The 4 Disciplines of Execution Summary | Sean Covey et al. https://www.getabstract.com/en/summary/strategy/the-4-disciplines-of-e...

Strategy without an effective method of execution is worthless, no matter how

good it looks on PowerPoint. Chris McChesney, Sean Covey and Jim Huling –
all FranklinCovey consultants – provide managers with a process for realizing
“wildly important goals.” They offer a simple yet effective four-step formula
for execution, from goal setting to application and accountability. Although
the concepts are basic, the clear instructions for implementation make this
book a standout. Unfortunately, some of the content verges on being too
promotional of FranklinCovey’s training, services and products. Setting this
foible aside and focusing on the good stuff, getAbstract recommends this
clear strategy manual to all business leaders.

• Why many companies experience a gap between strategy and execution,

and
• How to bridge that gap by using the “4 Disciplines of Execution”
framework.

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The 4 Disciplines of Execution Summary | Sean Covey et al. https://www.getabstract.com/en/summary/strategy/the-4-disciplines-of-e...

• Implementing strategy amid the “whirlwind” of daily work is difficult.

• Identify your firm’s goals by detecting which changes would exert the
greatest impact.
• The “4 Disciplines of Execution” (4DX) is a strategic process for
achieving “wildly important goals” (WIGs).
• Discipline 1 teaches you to set a target. To achieve a WIG, define a
measurable, specific time frame based on getting from one place to
another by a set deadline.
• Discipline 2 identifies activities that provide the greatest leverage for
achieving the WIG.
• “Lead measures” are actions that affect the outcome, while “lag
measures” report the success of past activities.
• Discipline 3 calls for visible scoreboards that show how team members
are performing.
• Discipline 4 instills accountability through weekly meetings called “WIG
sessions.”
• The roll-out process includes extensive training for leaders and
employee coaching.
• The 4DX principles also work well in helping you achieve personal
goals.

Strategy Blockers
Executives implement some strategies easily with a single order. They initiate
such changes as designating investments, revising compensation or hiring
additional staff simply by asking the appropriate managers to make it
happen. However, more ambitious strategies require people to change their
behavior, which is seldom easy. For example, if you ask your sales team to use
new software when they already like what they’re using, you’ll hit resistance
even if the new program is compatible. As Jim Stuart, an originator of the “4
Disciplines of Execution” (4DX), stated, “To achieve a goal you have never
achieved before, you must start doing things you have never done before.”
Resistance to change is a major hurdle in implementing a new strategy.

What else causes poor execution? Employees fail to implement strategy, first,
because they often do not understand their organization’s goals. In one
survey, most frontline people could not reiterate what their firm’s executives
identified as its top three goals. In addition, employees said they rarely felt
committed to a goal even when they knew what it was. Or, if they knew about
the goal, they didn’t know how to contribute toward its fruition. And in most
cases, managers didn’t hold workers accountable for making progress toward
company objectives.

“When you execute a strategy that requires a lasting change in

the behavior of other people, you are facing one of the greatest
leadership challenges you will ever meet.”

Discipline 1: “Focus on the Wildly Important”

Another obstacle to implementing strategy is the “whirlwind” – that is, “the
massive amount of energy that’s necessary just to keep your operation going
on a day-to-day basis.” Simply keeping up with daily demands takes most
people’s time and energy. Achieving big goals in addition to staying on top of
business is difficult. The four disciplines of execution will enable you and the

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teams in your company to execute important goals even as the work world
swirls around you. Select one or two exceptionally crucial goals. Examine the
abundance of good ideas. Then take on the challenge of saying no to some so
you can concentrate your company’s time and energy on one or two “Wildly
Important Goals” (WIGs) that really matter. This enables your staff to focus
on the firm’s top priorities without the whirlwind blowing them off course.

“The greatest challenge is not in developing the plan: It’s in

changing the behavior of the frontline teams that must execute
it while managing the never-ceasing demands of the
whirlwind.”

To identify your WIG, ask: “If every other area of our operation remained at
its current level of performance, what is the one area where change would
have the greatest impact?” Some corporate WIGs emerge from the whirlwind,
such as an existing activity that is underperforming or broken, like poor
customer service or escalating costs. WIGs that derive from outside the
whirlwind are strategic matters, like new product launches, competitive
threats or fresh opportunities. Many WIGs originate from “finance,
operations or customer satisfaction.” Once you’ve chosen your firm’s WIG,
the challenge is to implement it throughout your organization so that each
team pursues one or two WIGs that support the company’s WIG. Follow four
rules:

1. “No team focuses on more than two WIGs at the same time” –
Achieving a WIG requires a keen, undivided focus. Do not let other
demands dilute your attention.
2. “The battles you choose must win the war” – All activities must
work toward accomplishing the WIG.
3. “Senior leaders can veto, but not dictate” – Middle managers
must determine how their teams will support the WIG. If they set up a
top-down process, their teams won’t feel high levels of commitment to
the WIG.
4. “All WIGs must have a finish line” – State the finish line by using
the WIG formula “from X to Y by when.” This declares that the
organization will progress from this point to that point by a set time.
WIGs must have a clearly defined, measurable and targeted
achievement completed in a specific time frame. For example,
“Increase...annual revenue from new products from 15% to 21% by
December 31st.”

“When a team moves from having a dozen we-really-hope

goals to one or two no-matter-what goals, the effect on morale
is dramatic.”

To implement Discipline 1, determine the best WIG for your business. Seek
input at every level of your organization. Encourage ideas from each team by
asking which facet of its work needs most to be improved and what the team’s
“greatest strengths” are in terms of putting them to use in attaining the WIG.
Rank the resulting suggestions by importance. Test the top-ranking concepts
by asking if each proposed goal is measurable, achievable and specific to its
team. Make sure it supports the companywide WIG. Choose ideas that test
well and meet every condition. Then put them into the WIG formula (from X
to Y by when) in the simplest terms beginning with a verb, such as, “Raise

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annual inventory turn rate from eight to ten by fiscal year end.”

“The principle of focusing on the vital few goals is common

sense; it’s just not common practice.”

Discipline 2: “Act on the Lead Measures”

This discipline identifies the actions that will give your firm the most leverage
toward achieving its WIG. In this step, each team delineates specific activities
with measurable targets that will move it forward in reaching its WIG as part
of reaching the firm’s WIG.

“Like a compass, the WIG provides clear, consistent direction

toward a result that’s wildly important.”

Apply two kinds of measures to gauge your progress: “Lag measures” report
whether you’ve completed a goal by computing your success after you act, for
example, consumer satisfaction reports and revenue calculations.
Unfortunately, by the time you receive the results of lag measurements, you
have already completed the activities they cover. “Lead measures” are more
within your control. While a lag measure might report your car’s repair
record, a lead measure might note how much routine maintenance you’ve
done to prevent repairs. Thus, lead measures can be predictive and can
influence lag measures.

“Once you’ve decided what to do, your biggest challenge is in

getting people to execute it at the level of excellence you need.”

Younger Brothers Construction identified reducing accidents and injuries as

its WIG. Management ascertained that enforcing strict compliance to safety
standards in six areas would provide the best lead measures for reducing
accidents. Managers required shift supervisors to check their crews’
adherence to specific standards daily, in spite of constant whirlwind
distractions like shipping delays, vendor issues or foul weather. Within
months of focusing on lead measures, the firm’s safety record, according to its
lag measurements, improved radically.

“If you’re leading people, right now you are probably trying to
get them to do something different.”

To implement Discipline 2, determine which lead measures have the highest

impact on the WIG. Consider what new actions you can take, how to leverage
your team’s strengths and where you can improve its weaknesses. Rank ideas
by importance and ask these questions about each one:

• “Is it predictive” and “influenceable?” – Both these traits are

essential.
• “Is it an ongoing process” or a one-time event? – Work toward a
continuing effort with a goal.
• “Is it a leader’s game or a team game?” – Give the game to the
team.
• Is it measurable and “worth measuring?” – Measurements create

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motivation.

“Without involvement, you cannot create the high levels of

commitment that execution requires.”

Once you determine the top activities, commit the list to paper in specific,
measurable terms. Make each person accountable for taking a planned action
by a set time.

Discipline 3: “Keep a Compelling Scoreboard”

Telling staffers exactly how they are performing creates engagement and
dedication. Scoreboards drive action, promote problem solving, and boost
energy and intensity. When you show progress visually, people feel excited.
Seeing that they are winning is very motivational. An effective scoreboard
meets these criteria:

• “It has to be simple” – The scoreboard must indicate clearly where

the team is and where it needs to be.
• “It has to be visible to the team” – Computer data may help
managers but lots of information alone won’t motivate the team. Put the
scoreboard where everyone sees it.
• “It has to show lead and lag measures” – Viewers must be able to
see quickly the result they want to reach (lag measure) and what they
can do to attain it (lead measure).
• “It has to tell you immediately if you are winning or losing” –
The scoreboard must communicate at a glance how participants are
performing.

“What you ultimately want is for each member of your team to

take personal ownership of the commitments they make.”

To put Discipline 3 into action, work with your team members to design a
large, visible players’ scoreboard. Participants will be more invested if they
participate in creating the scoreboard. First, choose what type of graph you
want to display, whether it’s a bar chart, a pie chart or an X/Y axis diagram.
Keep it simple, clear and easy to read, so you can display lead and lag
measures. Update the scoreboard weekly. You will see that “people play
differently when they are keeping score.”

“People will work hard to avoid disappointing their boss, but

they will do almost anything to avoid disappointing their
teammates.”

Discipline 4: “Create a Cadence of Accountability”

The discipline of accountability keeps WIGs from blowing away in the
whirlwind. Create a sense of personal responsibility through weekly WIG
meetings that follow a set agenda and that concentrate only on the status of
the execution of the big goal.

“The whirlwind is urgent, and it acts on you and everyone

working for you every minute of every day.”

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WIG meetings have three components: First, participants report on the status
of their commitments. Next, they “review the scoreboard” and discuss what is
working and what they should adjust. Then they define what they need to
achieve by the next session. These meetings are great motivators because, in
addition to being accountable to their boss, employees are accountable to
each other, which is more inspiring. “WIG sessions” promote creativity and
innovation because teams collaborate to overcome obstacles. As they work on
advancing the lead measure, they share experiences and ideas and bring out
the best in each other. In action, “the WIG session is like an ongoing science
experiment.”

“Basically, the more you try to do, the less you actually
accomplish.”

For the purposes of implementation, these sessions should not cover anything
but the status of your WIG. The meetings work best when you hold them at
the same time and place, on the same day of each week. Keep them to a half
hour. Leaders should set an example by reporting on their WIG commitments
each time. Together, teams commemorate successes, share what they’ve
learned and help each other overcome obstacles. Keep the whirlwind out of
your WIG sessions.

“The challenge is executing your most important goals in the

midst of the urgent!”

4DX Installation
To ensure that 4DX is successful within your organization, you should put it
into operation as an ongoing process, not a one-time occurrence. Involve all
of your firm’s leaders and their teams, rather than working with just a few
leaders at a time. Train your managers to head this effort. To roll out 4DX in
your company, follow this tested, results-oriented six-step process:

1. “Clarify the overall WIG” – Follow the 4DX procedure for

identifying your company’s wildly important goal.
2. “Design the team WIGs and lead measures” – Commit two days
to training leaders in the concepts of 4DX. Once leaders have absorbed
these ideas, they can work with their teams to identify WIGs that
support the organization’s WIG. These managers should define the lead
measurements they’ll need to put in place.
3. Run a “leader certification” workshop – Teach leaders how to
create a scoreboard, manage a WIG session and prepare for launching
4DX within their teams.
4. Conduct a “team launch” – Kick-off 4DX in two-hour team
meetings. The agenda is to teach the 4DX principles, review the
organization’s WIG and describe the lead measures. Conclude the
meeting with a practice WIG session.
5. Execute “with coaching” – Once you’ve launched 4DX, stay on track
and work through problems with the help of a coach who has expertise
in the four disciplines.
6. Organize “quarterly summits” – Leaders report to upper
management in quarterly meetings. This gives them the opportunity to
practice accountability and receive recognition for their successes.

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4DX in Your Life

The four disciplines are not only an effective tool for accomplishing goals in
the workplace. You can apply the same principles in your personal life. One
man used 4DX to lose weight. His WIG was to lose 80 pounds by his son’s
high school graduation six months away. He identified his lead measures as
walking several miles daily, limiting calories and not eating in the evenings.
He kept a tracking chart on the kitchen wall, and he reached his goal in time
for his son’s graduation.

Chris McChesney, a developer of the 4DX program, and Jim Huling, who
has more than 30 years of experience in corporate leadership, are both
consultants with FranklinCovey, where Sean Covey is an executive vice
president and runs global operations.

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