The Last 95%, On Excellence and Execution

Feb 2

I was in a team meeting the other day with a client when someone asked about execution.

We were in the process of going over the bold initiatives for the coming year. By their very definition, the bold initiatives are the action plans. The essence of execution.

It's where stuff gets done in excellence.

Afterward, I went back to re-read Excellence Now: Extreme Humanism, by Tom Peters, the famed co-author of In Search of Excellence.

In it Peters writes, "Excellence is a way of life". "Business Excellence. Away of being". I couldn't agree more.

Excellence is aspirational. It's something to strive for, and ideal. There are many ways to describe excellence.

Are you a Managing Partner, a CEO, a Business Leader? I ask you then, how do you define excellence?

Excellence, according to Peters, is what you do in the next 5 minutes - hmmm... someone I know wrote a book about the power of 5 Minutes.

Excellence is investing all the time in relationships. I've said it before, no matter what business you're in, you are in the relationship business.

Excellence is extreme employee engagement. What Peters calls "EEE".

EEE. "It's the bedrock of excellence". Among other points that he makes, it makes your customers customers for life, it maximizes retention, spurs teamwork, improves execution (see below), and makes it possible to recruit top talent.

Peters asks, On a scale of 1-10, how does your company score on EEE?

The Hard Edge vs. The Soft Edge

We've been conditioned for decades to focus on the hard facts - the numbers, the plans the org charts. The soft stuff like emotions, compassion, vulnerability, etc. have been seen as weak.

Too few companies invest in soft-edge excellence.

I play at the crossroads of the Hard Stuff and the Soft Stuff in business. This is my unique value proposition.

Making the case for investing in the company's soft edge, Rich Karlgaard wrote in The Soft Edge: Where Great Companies Find Lasting Success, that:

you will create greater brand recognition;
your company will be better prepared for major disruptions; and
"hard-edge strength if absolutely necessary to compete, but it provides a fleeting advantage".

Strategy is a commodity, execution is an art. - Peter Drucker

Execution is the last 95%

It's delivering on your promise. It's exceeding expectations. It's attention to the small things.

You've got to make execution important. You've got to hire for it. Without it, you cannot achieve excellence.

Some final thoughts on Excellence and Execution

Put people first. Your customers will appreciate it.
Listen like your life depends on it (the success of your business certainly does).
Manage by walking around (MBWA, Peters) and by Zooming around. You need face time with your people at all levels, virtually and in person.
Have real conversations (see listening above).

Until next time!