How’s that strategy execution coming along? I ’ll bet things are starting to drag about now, aren’t they? Summer’s here, you’re dialing it back a little, taking some well-deserved vacation. You launched the year full of promise … but many of your initiatives seem to be stuck, people have too much on their plates, the plans you made may not quite make it to the finish line …
How do you get your initiatives back on track?
The gum does kinda lose its flavor on the bedpost overnight, doesn’t it? Even though you’re about to round the clubhouse turn toward year-end, you’re discovering that it’s much easier to start than to finish.
You struggle to keep the engine stoked with the same energy that propelled your launch at the beginning of the year.
You may be feeling some of the air coming out of the tires, and begin to wonder … “where did all of our energy go”?
What’s that whimpering sound?
It comes back to that whimpering sound of “hope springs eternal.”
[pullquote]Hope is a powerful emotion and inspires great things, but it will become an embalming agent if you don’t get moving and take action now![/pullquote]
Action gives you the strength to launch new initiatives – to renew your conviction – and while hope sure is comforting so you know you still have a chance, hope doesn’t bring with it the tools you need to sustain those initiatives.
If you only needed one big burst of energy, say to set the world’s pole vault record on that one single jump, maybe it would be enough … IF it was built during all of the preceding years on a foundation of relentless preparation and training that you could sustain until that one big moment.
Build the tools. Blow up stuff that isn’t working
So, instead of just pushing harder to complete those initiatives, try a different approach to recharge and refresh your team:
– Focus on building the tools, the infrastructure and the support systems that will help your team jumpstart those initiatives and apply the necessary resources to get them across the goal line.
To do that, you need to objectively assess the systems and procedures available to execute on the strategy you’ve established. (You have one, right?)
Don’t be timid about it. Set the fires you want to burn.
Don’t be afraid to blow up the things that aren’t working.
Slay the dragons. Get rid of the obstacles and clear the way for a renewed focus that will get those initiatives done before the year is.
You only need to care about what works today.
The tools today are exceptional … affordable … accessible
Today, you and I live in a world of technology prowess … with powerful tools of global communication, integrated processing, collaborative work processes and a boatload of productivity tools at our command.
They’re getting cheaper every day, and younger people entering the workforce are wed to them like sunshine to daylight.
Invest in them … use them … and make sure they’re implemented to help you and your team maximize your productivity and boost your effectiveness to overcome any stagnation and jumpstart your progress toward the finish line.
Remember the mantra: Ready. Fire! Aim.
It’s okay to screw up.
Empower your people … but let them help you figure out “how” to get things done.
Let them experiment, let them fail … let them know that “ready, fire, aim” is okay – you’d much prefer action that occasionally misfires than no action at all.
Make them believers in your cause, let them become evangelists for the freedom you give them … and encourage them to find the ways that works for them and will complete the initiatives you’ve set for the year.
Prove to your colleagues that you will “walk the walk”
Invest in the tools to help them get there.
Empowering people means enabling them, and that means providing the resources that will get them there.
It puts teeth into your strategy execution so that the sweat and tears to develop that strategy weren’t in vain.
Yes, the best time to have a map is when you enter the forest … but you don’t want to go in there without the best tools you can afford.
What are you waiting for?
Get moving.
Gather the troops.
Ask them what they need to carry out your strategy.
Marshall your limited resources … and then invest in them to revitalize those initiatives so you get them done before a new year starts again.
Hope is NOT a strategy – Action IS.
Question: What do you think is the force that slows us down once we launch into something new? You can easily add your comment below, or by visiting our Facebook Page or @Exkalibur on Twitter. I visit them every day and look forward to discussing these ideas and concepts with you.