One of my favorite discussion groups on LinkedIn is the Strategic Planning Xchange headed up by Joe Evans from the Dallas area. He posted this question recently:  What do you feel are the top three factors leading to poor execution of strategy?

I jumped in after a couple of hundred comments were posted. Here is my post:

It's hard to argue with what's already been said, but there are three more factors that I see a lot -- both in companies we've observed and the ones that my MBA students love to tell me about:

1.  PLANNING IS A DUTY, NOT A DRIVER. Most plans I hear about simply were shelved -- never driving decisions and action. Why? Perhaps because too many people have never been part of a creating a great plan, executing it fully, and seeing it be very successful -- producing far more than they would have without the plan. I believe you need to experience that taste of blood -- that a plan PLUS action can far outperform action alone.

2.  PLANS ARE RARELY BUILT AROUND THE WAY COMPANIES ACTUALLY OPERATE. They are often based on idealized thinking -- such as that the org chart really shows how things get done around here. If plans are naive from the start, people (especially leaders) sense it, and don't give them sufficient importance or time.

3.  MOST COMPANIES OVER-MANAGE PEOPLE AND UNDER-MANAGE PLANS. Plans are too often poorly communicated (sold), inadequately assigned and funded, and rarely made part of real accountability (incentives, annual performance reviews, and so on.) "Make it part of my bonus formula and I am likely to take it a lot more seriously."

Two other factors: What happened to past plans and Anticipating barriers are also important to consider. I like to ask early on, "Tell me about your previous plans. Did they work? If so, why? If not, why not? Where are they?" This is usually revealing -- and fun. The other factor is building in time to think through as a team, "What (and who) could kill or stop this project? What do we need to be ready for? What is almost certain to happen or get in the way of our succeeding?"

That's my opinion. What do you think?...



Fortune magazine asked influential leaders to share wise words that changed their lives forever. Here is what Tiger shared with reported Jessica Shambora from their July 2009 issue.

When I was young, maybe 6 or 7 years old, I'd play on the Navy golf course with my pop. My dad would say, "Okay, where do you want to hit the ball?" I'd pick a spot and say I want to hit it there. He'd shrug and say, "Fine, then figure out how to do it."

He didn't position my arm, adjust my feet, or change my thinking. He just said go ahead and hit the darn ball.

My dad's advice to me was to simplify. He knew that at my age I couldn't digest all of golf's intricacies. He kept it simple: If you want to hit the ball to a particular spot, figure out a way to do it.

Even today, when I'm struggling with my game, I can still hear him say, "Pick a spot and just hit it." When I'm making adjustments during a round, I know some of the television commentators theorize that I'm changing this or moving that, but really what I'm doing is listening to Pop.

NOTES FROM CARL:  I call this Brilliant Simplicity. A principle you can apply again and again. Remarkable.

I see way too many plans, strategies, and corporate initiatives that are too complex from beginning to end to be understood and put into action. My recommendation:  create a clear, visually-based front-end that captures the essential parts of the plan and makes it simple to understand. Make sure they get the big picture and the basics first. Keep it simple and let them get to the complexities and details later.

As a leader, can you strategically, consistently, and logically evaluate ideas or new concepts – regardless of where they come? Can you determine whether or not it is a valid, worthwhile concept to pursue – or simply a time- and resource-wasting distraction?

Click to read more ...

How does a leader take control of information and make it work to their advantage – especially when it’s lists or groups of items that appear unrelated?

Quick to learn and easy to use, this simple technique we call the Rule of Four can help you better understand lists, manage information – and make decisions.

This 11 minute podcast will give you the basics to try out. Once you have it down, there are dozens of ways to use it.

Listen now.

One of my favorite questions when I go into a company and do an assessment interview is to ask, "What are the trends and changes out there that are likely to affect you in your job or in your department?"

It amazes me how often I get a blank look or some feeble answer that tells me immediately this individual is not paying attention.

Do you want to be one of those people? Is not paying attention a prescription for advancing… for being a leader?

I don't think so.

Listen to the entire podcast

Download the Envisian 3x3 Paying Attention Matrix

Carl Francis

Measuring and tracking results effectively
requires a multi-level approach

In dismay, the business owner said, “We do a lot of marketing, but we don't know if it works. I just know that we spend a lot of money."

His comment got a lot of reaction from the other business owners – most in agreement.

This is not a new challenge. In fact, it’s one reason why marketing is sometimes seen as less of a contributor to a business’ growth and development than it should be. Very few people know how to measure or understand its effectiveness.

So what can you do to more effectively track and measure your marketing? Here’s a slightly expanded version of my answer to the business owner….

Realistic expectations come first

The absolute first key to determining whether or not your marketing is working is to develop good, clear expectations for it – based on what marketing can actually accomplish.

For instance, marketing done well can build awareness about companies, products, and services. Marketing can separate one company or product from another through branding, positioning, and differentiation. Marketing can make you more competitive, more visible, and more present in the marketplace. Marketing can simplify and explain complicated things so people can understand them. Marketing can also activate people to do something – inquire, respond, go somewhere, try something, and even buy. And it can initiate, encourage, build, and maintain relationships – with customers, shareholders, and many other people you depend on. And that’s just to start.

The point is that Marketing can do a lot, but most business people have a deep-seated hope that it should really do just one thing – make the phone ring again and again with well-to-do, anxious-to-spend consumers.

You may laugh at that, but deep down, when I can get people to come clean, that’s what they want.

In fact, there are situations where Marketing can do that. But more often, it is the last of many steps along a carefully orchestrated marketing path.

Unfortunately, the two most-often tracked pieces of information (if any) we see are: how much did we sell, and how many new customers did we get?

Gather information on several levels

Effectively measuring and tracking Marketing requires approaching it from several different viewpoints – and on several different levels.

The first step is to identify the major tiers within the business – and exactly what each tier wants or needs to know. Let’s begin with these questions:

What is it that top management wants to know? In most cases, top leaders want to know about progress toward top line revenue growth, performance against goals and budgets, and profitability. While they are sometimes interested in particular elements of Marketing, more often their concerns are (or should be) big picture issues. The savviest leaders will often be concerned about awareness, preference, competitiveness, and trends.

Department or mid-level management may have other information they want to see. Some of the information will often overlap with what top management wanted, but other parts may be unique.

For instance, managers are likely to be interested in traffic (responses of various types), transaction size, and timing. How many have responded? How much are they spending? Are they buying what we anticipated or other things? Are these numbers moving up or down and how do they compare to last year? Are there common characteristics to these buyers we should know about and track? How long does it take from the time of mailing is dropped at the post office until the phone starts to ring or people began to walk in the door?

Some of the metrics that mid-level managers will be most interested in are quantitative and easy to capture. Other information may be more qualitative, subjective, and more of a challenge to obtain. For instance, marketing managers may want customer feedback and comments about new products. They may also be looking for complaints and other information that might point to problems in one of their processes.

Having this level of information can directly trigger another level of response to a first-time purchase. Suppose I buy a blazer out of your general clothing catalog. Will I be added to the database and not hear from you until the next time you send a schedule mailing – or will you send me a special catalog of men’s clothing with an incentive to buy something more soon? Will I be treated as a valuable new customer with potential or as just another customer? I call this response-activated marketing – where something is done in response to some earlier activity. This is the kind of Marketing thinking that separates great marketers from ho-hum marketers.

The third area where marketing metrics are important is often at ground level – meaning the level at which your people must actually deliver the service. Let's use the case of the catalog marketer again. The folks taking the calls need to know the likely timeframe from the day the catalog arrives at the post office until the catalog arrives in people's homes – because the arrival date is when the phones will start to ring – not before.

Once the phone starts to ring, they also need to know how long and at what level of intensity it will continue and eventually stop. They'll want to know whether responses come in a steady incline upwards or in a more bell-shaped curve where demand for call takers increases dramatically and drops off gradually days later. This information is essential if you're going to be adequately staffed to capture every call and opportunity that comes in.

This marketing preparedness thinking applies to any company which hopes to get a response from people. One company we reviewed sends huge mailings to people at their homes, to be opened when people get home from work. Amazingly, we checked and learned their switchboards are closed at 5:00 sharp with not even a special voicemail message for people who respond.

Bottom line for leaders

The key to better measuring your Marketing is to start by asking and investigating what kind of information people at different levels of your company want and need to know. Expect that it will vary by tier and job responsibility.

It’s important to know that some information is much easier to accumulate than other parts. Separate out what you can’t easily measure – brand awareness and so on. There are other ways to address them. Don’t give up because you can’t track everything.

Then set up a system – with someone accountable – that tracks and gatherers that information which you can obtain. When possible, automate it. It is important that the information is checked for accuracy, disseminated immediately, and is actually reviewed and used by the right people.

Only by using a multi-tiered system can you assure that you will have access to usable information about the effectiveness of your marketing.

 
Carl Francis 

If your primary focus is all about cost,
you’re probably not as effective as you could be

What is this going to cost? I’d been expecting the question.

The enormous conference table was filled with 25 law firm partnersas we presented a firm-wide marketing initiative. When you present to attorneys, you can count on the fact that they’re going to want to know what it costs. And one of the partners did indeed ask about halfway through my presentation.

That’s a very important question, I responded, and one I’m fully prepared to answer. But with your permission, I’d like to address that question at the end so that you will have a solid basis on which to make your decision.

Fine, the attorney said. So I finished and later returned to the question of cost. I told them that for a project with this potential significance to the firm, I believed that there are actually four questions for them to consider….

1. Does this program makes sense to you?
Let’s broaden the question a bit. Is it clear and logical? Does it feel right? Does it fit us as an organization? Would you be proud to show this to a customer to a client, family member, or friend? Because if the answer to any of those questions is NO – we should stop right here.

If it doesn’t make sense, if it doesn’t fit you, if you’re not comfortable with it, if you wouldn’t be proud of it when it’s finished – why do it?

On the other hand, if it does make sense, then we should continue.

So, I asked, are we in agreement that this program makes sense to you and fits you as a firm?

Heads nodded yes.

2. Will this program work?
Does it provide value that people will want? Does it meet a need that people have? Will it appeal to people and make a positive impression on them? Is it reasonable and logical to assume that it will work?

Again, if the answer to any part of this second question is no, then let’s not go any further.

So , are we in agreement that this program is likely to work – and therefore produce results for us

3. If it works, what could it produce?
I asked the attorneys: You are here because you represent every practice area of the firm. Would I be correct in believing that each of you has a pretty good idea of what the value of a typical new client is? (I knew it would range from a few thousand to hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on the practice area.) Heads nodded yes.

So, based on what you have seen here today – already agreeing that this program makes sense and fits you as a firm AND that it is likely to work – is it also logical to conclude that it will work at least well enough to bring each attorney in this firm a minimum of one new client within the first year?

Of course , they all said. And if this program produced at least one new client for each attorney in this firm – in addition to the business you already have – what would the total value of that be to the firm? (They were now thinking in millions of dollars).

So, I said, we have already agreed on three important questions:

This program make sense – and it fits the firm. You would be proud to have it in use.

It’s likely to work. It offers value and meets needs and will help people – both the people who receive it and those in the firm who will use it.

The total of new clients – and therefore new revenues – that this program is likely to produce could be quite significant.

And so we are ready to consider the original question….

4. What will it cost?
And so I told them – about $100,000 – a bit less than they were likely to pay just one new associate that year. I knew that earlier that amount might have seemed like a lot of money, especially since at that time years ago they weren’t used to spending much on marketing, but I wasn’t worried. They had already agreed to the logic, fit, effectiveness, and potential of the program, and most of them were already thinking about millions in potential income!

I was confident – but then something unexpected happened. The Managing Partner, who had sat quietly at the far end of the table, said: This makes sense to me. Let’s move forward. And got up and walked out of the room.

The program was approved within minutes. There was very little discussion and almost no debate (imagine that with a room full of lawyers!)

And after the program was implemented, it accomplished everything that we thought it would – and much more. Over a decade later, many elements of that first program are still in place and working for the firm.

But you know, I never could get them to tell me just how much revenue it produced.

Bottom Line for Leaders:
These four questions are about far more than simply selling a big initiative. They are about what you have to look at to make good decisions as a leader.

When new ideas are presented, if you focus first or perhaps only on the cost – without looking at potential – you are only doing half your job as a leader.

It’s your responsibility to start with the potential or worth of new concepts and balance them against cost.

Carl Francis

Using our Percentage Approach To Implementation can make a once-impossible idea – well, possible. And perhaps even more profitable, faster to market, and less risky.

A business friend came to me with an idea for a radically new type of restaurant. It was a great idea with real potential.

Creating a restaurant of this type would require sophistication, skill, and money to build and maintain. Even more importantly, it would require a lot of skills he admitted he doesn’t have – and doesn’t particularly want to learn.

We captured all these pros and cons on a mind map of the idea. Making his idea a reality seemed a longer and longer shot as we went along. And yet it was – at its core – a great concept.

So I asked – “Is what you’ve described to me here the 100% Idea?” He looked at me quizzically. I explained, “Is this the ideal, If I could do anything, really do it right, this is what it would look like approach?”

“Yes,” he replied. And so I dropped the other shoe.

“Could there be a 50% way to make this idea a reality – or a 75% version – or a 20% version?” For instance, “Do you have to be the one to buy the land, finance the entire thing, and then own and manage it yourself? Or could you just develop the concept and provide parts of it – and let someone else manage it? Or could you just license the concept? “

He hadn’t thought of it that way.

So we constructed a new map of options – from the simplest approach with the least capital involved to the 100% (where he contributed and controlled everything – and therefore assumed all the risk). We soon had 100, 75, 50, and 20% options – and brief outlines to accompany each one – allowing my friend to focus on the best ways for him (with his particular strengths, experience, and resources) to bring the idea to fruition.

While some would say that this is simple business planning, in reality it’s not always so simple for entrepreneurs and people who have a consuming idea or a vision to see their options clearly. It’s their idea. They want to own it – all of it.

The Percentage Approach to Implementation is a simple way to broaden your options, so that your great idea doesn’t fall victim to your personal or financial limitations.

By the time he left, we’d mapped out the entire idea at 100%, and then deconstructed it to only its critical parts. Now the idea could still be become a reality, but my friend had a full range of options. Can you use this technique for your ideas? Sure! Here is a sample of typical options you might have:

20% -- develop the idea, protect it legallythrough patents, trademarks, or copyrights, market it, and license it to others who build the units and sell them for you. Probably the quickest and lowest risk option, with the lowest capital outlay and the most potential for profitability – and could play to your strengths.

40% -- fabricate a prototype to test and demonstrate, and then start marketing the concept. As orders come in, make the products, install them, and get paid. Next quickest, lower risk, moderate capital outlay, and potentially profitable in a reasonable amount of time – and probably fits well within your core capabilities.

60% -- much like 40% except perhaps you also maintain and manage the units for the restaurant owners. Would add a revenue stream, but also require more overhead for people and equipment for maintenance.

80% -- build on the 60% concept and perhaps share the ownership or financing of the units, the technology, and even the business. Slower, more risk, requires more up front capital, and has more complicated profitability model – and might stretch beyond your area of expertise.

100% -- do just about all of the above, plus come up with millions to buy, develop, and run an enterprise you may know little about, and which may have a 90% failure rate.

What’s the bottom line of using the Percentage Approach to Implementation? I think there are a least three.

• First, a good idea doesn’t become a truly a great idea until you actually make it happen.
• Second, sometimes waiting to execute 100% of your idea often means it never happens – usually because you’re unable to amass the resources. So if making it happen is important, you have to find another way.
• Third, when you cut out the parts of an idea that require what you don’t have – often the true essence of the idea becomes clear.

So try taking your big idea and asking yourself – could this possibly work if we did just 60% or 20% or 40%?

I’ll bet it could.

Carl Francis

Is relevance an issue that comes up
at your company? It did at the World Bank.

A recent front page story in the Wall Street Journal reported that Robert Zoellick, the new head of the World Bank, has been working hard to undo the failings of his predecessor, Paul Wolfowitz. One of Zoellick’s new priorities is to re-establish the relevance of the World Bank by addressing issues such as micro-banking, economic development of Arab nations, and opposing corruption in emerging nations.

Relevance is a word you don’t often hear used concerning corporations – or even institutions – for that matter. It just isn’t part of the everyday lexicon we use – even in the business schools like the one where I teach.

But should we be talking about relevance more – and asking questions to determine if our particular business – or our current mission – is still relevant?

Is it even possible for a business to no longer be relevant to consumers or others?

Is it possible to run a profitable business that really doesn’t contribute much that is good or valuable to the lives of the people who buy our products or use our services?

Do you have much of a future if you are irrelevant?

I once asked a bank president client what his greatest fear was. He immediately said, “That this bank will become irrelevant.” What he meant was that if they failed to turn things around, their bank would no longer be attractive to customers or to another institution who might want to buy them out someday.

Have once-thriving businesses become irrelevant?

Did McDonald’s risk becoming irrelevant as they saw sales decline and customers defect – while at the same time failing to change their menu or their cooking methods (i.e., frying with trans fats, etc.). Did they suddenly become more relevant when they started offering healthier choices and fresher foods – like salads? They are certainly seeing a turnaround in sales and profits.

Did General Motors risk becoming irrelevant? Sales were slow, their cars tested poorly with focus groups who found their designs stodgy and their overall value below that of foreign offerings. But what happened when the designs started to improve along with gas mileage and alternative fuel options? Sales went up. Was it relevance returning?

Does Coca-Cola risk losing relevance, at least here in the United States, by insisting as its Marketing Director recently said, on simply reformulating sugary drinks instead of focusing on what people really want to drink today?

Have the three major television networks – NBC, ABC, and CBS – become less and less relevant as their once impenetrable stronghold on the airwaves has been broken up by hundreds of cable TV and satellite stations – and more recently by the internet and video gaming?

Perhaps it’s time that we reconsidered the importance of making our businesses relevant .

But how do you determine and build relevance? Perhaps a place to begin is with these simple questions:

• If our company and all our offerings disappeared overnight, how long would it take our typical customer to replace us? (If the answer is less than, say, 24 hours, perhaps we are already irrelevant.) Variation: Is it possible for our customers to get virtually the same thing we offer – from others?

• Are we most often followers – and reactors – rather than leaders and pacesetters?

• Does what we do really contribute to a better life for people or some part of society?

• If we didn’t exist as an entity, would someone risk everything to create an organization that does what we do?

Relevance isn’t about making money. Money and other measures of success can result from relevance, but they aren’t inextricably connected. Lots of meaningless, even some might say destructive companies, make a great deal of money (many put pornography, gambling, tobacco, and all the so-called sin industries in this category).

Relevance is much more important than just making money – it’s about finding the meaning in and of what you do.

Relevance, most of all, is about exchange – providing something of value to people – and getting the rewards back. Relevance is about truly mattering. Relevance can stare down the so what? question confidently.

Is your business or organization still relevant? Could you ask the questions above and be happy with the answers you’d get? What if you asked customers, strangers, and outsiders? How would they respond?

How do you add relevancy back into your business if you need it? As with Robert Zoellick at the World Bank, it starts with goals. Great noble goals to serve others – perhaps those who really need and want help. Or maybe a less lofty but no less significant purpose of finding new ways to make everyday life a little easier, a little simpler, so that others can achieve their goals.

Whatever your path to relevance, the trick is to matter – really matter – to at least one group of people.

And when you couple goals with values and ideals – like leadership, innovation, excellence, and imagination – then you probably have something.

That’s relevance.

Carl Francis

What does the USTA know about creating a customer experience that could help your business?

This summer’s U.S. Open Tennis Championships in Flushing, New York were a surprising and powerful experience. As big tennis fans, my husband and I were expecting much the same experience we’d had at previous U.S. Opens – a lot of good tennis, plus the typical inconveniences associated with large-scale public events (traffic jams, jostling crowds, long lines, outrageous prices, and rude treatment from the event staff).

But this year was different. The USTA had their act together – really together. Rather than simply putting on an event, as in past years, they created a total experience. And what a difference it made.

What’s the difference between an event and a total experience?
Typical planners often string together a series of events and then shuttle teh guests through them. It can be lovely, but is often impersonal. The focus is on the setting and the function from the presenter’s point of view, not usually on the guest’s experience.

Planners creating a total experience recognize that it’s how people interact with the event that really matters. They deliberately see the event from the guest’s perspective – floor to ceiling, 360 degrees – and take the necessary steps to anticipate and meet the guests’ needs and surpass their expectations on every level.

So, how did the USTA deliver an experience rather than an event this year?
It started in the parking lot. In years past, we’ve arrived at the National Tennis Center only to be guided by a series barely-readable signs to distant parking lots on unmarked grassy fields. We would abandon our car, desperately look around for some sort of landmark so that we could somehow find our vehicle again, and begin the long walk – usually a mile or so – to the entrance of the tournament grounds.

This year we were greeted by very friendly New York police who kindly directed us to well-marked gravel parking lots, where we received tickets with our lot designations on them so that we could easily return to the right place to collect our car after the event. Then, we were directed to nearby air-conditioned shuttle busses, where another friendly tournament staffer managed the flow of people onto the waiting transports and quickly and efficiently drove us to the tournament entrance.

There were the usual security procedures at the entrance, but there were a number of “express” lines for attendees not carrying bags or purses. This made the process faster and more convenient.

Once inside we headed for the café stands where we paid an outrageous $27.50 for two hot dogs, two cokes, and an order of fries – some things never change! But as we ate our overpriced lunch at one of the outdoor tables, we noticed that the grounds looked incredibly clean – much more so than we remembered from past years. Throughout the day we saw grounds people constantly sweeping and cleaning. They were everywhere. The result was a lovely and inviting environment.

We also noticed a lot more small stands throughout the grounds where you could grab a bottle of water or an ice cream to cool down without having to wait in a long line. It was a hot day, and people loved the convenience.

Another remarkable change was the friendliness of everyone we encountered who was associated with the tournament. They were energetic, polite, genuinely helpful, and clearly well trained. Even the maintenance workers would engage you in conversation – asking how you were doing and if they could help you with anything.  Everyone showed their training –  and someone's good thinking with their parting words – enjoy your Open.

The one blemish in this otherwise exceptional experience came when I tried to buy some t-shirts. There were several nice styles, but almost every one was sold out – despite several samples on display. When I asked if I could buy teh samples, they said no – those were for display only. It was tremendously frustrating. Only one vendor was taking display samples down and selling them like crazy. The rest were left apologizing to angry customers.

At the end of the day, we boarded the cool, comfortable bus outside the stadium gate and were dropped off right by our designated parking lot where we easily retrieved our car and set off for home. The tennis was fabulous – as usual. But the experience this year was remarkable. We felt welcome, respected, cared for, and safe – and that enabled us to really enjoy our Open. I can’t wait to go back! And I bet a lot of other people feel the same way.

Disney, Southwest, and others follow this same principle of dissecting and focusing on the customer experience as a way to distinguish their products and services. In doing so, they’ve created loyal customers who are often their best ambassadors and marketers – resulting in new and repeat business that has kept these companies at the top of their industries.

BOTTOM LINE FOR LEADERS
What could your company do to create a really great total experience for your customers? Start by putting yourself in your customers' shoes and seeing the experience you offer from start to finish. Ask yourself what the customer really wants and needs to make this the most enjoyable, efficient, worthwhile experience possible.

What’s missing? What’s difficult or inconvenient? What would you love about this experience if you were the customer, and what would drive you crazy?

Then find ways to begin to fix or at least improve these gaps. It may require some extra planning time, effort, training, and perhaps expense – but the payoff from their satisfaction and enthusiasm could be worth millions.

Perhaps most important – instead of ignoring tHE process because it takes time and money, consider creating a great customer experience as a way to have the kind of lasting impact that can really make money.

Lisa Howell