Flawless Execution

I recommend a book I have recently read titled Flawless Execution by James D. Murphy. It is a fairly easy read (208 pages - no big words) and it would be interesting to anyone who wants to know how to plan, execute, and improve processes (debrief).

Here are some excerpts from the chapter on Future Vision:

Flawless execution begins with a Future Picture. It’s a well-written, clear, high-resolution, and easily communicated big picture of what you want the future to be. Future Picture is a beacon that pulls the team into the designed future. Executing is not enough. You must execute in the spirit of a Future Picture or you will invariably execute against the wrong things.
Entrepreneurs are by default the masters in the art of painting Future Pictures. Why is this? It’s because entrepreneurs sell vision.


Examples of a clear Future Picture:

• Gulf War: "Iraq will be out of Kuwait. Allied casualties will be low. Collateral damage will be minimized (so Iraq can recover quickly). Saddam’s Army will not be a regional power for at least ten years. Oil will flow freely in the region.” Pretty simple. Very direct. Easy to understand, and yet, it’s a Future Picture with resolution and detail sufficient to give his commanders a starting point for the planning process that would lay down the specific strategies necessary to achieve his Future Picture.
• Hess Express: "Make our stores a destination, he said to his managers; give the people in our adjoining neighborhoods the products they want. Give it to them in a self-service environment that’s clean, with a shopping experience that’s quick. And, oh by the way, don’t charge more than the local grocery store but make me a good return on my money."

Rule 1: Focus on the Future
A Future Picture statement opens the door to creativity and outside-the-box thinking at exactly the right moment in the process – before anyone has locked down plans and started the execution phases. It also focuses the commanders on the future. If it doesn’t contribute to the Future Picture, it doesn’t belong on the table.

Rule 2: Key Descriptors: Painting with Colors
1) Financial Position 7) Workforce Characteristics
2) Market Position 8) Brand: Yes or No
3) Business Areas 9) Corporate Culture
4) Innovation 10) Corporate Citizenship
5) Insider Perception 11) Ownership
6) Outsider Perception 12) Incentive Philosophy

Rule 3: Measures of Merit
Measures of merit are the measures of success we attach to each key descriptor. These are the things that have to happen in order to achieve the key descriptors, which in turn, realize our Future Picture. They tell us we’re making progress – that the future is materializing. Measures of merit are absolutes, not comparative, and are written to focus on strategic progress versus any sort of tactical success. They are clear, concise, and easily communicated.