From a leadership perspective, there has never been a higher premium on effective execution. Yet across industries, much of the time, people fail on execution -- they continue to over-promise and under-deliver. Costs run higher than expected. The best of efforts are less effective than we would like, and take longer than we would hope.
So what if we could "deep-scan" our project or business -- and I mean take a high-resolution BODY SCAN -- to diagnose and treat any issues ... how could we do it?
Here's the framework of an MRI-like deep scan for your project or business, that we use at the start of "execution scan projects we do with our clients. It's done from a "delivery" standpoint -- that is, it doesn't assess markets or products. Rather, it assesses you and your team's or business's ability to "get it done!"While this is part of a bigger tool, it gives you an idea of the scan... Try it (it's on a total scale of 100, anything below 85 needs work, and anything below 75 needs SERIOUS work):
1 People: Are you applying only highly motivated and capable people in the right roles? Have you steered clear of unmotivated or less capable people? Scale of 1 (no) to 10 (yes)
2 Power: Are these people empowered to take strong, independent action while functioning within clear values, guidelines, and milestones? Scale of 1 (no) to 10 (yes)
3 Clarity: How clearly have you identified (hopefully from the start, but also along the way) a clear and detailed picture of the desired outcome? Scale of 1 (fuzzy at best) to 10 (hi-definition)
4 Truth: Do you reward your people (and they theirs) for being brutally honest? No scale! 1=No, 10=Yes
5 Resources: Have you supplied adequate people, dollars, and technology to do the tasks at hand? Scale of 1 (no) to 10 (yes)
6 Challenge: Is there significant challenge to maintain creative tension among the people? Scale of 1 (no) to 10 (yes)
7 Measure: Have you implemented a simple yet profound success measurement? Scale of 1 (no) to 10 (yes)
8 Reporting: Do you have reliable, honest, and concise reporting on progress and issues? Scale of 1 (no) to 10 (yes)
9 Consequences: Have you established (and do you stick to) clear consequences linked to the success or failure of outcomes? Scale of 1 (no) to 10 (yes)
10 Learning: Have you structured a feedback approach that detects and corrects errors? No scale! 1=No, 10=Yes
Let us know how you did!
