The ability to execute is more valuable and rarer than education or talent.
At the same time, planning skills are worth nothing without this ability. You could have the best plan to be successful but until you execute it, nothing will happen. It’s as simple as that.
Steps to develop the ability to execute
Constant practice of the following steps will develop the right attitudes, habits, and instincts to master execution:
Disclaimer: These steps have been taken from the “A message to Garcia” property of Acton Foundation For Entrepreneurial Excellence and their mention here is for my personal record of entrepreneurial lessons.
Accept the mission and get started:
If the objective of your assignment is clear, accept it without asking for further instructions. Then, take the first step.
Be curious:
Focus on asking the right questions first, then seek answers. Not having all the answers isn’t a sign of weakness. Instead, it’s an opportunity to unleash your innate curiosity.
Immediately sketch out a plan:
Quickly draft a provisional plan with goals, milestones, and deadlines. If you lack knowledge to craft a relevant plan, decide how to gather the information needed. But in all cases, begin to move forward immediately.
If the objective seems overwhelming or you are unsure of where to start, break it down using the Vision, Strategies, Projects, Tactics (VSPT) framework:
- Vision: This is your objective.
- Strategies: What are the ways you could achieve this objective? Sometimes, there will be many strategies to choose from while other times only one. Whatever the situation is, choose one.
- Projects: What big things need to get done to accomplish the objective? Create a series of major milestones.
- Tactics: What do I need to do today to make progress on a project? Make a checklist and quickly start on these tasks. Before you know it, you will be executing.
If you need resources, don’t be afraid to ask:
If you ask clearly for what you need and concisely explain why it is necessary to achieve the objective, an effective leader will give you the additional resources you need.
Remember that a critical job for any leader is to allocate resources among competing projects, so make it easier for them by being clear on your requests. Use a what you need/why is it crucial pattern.
Enlist help when needed:
Don’t hesitate to ask for help from peers, but remember that the responsibility for accomplishing the task is yours alone.
Remember that the best way to get others to help you is to have helped them first.
Report back and show your work:
Frequently report your progress with objective measures. Whenever possible, provide samples of your work.
Instead of asking how to accomplish a task, show what you have done so far. If you are off course, you’ll get immediate feedback to put you back on the right path.
Underpromise and overdeliver:
Set reasonable goals and always exceed them. If you want leaders to trust you with critical tasks, develop a reputation for getting the job done better, sooner, and at a lower cost than you promised.
Expect to make (small) mistakes:
Accept mistakes as the price you pay to learn. Include an honest assessment of missteps in your progress reports. Embrace them as minor setbacks and correct them quickly. Jot down the lessons for reflection later, after the task has been accomplished.
Put results before schmoozing:
First, focus on contributing something of value, and you’ll be surprised by how much attention you receive. You want to spend time with those higher up in the organization so they’ll get to know you and appreciate your work.
Replace the voices in your head with positive action:
Turn away from the temptation to dwell on negative thoughts. Dwelling on fears only gives them more power. The best way to rid yourself of a fear is to take positive action. Courage isn’t the absence of fear but rather the ability to act in the face of it.
Execution is the enemy of self-doubt
By getting started immediately, you will take advantage of the momentum and avoid self-doubt. Self-doubt appears when you have too much time to think about what could go wrong. If you have too much time to think, it most likely means you’re not acting/executing. Action will always bring solutions and, in the worst case, learning.
No challenge is too big if approached promptly and correctly. Just accept the challenge and take the first step.