How is execution capability measured? - Ask Wonder

The former detailed the strengths behind execution capability and the latter focused on ways to improve the strategies associated it. In short, ... WonderSignupLoginHowisexecutioncapabilitymeasured?DeliveredJuly7th,2017.Contributors:MonicaG.and5othersPart01ofonePart01Howisexecutioncapabilitymeasured?INTRODUCTIONHello!ThankyouforsharingyourquestionabouthowexecutioncapabilitycanbemeasuredwithWonder.ThetwomostusefulsourcesIreliedonwerefromHarvardBusinessReviewandFPAdvance.Theformerdetailedthestrengthsbehindexecutioncapabilityandthelatterfocusedonwaystoimprovethestrategiesassociatedit.Inshort,executioncapabilitycanbemeasuredbytheabilityofanorganizationtoachievetheirgoalsbydevelopingahigh-functioningworkplace.Decisionbiasdirectlyimpactsanorganization'sabilitytobeabletoachievetheirgoalsandwithoutclearstrategiesputinplace,effectivedecisionsarelesslikelytobemade.Thereisnospecifiedmetricforthishowever,itcanbemeasuredintermsofhowquicklyagoalisachievedandwhetherornotthechangesthatweremadewerecosteffectiveandledtobetterresults.EXECUTIONGAP+CAPABILITYOnly10%ofbusinessisthestrategy,theremaining90%shouldbeexecution.However,mostcompanieswouldreportpercentagesfarbelowthat.Mostbusinessesstruggletobridgethegapbetweenimplementationandstrategywith61%reportingproblems.WhenusinganxQ(executionquotient)testtoevaluategapsbetweensettinggoalsandachievingthemyou'llfindthataftersurveying2.5millionpeople,only9%believedthatteamshadclearmeasurablegoals.Itwasalsoseenthattherewasonly10%teamaccountability,22%ofteamswerefocusedonorganizationalgoals,and16%plannedthosegoalsinunison.Theresultsalsoshowedthatonly15%believedtheyhadthefreedomandresourcestodotheirjob.Inthepast4years,only56%ofstrategicinitiativesweresuccessful.Inordertosucceedwithexecutioncapability,strategiesmustbeputinplacesothatcost-effectivegoalscanbeobtainedfasterandwithbetterresults.Allsuccessfulstrategieswillrelyonpositivelyinfluencingthebehaviorsofemployeesandmanagers.BEHAVIORALECONOMICS+BESTPRACTICESBehavioraleconomicscanbemeasuredbythegoalsyousetandthestructureyouputaroundyouremployeesinordertomeetthem.Upto70%ofthebehaviorinacompanyisrelatedtothecorporatecultureandenvironment.Makeitcleartoallemployeeswhattheplanofattackisandwhattheirexactroleis.Setstrictquarterlygoalsthatbecomethetoppriority.Pickbetween3-7goalsandusethemasyourguide.Thiswaytheycanbeheldaccountablefortheiractionsandwhilethey'reworkingonthatprojecttheywillbeabletomakeclearandeasydecisions.Toooften,thedecision-makingprocessisunclearortoomanychoicesexist.Thisleadstoitemsgettingheldupbecauseemployeesareunsureaboutwhothedecisionmakeronanygiventaskis.Thisslowsdownproductionanddecreasesthechancesofexecutingsuccessfully.Whennooneknowswhoisresponsibleforwhatmiddlemanagerscanlosetime.Insomeinstances,40%ofmanagerslosttimedefendingandrelayinginformationupwardorquestioningthedecisionsoftheirdirectreports.Incompanieswithstrongexecution,70%reportedhavingaclearknowledgeofthedecisionsandactionstheywereresponsiblefor.Detrimentalbehaviorslikesecondguessingdecisions,notunderstandingtheimpactofyouractionsonthebottomlineandnotevenlydistributinginformationcanalsonegativelyimpactexecutioncapability.It'snotedthat71%ofpeoplefromcompanieswithpoorexecutionbelievethatworkisconstantlybeingsecond-guessedbutonly21%ofthembelievedtheinformationwasbeingsharedand28%understoodtheirimpactonthebottomline.Instrongexecutioncompaniesthereisalsoafocusonperformancemeasures,improvedflowofinformationfromthefieldtoHQ,increasedcoordinationacrosstheorganization,focusingHQonlargerstrategicquestionsandmore.Wideningtheflowofinformationacrossthecompanyandclearlydefiningroles,goals,andmetricsarethesecretstosuccessfulexecution.INFLUENCEOFDECISIONBIASWhenthereisnocleardefinitionofanemployee'sroleandwhatdecisionstheyareandarenotresponsiblefortheirdecisionmakingisputatrisk.AsJoeNigro,CEOofConstellationstates,"Everyoneneedstoknowhoweachmetricfitsintothebigpicture…whyandhowwe’remeasuringsomething,andhowit’srelevanttoperformance."Withoutthisinformation,someonecanendupmakingdecisionsthataren'tintheirbestinterest.However,it'salsoimportanttonotblindlyfollowasetstandardandtoalwaysbeonthelookoutforemergingtrendsandmetrics.Someonemaybepartialtousingagiventacticbecauseit'sbeenprovenforyearsbutthereisnoguaranteeitwillremainrelevant.Somehiddenbiasesthatcaninfluencedecisionmakingareconfirmation,selection,anchoring,irrationalescalation,overconfidence,groupattributionandoptimismbiasaswellasothers.Thewayyouinterpretareportcaneasilybeimpactedbyanyofthese. Groupattributionbiasescanleadtoemployeesassumingtheresultsfromonegroupcanbeappliedtothelargerwhole.Confirmationbiasescomewhensomeoneseeksoutinformationtobolstertheirownclaim.Irrationalescalationcanleadtosomeoneinvestingmoretimeintoatacticthatisn'tbearinganyfruitsimplybecausethey'vealreadyspentsomuchtimeonit.Inallofthesescenarios,someoneisvulnerabletomakingpotentiallyineffectivedecisionsbasedontheirownbias.Thereisnowaytoremovethispossibilityentirelysincehumanbrainsarealwayssusceptibletobias.Still,theimpactofthesebiasescanbeminimizedwheneffectivestrategiesareputinplacetomaximizeemployeerolesandcompanyworkflow.CONCLUSIONTowrapthingsup,executioncapabilitystrategiesmustbeputinplacesothatcost-effectivegoalscanbeobtainedfasterandwithbetterresults.Thereisn'tadesignatedmetricforthisbutitcanbemeasuredbyacompany'sabilitytoachievetheirgoalsoncebestpracticesareimplementedandbehavioraleconomicsareproperlyleveraged.Decisionbiasdoeshavethepotentialtoimpactdecisionmakingbutoptimizedbehavioreconomicscandecreasethatimpact.ThankyouforchoosingWondertoansweryourquestion!Feelfreetoreachbackoutifyouhaveanyfurtherquestions.DivedeeperOnlytheprojectownercanselectthenextresearchquestion.Needrelatedresearch?Let'slaunchyournextproject!SourcesSourcesActionLearning-ManagersatWorkinthe21stCentury-3.ExecutionCapabilityactionlearningforsuccess.comTheSecretstoSuccessfulStrategyExecutionhbr.orgt10actionstoimproveyourStrategyExecutioncapabilitiesthe-performance-factory.comBeyondStrategy:ThreeLessonsandFourIngredientsofExecutionideas.darden.virginia.eduDesigningStrategyExecutionCapabilitylinkedin.comBehavioralstrategytocombatchoiceoverloaddupress.deloitte.comWhatIsStrategyExecution?amanet.org5WaysToDramaticallyImproveYourExecutionCapability|FPAdvancefpadvance.comThe8thHabit:FromEffectivenesstoGreatnessbooks.google.comHiddenBiasesinReportingMetricsYouNeedtoAvoidaudiencebloom.comDon'tBeTyrannizedbyOldMetricshbr.org