Execution is Critical to the Customer Experience The 11 leadership imperatives for greater profits
I
n any industry, and given identical market condi-
Warnings
that outperform the competition. They’re not lucky;
execution? Or are you getting in your own way? Be aware of
tions, there are always five percent of companies
they are simply better at planning and executing. Having solid
systems in place for both garners measurable results in terms of employee engagement and customer experience — and therefore your bottom line.
Is developing talent an organizational imperative at your
company? If not, you’re undoubtedly missing opportunities
to convert your customer base into effective and committed brand evangelists. An organization is always a reflection of
its leadership. In his book The Breakthrough Company, Keith
Are you doing all you can to systemize your planning and
these factors, which are often stumbling blocks on the way to great execution:
• Being good: Being good is actually the enemy of great-
ness. It is very difficult to execute at a higher level when your company is having a good year. Most CEOs have a
hard time getting their organization to embrace change
when things appear to be going well. However, change is required to elevate daily execution of plans to make the customer experience even greater.
McFarland writes, “the best way for a leader to get the right
• Being comfortable: Comfortable is close to complacent. If
In Jim Collins’ newest research book, he characterizes 10
zation is performing, it will not be willing to raise the bar
people on the bus is to create a bus worth riding.”
companies that outperformed the general stock market by 32
the executive team is comfortable with the way the organiand make execution a top priority.
times as being “fanatical about discipline.” Both Collins and
• Leadership fit: If the CEO is not willing to embrace or
outside experts as “scaffolding” to help in specific important
nization, then he or she must be willing to accept that the
McFarland also state emphatically that these top CEOs use business areas.
sponsor a complete assessment of every leader in the orga-
team will have some leaders who are simply never going to execute at a high level. The research is clear
An organization’s inability to execute — which funda-
mentally means keep its promise to its customers — is the number-one reason for CEO terminations. Equally sobering is
this fact: “High performers generate 48 to 129 percent higher revenue than average ‘C’ performers,” says a McKinsey &
Company talent survey. In Collins’ book Built to Last, which is
still one of the top 12 business books of all time, he states great performance is about one percent vision and 99 percent align-
ment and execution. In the Balanced Scorecard Report, David
Norton was quoted as saying “90 percent of organizations fail to execute their strategies.” Steven Taub of CFO.com draws a
Fall 2012
clear and important correlation, in that companies are deliver-
ing only about two-thirds of their potential due to failures in
planning and execution. In a Fortune magazine article titled, John Lankford
18
“Why CEOs Fail,” authors Ram Charan and Geoffrey Colvin
Customer Care News