Ideas & Execution

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The Office of Insular Affairs' Forum on Labor & Economic Development was held on Tuesday, November 9th with over 120 representatives from the government, education, and business collectively using their brainpower to find ways to increase revenue and federal funding, improve efficiency, create more jobs, and improve the quality of life. If we could implement the top ten percent of the ideas, it has the potential to steer our economic ship away from the impending iceberg.

The operative word in the previous sentence is “implement.” Now that we have a plethora of ideas, someone has to do something or nothing will get done. Many of the ideas will require more thought and planning, as well as adequate resources to get the ball rolling. However, some of them could be started right away with the resources we currently have at our disposal.

The concept of implementation has been the subject of several popular books. In Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done, authors Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan discuss execution cultures where exemplary on-time, on-budget performance is a vital key to exceptional results. The best-selling book Good to Great by Jim Collins identifies the power of steady, step-by-step implementation as the key to accelerating growth and improving performance. The bottom line is that the ideas need to translate into results that add value to others.

Robert A. Neiman in his book Execution Plain and Simple outlines 12 steps of execution, with the first step being: Take responsibility. Someone will need to be responsible for each idea to be implemented. This means taking the initiative to achieve specific objectives and tasks needed to see the idea through to fruition. This first step encompasses the mental preparation and commitment necessary to complete the other 11 steps of the process.

The second step requires the idea to be defined in writing, ideally in a memorandum that specifies the outcome, individuals involved, general timeframe, and the evaluation criteria to periodically report the progress being made. This becomes the assignment that is agreed upon before starting the project.

With your marching orders in hand, it is time to put together a good core team to help develop a solid strategy that will become the basic approach used to implement the project. This third step should lead to a plan of action that identifies the resources needed, clarifies roles of the team members, and possible risks and actions to avoid. This should be condensed into a one-page summary that will help members understand the important details and gain greater commitment.

The fourth step is to take the summary and get input from key players so the strategy can be refined. This will help get agreement from those who have bought into the project, and it will identify challenges before you start. With this insight you’ll be able to determine the feasibility of the project and make adjustments early in the process before you’ve committed a lot of time, energy, and money into it.

Now it’s time to actually take action and create momentum by holding a compelling launch event. Starting off with an event gets everyone’s attention, signals that this project is special, gets the team focused on the project, and lets the team know that others are aware of it and will be watching.

The sixth step is to spell out the specific tasks in writing. Team members need to know how they can contribute toward the project completion. This step also includes periodically reporting on the progress of the project through a weekly or monthly written progress report. When everything is running smoothly, the reports will be brief; however, the written report can also help identify problems and get the necessary support to keep the project moving forward.

Next, is an important step in execution: make demands effectively. Demands allow you to keep the project moving, establish a sense of control, and help create a sense of urgency. Effective demands are mandates that inspire people to do better and take personal accountability for the completion of the project.

The eighth step is to follow up like crazy without driving people crazy in the process. Make personal site visits to reinforce and advance the project. Follow up lets those responsible know that there’s high interest in the progress of the assignment.

Another important activity is to win constituents and overcome opposition. As you’re making progress on your project, there will inevitably be some snags along the way. Identifying your allies and getting their support will help overcome any political snafus that might occur.

The tenth step is to use creative problem solving to overcome unforeseen risks, delays, and obstacles. This requires brainstorming to develop options and then identify the best alternative. Specify the problem or issue and the factors that appear to be the root causes of the problem.

Eleven involves an intense push at the end to get the final results and recognize the effort made by the team. You started off with a launch, now it’s time to end the project with another event where team members are recognized, and possibly rewarded.

The last step is critical, but is often ignored. You should capture the lessons learned and disseminate your knowledge in a systematic manner so that others can benefit. This can be accomplished by asking this basic question in the assessment process: Did we fully accomplish all that we set out to accomplish?

The Forum on Labor and Economic Development was productive and helped generate a lot of ideas to improve the economy. It provided an opportunity for individuals from the public and private sector to meet and learn more about each other. Execution of the best ideas is now required to make things happen. You see, our intangible ideas are like seeds planted in the ground. They have the power to change our world and ultimately improve our life, but only if acted upon and nourished. If it’s a bad idea, it will fail, but if it’s a good idea it will add value to the lives of others and change our circumstances. When the 12 steps are followed, your projects will start moving rapidly toward the specified goals, and your strategic plan will become a living, working document.