Planning + Execution
Planning and executing go hand-in-hand. You can't plan without an idea of the steps to execute. Similarly, a team can't execute if you don't have a plan that says WHAT to do.
Planning is thinking about all the various elements that will be required to achieve a particular outcome. Having foresight and the ability to think ahead are vital to your success.
Execution - is well, executing the plan. Do the work. Get shit done. There can even be more detailed planning within the execution (based on the need to solve the problem).
There is a MONSTER GAP between planning and execution that causes constant headaches for companies.
But before we get to execution and that monster gap, some more on planning…
Planning basics
You likely will already have some level of yearly + quarterly planning cycles...this may be a well-oiled machine or a painful existence. Yearly planning cycles are focused on the big outcomes you want to achieve over the year...typically what's in horizon 1 of your strategy.
It’s important to focus on outcomes. Keep the process simple, data-informed, disciplined, and diligent. This is aided by having a CLEAR mission, vision, and strategy...that is visible and regularly communicated to the team. Another piece to the planning exercises is to ensure you have key leaders across the portfolio gathered to do the planning as a whole vs. off in silos coming up with their plan. Unfortunately planning in silos is a common problem and why bigger companies are constantly trying to transform to bring people together and plan and execute better! Don't settle for the silo operations and press for change!
Quarterly planning is a more refined bucket of features and problems to solve that are tied to the yearly outcomes. This can include but is not limited to, new product GTM, product features, tech debt, platform overhauls, process efficiencies, or productivity enhancements.
Once it’s understood these are things to be worked on you can break that work down with the appropriate teams to deliver.
A big part of planning is understanding the outcomes, priorities, and situational awareness. Here, you want to determine the following:
Do we have the right team assembled to be successful? (this includes the right leadership)
Do we have stakeholder alignment?
How is our work broken up? E.g. plan your work on a biweekly basis (bucketed into 3-5 day chunks of work)
What is the capacity of the team - e.g. only ever allocate max 80% of work every 2 weeks...and in many cases much less due:
This is to include unplanned events, meetings, PTO
Additional factors: think time, learning, tech debt
Is there any known history that could impact our success?
Conduct premortems to anticipate risks, issues, barriers
To be better at planning focus on continuously learning, understanding and trying new tactics:
Systems for planning.
Case studies and how other organizations have done it. This is to inform you but not give you a license to copy and paste.
Do the work - go through a series of planning cycles in a given year
Iterate on what you’ve learned. You will learn more as you continue planning...what works, what doesn't, personalities, agendas, and more. No system is ever perfect and adaptation is key. If you build a rigid system prepare for painful outcomes.
Execution. Do the work. Get shit done.
Companies struggle to do the work. We're talking billions wasted year over year in North America alone.
WHY?
Leadership - indecisiveness, reactive vs. proactive in their planning, lack of alignment, inability to communicate/demonstrate value for the work
Inability to prioritize - constantly changing priorities
Focus - trying to do too many things (known as work in progress or WIP) vs. looking at what is the priority. This results in nothing getting done well and contact switching causing major stress on your team.
Inertia. Large organizations are complex with multiple lines of business and portfolios of products/services. It can be VERY tough to mobilize teams to get anything done.
Lack of Effective Communication.
Money - largely due to 1 and 2 - if leadership isn't in favour or aligned to work and it isn't a priority, then funding won't be allocated. Also depending on how budgets are allocated, the limited money available may be a function of a broken system that doesn't allow the ability to move money to prioritized initiatives...which can be fixed.
The MONSTER gap is mobilizing the team to do the work! This is no small feat. You have to influence others to get the work done, some who may report to you whereas others are on different teams. This inertia exists at all levels from executives to middle management and individual contributors. Organizations are pressured to deliver more and more, faster, with epic experiences and top-shelf quality...which is very demanding on the teams! Most fall flat here and it causes enormous churn and burn for companies.
In the end, something is delivered. But we want to be working on the right things at the right time that are reaching our outcomes. This saves having to do any "spin" on the value of what was (wasn't) delivered.
How to avoid the biggest struggles of execution...
Have the right leadership
Be prepared
Have trusted relationships
Commit to the work and figure it out
Be a problem solver
Be disciplined in your work
Measure what matters
Communicate
Have ALOT of perseverance
Having the right leadership in place for your organization to succeed is key. Are they providing direction, supporting a trusted work environment, listening to the team, and acting on it? Are those same leaders prioritizing the greater good of the team and the organization?
An empowered organization sounds great but unless the leadership truly supports their actions, you will competing agendas.
Being prepared - the next best thing to perfection. (because perfection doesn’t exist)
Understand why (mission, vision, strategy, OKRs) and the team is on board. Make this visible. ALL OF THE TIME.
Setup and communicate the cadences for meetings, communications, and other team norms
Identify how you will communicate, with whom, when, and why.
Gather relevant data and insights needed for success - requirements, docs, user stories, market and customer details +++
I'm sure you've heard this before but as a reminder - PEOPLE are at the centre of everything in business.
It’s critical to understand your customers, stakeholders, and team...and the type of relationship you will have with them. This means getting to know each of them at a deeper level. What drives them, their interests, personal lives, problems and constraints, limitations/challenges...and how you can help them.
Understand the dynamics and chemistry of the team. You have built a diverse team that needs to work together, maximize the skills of every individual, and deliver epic results. This is a balancing act of human behavior and requires a lot of self-awareness and empathy (for you and the team)
I always say to be nice but take no shit. Do not think that being nice is being naive or lacking confidence, or that it’s ok for people to be negative at work to you or others.
Commit and figure it out
Commit to the work and do what you said you would do.
Figure it out. Very little ever goes exactly to plan. You have to figure out what is needed.
Discipline
Keep the cadences for meetings, comms +++
Communicate frequently and consistently
Seek feedback from the team, customers, and stakeholders
Be decisive
Agree to disagree and keep moving forward
Measure what matters
Definition of Done.
Are we done yet - YES or NO
Value metrics based on the work at hand
The #1 problem in business is our inability to effectively communicate with others at work. Below is a simple list of what to keep in mind. Communicating with others is hard and technology exasperates the problem.
Think before you DO - always consider all of the below items before you fire off that message
Keep it simple stupid (KISS)
Set expectations – why/what/how
Be clear
Know your subject matter
Understand your audience
Connect the dots for your team. Everyone is busy. Sometimes people just need a fresh perspective or a reminder. Don't be afraid to provide that to the team.
Be consistent in how and where you communicate
Focus the team by reiterating key messaging
Perseverance
Perseverance is the ability to see through the mud and keep going. Not giving up just because you're faced with adversity. Shit happens. Believe it. You will run into problems and as noted earlier, a big piece of success is the ability to solve problems and keep moving forward.
Discipline and trust in your team are important here.
Nothing worth fighting for ever comes easy.
Grab your weapon of choice and keep fighting.
Thanks for reading and let me know your thoughts in the comments!
-Adam