Principle 2: Focus on Achieving Goals (Item 9)
Clear direction allows organizational alignment and a focus on achievement
of goals.
Alternatively: Mutually agreed plans translate organizational
direction into action.
You must measure the extent that your plans are being implemented
(ie, everyone who should be carrying out your strategies and plans
is doing so).
Measurement is an extremely useful tool to achieve implementation.
In fact, if you do not measure that they are being implemented, it
is unlikely that your plans will be implemented.
You must measure if the plans are being implemented by everyone (or
every section or every division) who should be doing them.
netgm.com's tools section describes in detail the steps needed to
implement a project. The secrets are:
- discuss it to death before you do it so that you find the holes
and so that everyone knows what part they get to play (we described
this in the first part of this chapter)
- measure to see if it is being implemented and that it is leading
to success
The second type of measurement addresses the need to measure if your
strategies are being implemented – if people are actually doing
them. The old thinking is of the boss saying "do this" and
assuming everyone has immediately dropped everything else and is doing
what you demanded. Wrong! We frequently hear "We have a very
good policy on that. But no one does it".
The main way of ensuring that a company's strategies and policies
are being implemented is to measure that they are. If you are serious
about it, measure its implementation. If you are not willing to do
this, do not waste your company's time by introducing the policy or
strategy. It is just lip service.
There are a thousand good reasons for people not being able to implement
mutually agreed plans. Most are solvable. However, they will not be
solved by magic. They need the energy of people – usually managers
– to let them happen. They take time – and you may not have
time. So, you do need to measure if plans are being implemented –
if only to find out what barriers are preventing their implementation.
Measuring implementation does not have to indicate a lack of trust.
(Of course, it will indicate a lack of trust if you introduce a pattern
of blame for the policy or strategy not being implemented.)
- staff may not have the skills, knowledge, authority, resources,
capital or time
- it might completely stuff up a good practical working system
- it may not be practical in the field
- it may require the cooperation of others who are withholding that
cooperation
- existing processes may not be capable (see later in Principle
4 `To Improve the Outcome, Improve the System')
Companies exist because individuals acting alone cannot do the work.
Bringing together of people also brings together complexity.
How do you ensure alignment throughout the company – everyone
and every department working in the same direction – towards
the mutually agreed Goals and objectives? This is usually very tricky.
Companies are made up of people with different values, different
beliefs, different ethics, different needs, different ambitions, different
temperaments. The history of humanity is of people pulling in different
directions. The people in your company will do so as well. You need
systems to give alignment. Alignment is created by:
- significant and meaningful involvement in developing strategies
and plans
- written plans
- measurement of implementation
- everyone knows their role
- performance agreements
Significant and meaningful involvement ensures you get input from
the people who know most about what is going on and ensure enthusiasm
for implementation. By the time that you get to the identification
and allocation of activities, projects and interventions there should
be no surprises.
Making where you are headed the vision of all the people involved
eliminates push back and sabotage. It also prevents the old paradigm
of setting the objective or target without defining the method to
get there – which is cruel.
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