational
learning.

“Six Disciplines is the only program that offers a complete approach extending from the corner office to front line personnel. It includes the technology to easily monitor and measure the progress from a management and coaching perspective. As the coach, I receive alerts and status reports, just as our clients do. No time is wasted on updates. Our efforts are focused on achieving a sustainable growth path by reviewing the execution progress and its impact on business performance. At the end of the day, it is about results; the Six Disciplines framework of strategy formulation, goal setting, initiative planning, leadership training, and 360 review process keeps strategy, policies and professionals aligned and focused on the target,” said Terry Massey, Partner with AmeriStride.

“Forward-looking CEOs are starting to understand their biggest challenge is not what they think it is,” said Gary Harpst, founder and CEO of Six Disciplines. “They’re finally figuring out that it’s all about the balance of strategy and execution. AmeriStride understands the tremendous opportunity ahead of them with Six Disciplines, and because of their expertise and proven success, we’re excited to welcome AmeriStride to our coaching network.”

“Six Disciplines is the perfect compliment to our Microsoft Dynamics consulting practice,” added Jeff Epperson, Partner with AmeriStride. “By using the Six Disciplines methodology and tools, our clients will be able to connect their vision to their strategies, and align their plans and activities for more consistent and predictable execution. This, coupled with the strength of the Microsoft Dynamics application suite, enables AmeriStride to assist our clients in gaining greater insight resulting in better decisions and desired outcomes.”

About AmeriStride
AmeriStride, serving the Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga markets, is a business management and software consulting company. AmeriStride professionals specialize in strategic business planning and execution methodology, executive development, streamlining operational processes and Microsoft Dynamics business applications and implementation services. Visit http://www.ameristride.com/.

About Six Disciplines
Six Disciplines offers a complete strategy execution coaching program, optimized for small and midsized organizations. The Six Disciplines program enables organizations to get better – and stay better – with less stress and more fun. The breakthrough program is detailed in the best-selling book “Six Disciplines Execution Revolution” by founder and CEO Gary Harpst. Six Disciplines is offered exclusively through a growing nationwide network of franchised Six Disciplines coaching practices. Visit http://www.sixdisciplines.com/.

Some Startling Employee Engagement Statistics

From the latest Towers Perrin Workplace Watch research come these startling findings on employee engagement:

• A 7% drop in workers stating they can balance both work and personal responsibilities - in just the past quarter.
• Almost three-quarters (74%) of employees agree their company’s structure facilitates efficient operations, up from 66% in the last quarter of 2008 and 58% in the first quarter of 2008, suggesting the latest rounds of restructuring have been done thoughtfully and in a manner that doesn’t automatically demand doing more with less.
• 71% percent agree they’re not seriously considering leaving their current job, up from 64% in the last quarter of 2007.
• Only 69% of employees agree that they clearly understand their company’s broad goals, down a striking 10 percentage points from 79% in the fourth quarter of 2008

To ensure employees stay engaged and connected, particularly in the current environment. the authors summed it up:

Companies need to focus on five things:

1. Getting leaders out front to talk with employees about the business environment and how the organization is responding as well as the long-term vision and what the organization stands for.
2. Involving employees in efforts to manage costs to help them feel like active contributors.
3. Communicating consistently and candidly about both short- and long-term objectives.
4. Listening and gathering input from employees.
5. Promoting development opportunities so people can see a future for themselves worth working toward.