Market Beating Strategy
Step 6 Commit

(Go to pages 31- 34 in your workbook – then click on the video below to play)

Complete step 6- Commit, in the space provided in your workbook – pages 31-34.

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Step 6- Commit (pages 31-34 in your workbook)

Commit is about getting your team assigned to the initiatives and committing to owning them and completing them in a timely fashion.

Strategy often breaks down here for two reasons:

One, leaders fail to get agreement and commitment from their team, and two, leaders fail to hold team members accountable for accomplishing their initiatives.

You and your team should be discussing progress with executing plans a least monthly and reporting to your board of directors or advisory board at least quarterly on your progress.

I can’t emphasize enough that this is important.

It is where most companies fail.

I worked with a client that went through the exercise of planning every year.

Their plans were OK, but could have been better.

The challenge was that the CEO didn’t hold team members accountable for executing their plan.

Nothing got done.

When I asked team members about it, they said, “No one is held accountable here, so why should I waste my time?

There aren’t any consequences for not doing it!”

Their point was that if the leader doesn’t hold any one accountable, the team will eventually regress to doing the least amount possible or in worst case nothing.

That is what happened here.

Planning was a 100% waste of time because their plans were never implemented.

Commit to implementing your plan and follow through:

• Has ownership for all initiatives been assigned?
• Does each initiative have a clear start and end date?
• Have resources been allocated to complete the task?
• How often will you discuss progress with your team?
• How often will your report your progress?
• How do you plan to manage delayed initiatives?
• What is the benefit of seeing your plan through?
• What is the cost of not seeing your plan through?

Communicating your plans to your front line team members is another critical step that leaders often fail to see as necessary.

The reality is that strategy is implemented at your front lines.

If they don’t know or understand your strategy, implementation will be half-hearted at best.

On the other hand, it you get your front line team members excited and engaged in implementing your strategy, they will likely help you take it to levels beyond your initial expectations.

Lay out your plans to communicate in your workbook:

• What teams do I need to communicate strategy with?

• How often should we update them on our progress?

Don’t let lack of communication be the demise of your strategy.

This is the end of Step 6- Commit – How will you drive changes?

Keep your eyes open for the next video – Step 7 – Evolve – How will you adapt and learn?

Need Assistance?

If you have any questions or would like to set up an introductory phone call, please call me.

– Tim

Phone: 614.374.2890

Visible Progress  |  6815 Spring Run Drive, Westerville, OH 43082