“Vision without execution is just hallucination,” said Henry Ford some 100 years ago. Still true today, a company’s strategy is only as good as its ability to execute.
67% of well-formulated strategies failed due to poor execution [Harvard Business Review, Ron Carucci]
In 2016, Ron Carucci from Harvard Business Review said it was estimated that 67% of well-formulated strategies failed due to poor execution. When it comes to Transformational Strategy Planning, the time between strategy development and execution is much shorter. Additionally, both the development of strategy and its implementation are ongoing. As such, one of the most essential behaviors to uphold when implementing Transformational Strategy Planning is the way in which people make, keep and honor commitments and agreements.
Commitments or agreements are the glue that hold the strategy plan together and drive execution.
Commitments or agreements are the glue that hold the strategy plan together and drive execution. Often overlooked, the outcome of planning is a network of agreements that are constantly being followed through, while new ones are being made. In Transformational Strategy Planning the timeline of focus and delivery is shorter. As a result, the rate of commitments being made can increase. Therefore, an organization’s ability to keep and honor commitments is essential to success.
Fundamentals of making, keeping and honoring commitments
Clear Agreements are the lifeblood of successful execution. And like most communications, they take more attention and intention than we often allow for. Commitments can be between individuals, teams or even departments. It’s about clarifying who is going to do what by when. But too often, agreements and commitments are made without enough rigor and follow through. Making agreements that stick and getting the follow through needed for success, is a skill to be learned.
One way to give commitments the attention and intention they deserve, is to view an agreement or commitment as a contract between two people or two teams wherein one is making a request and the other is accepting the request and will commit time and energy to fulfill it.
Loose commitments with unclear requests or agreements leave room for assumptions, disappointment, a loss of trust and an avoidance of responsibility
Loose commitments with unclear requests or agreements leave room for assumptions, disappointment, a loss of trust and an avoidance of responsibility. To avoid these outcomes, requests should only have one of three possible answers:
Yes, I accept your request and agree to fulfill it.
No, I do not accept your request and will not fulfill it.
Before I can answer, I need more information and then I’ll get back to you by X date.
Saying “I’ll do my best”, “I’ll try”, I’ll see what I can do”, or “Maybe” leave too much room open for ambiguity and assumptions. With these responses, the requestor may leave the conversation feeling that the other person is aligned and on board with their request and will be following through. Whereas, the other person who loosely replied with “I’ll see what I can do”, leaves the conversation thinking, “If I can, I will do it and if I can’t it won’t be a big deal”.
If the request is not met, then the requestor will be disappointed and lose confidence in the person who accepted with a weak commitment and the person who made the weak commitment will respond that they were not fully “on-board” with the commitment and that’s why they said, “I’ll see what I can do.” Both people involved leave the interaction feeling bad and with a loss of trust between them.
Before accepting a request, the person accepting should believe they understand the commitment fully, that they have the resources and skills to fulfill the request, and intend to apply their energy to plan and mitigate risks. If the person accepting the request does not seek this level of clarity, the person making the request can ask the other person if they have considered these points before they accept the request.
Fulfilling a request is always conditional. However, honoring a request is always unconditional.
Fulfilling a request is always conditional. No one can ever guarantee the fulfillment of a request because no one is in complete control of all the variables surrounding the situation. Sometimes, stuff happens. As such, fulfilling a request is always conditional. However, honoring a request is always unconditional. Even when a request cannot be fulfilled, the person who accepted the request can honor it by alerting the person who made the request immediately upon knowing fulfillment is at risk. They can apologize, offer an explanation and inquire about any potential damage caused by not fulfilling the request as originally stated. They can then negotiate to minimize damages and offer to make any reparations. Finally, the person who accepted the original request can renegotiate the terms of fulfillment and recommit. By doing so, the acceptor always takes care of the creditor (the person who made the request).
Conclusion
Managing commitments with increased attention, intention and integrity will make Transformational Strategy Planning more successful. No matter whether an agreement can be kept or not, they can always be honored and in doing so, people build trust and improve collaboration and resiliency, qualities that are essential to Transformational Strategy Planning.
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