Putting the Execute into Executive by Michael Halperin

Michael Halperin has spent over thirty years in the business world in an unusually diverse array of organizations and functions. His leadership expertise includes sales, marketing, technical operations, product development, customer support, technical operations and professional services. Michael was featured as one of Pittsburgh’s 100 Fastest Growing Companies, and was named to the Inc. 5000 fastest growing companies.

Thank you Michael for sharing your blog with us.

"I recently opened a talk to a group of executives by posing a scenario.....

I asked them to imagine they were given $100,000 to invest, but they had to invest all of it into one of two companies. The two companies are competitors, working in the same industry and the same market. They are similar in size and have similar products.  The only difference between the two is one of the companies is outstanding in conceiving new ideas but average in execution, while the other is average in conceiving new ideas but outstanding in execution. I asked my audience, "where will you put your money?" The answer was unanimous: everyone wanted to put their money into the company with brilliant execution.

Think about the word "executive". It literally means "designed to execute". So I find it pretty ironic that relatively few executives have ever had the experience of working in a company that is truly outstanding at execution.

The reason so few teams shine at execution is that three things must be present, and an absence of any of the three will severely diminish a Leadership Team's efficacy in execution.

The first is alignment. Even executives who are individually good at executing will cancel each other out if they are working at cross-purposes. After all, how can talented and well-meaning people all work to the betterment of the Greater Good if they all have different ideas of what the Greater Good is? The tie that binds them together is a clearly defined shared definition of the Greater Good. In EOS, that alignment is what we call "Vision".

The second is the ability to quickly and steadily get things done over the long-haul. This requires agreement on an effective set of tools, terminology and disciplines that together allow the team to focus all their energy on moving the business forward. Without that, the Leadership Team will spend too much time and energy trying to figure out how to even talk about an issue, diminishing their ability to actually solve it. As a result, progress is slow and painful.  The solution is to establish an agreed to set of tools, vernacular and discipline that enables the team to move forward with maximum speed and minimal friction.  This is what we call "Traction".

Finally, a Leadership Team can only move forward effectively if they are exactly that – a  Leadership TEAM. That means they are open and honest with each other, willing to be vulnerable with each other, and sharing an assumption of trust that every member of the team will ALWAYS fight for the Greater Good. That is what we call "Healthy".

This powerful combination – Vision, Traction and Healthy – provide the foundation for outstanding execution. Weakness in any of the three will diminish a Leadership Team's ability to get what they really want out of their business. But embracing all three gives a Leadership Team something most business leaders never experience: putting the "Execute" into "Executive"." - Michael Halperin 

What tools are you using today to strengthen your business? Learn more about EOS and how it can help successfully strengthen your business by reading Michael's other blogs he has published on his website.