by Patrick Thean and the Rhythm Team
We had a wonderful Breakthrough Conference this year that helped hundreds of middle market managers and CEOs achieve breakthrough execution. In my keynote, I shared that ImageFIRST achieved consistent growth every year for the last 12 years. Many attendees asked me to share more about how they were able to build a high-performance culture to produce great business results and impact the bottom line.
It’s time to slow down and develop a world-class team execution plan for next year. When we don’t slow down to plan our execution, our teams don't end up being focused on the right things, leading to mistakes and rework, and ultimately smacking our profit with a 2-by-4! How strong is your execution this year? I get asked every year how to do team planning, and I am sharing some of my insider tips with you.
2019 is coming to an end. I find myself flying across the Atlantic Ocean to Singapore for my mother’s birthday. From Singapore, I will then make my way to Switzerland to help a client build a great plan for 2020. A friend asked me how I can stand making these long flights to Singapore on a regular basis. I actually enjoy these trips. I start with making sure I have a nice comfortable flight. Singapore Airlines never disappoints in this department. Then, I am thankful for the gift of time. I am left alone to relax, think, and reflect. On this trip, It’s given me time to reflect about 2019, on both the business as well as the personal side to come up with a better plan and design for 2020.
What's a Brand Promise? It is what you promise to deliver to your customer. It is more than a marketing tag line or a catchy one-liner. Done right, it will help you attract the right customers, increase your win ratio, and retain happy customers as you deliver on what you promise.
Porter argues that tactical improvements or operational efficiencies are not strategies but that the essence of strategy is to perform a different set of activities from that of your rivals. For many businesses, regardless of size, strategy work may get completed annually but there is a disconnect between strategy and performance. There have been many books and articles written on the topic of “Execution”. An Execution framework is critical to be certain, but outstanding execution will not rescue strategy that lacks focus or differentiation. To be successful, a company must master the three areas of Strategic Growth: Strategic Thinking, Execution Planning, and actually Doing the Work. Data from a Bain Consulting study, notes that seven out of eight companies in a global sample of 1,854 large corporations failed to achieve profitable growth, though more than 90 percent had detailed strategic plans with much higher targets. The Harvard Business School (HBS), in a 15 year study, has looked at root causes of the disconnect between strategy and performance. They have learned that most organizations do not have a strategy execution process. Many have strategic plans, but no coherent approach to manage the execution of those plans.
Ready to speak with a mid-market expert? Find out how we help high growth companies execute their growth strategies and win!
