The art of execution..

A very belated welcome to 2025!

Executing/delivering on a plan or a to do list, sounds really simple and no one creates a plan or list, without fully intending to deliver. Hands up who has found themselves either having to change planned dates or writing a brand new list a month later, with the same items on it! Whether a personal development, career plan, or a business strategy, the difference between bringing to life ambition, an idea or a key strategy, is the art of the practical execution. I am including the word practical, as execution is not a list or a documented project plan. These will help you organise thoughts, timing aspects and a check/reporting mechanism, however the art that I speak of, is everything else and the practical "how". If your personal development plan and list of "things" is what you want to achieve, how do you create the time in your existing world, rather than just add more? How do you prioritise? What might you have to give up? Do you watch one less show in a Netflix series at night to spend time investing in you? Do you commit to a walk every single day, where you clear your mind and use this time to listen to a podcast that educates, as part of your own plan. Do you define personal guardrails or boundaries around your working day?

It is way too easy to spend yet another hour trying to stay ahead. If your workload feels impossible, this is a conversation with your manager, or your coach. Making it possible by creating specific time, is the only way. What habit or behaviour do you stop, to make room, for what you say is really important to you? Take the list off the page and break it down into pieces, to make it achievable over a period of time. Include timing and what success will feel like for you. Whether a diary, sticky notes or a weekly target stuck on the wall, whatever works. Everyone is different and no one is perfect.

Do not be hard on yourself either. Who does not love a rainy afternoon on the couch with a movie! Never feel guilty about indulging. You are going to enjoy your Sunday afternoon on the couch, so much more, if you have created planning space during the working week. From a business perspective, practical execution is both the most important and I personally think, the hardest thing to do. In its simplest form, strategy is capturing the vision and all of the thoughts, idea's and areas of focus to take the business forward. Mapping out the objectives, activities and initiatives that will deliver on this, becomes the plan. Practical execution is not just having a project plan in place, it is how the vision and the strategy is brought to life. If you are sitting at the leadership table, part of a project working group or leading a team, being able to articulate the story and understand the intricacies of the impact on different divisions, teams and individuals is as important as the strategy itself. Larger businesses will have project leaders or teams and possibly even change teams. These teams have a critical role to plan, however alone, will not make the change stick, or smooth the path to maximising the opportunity. Staff right across the organisation need to understand their role in the overarching success of the business. If there is no connection, it will be just something that the leadership team are doing, or something that's happening "in that division". This is where Divisional silo's can become deeper and cracks appear. With a much flatter structure and greater visibility, it should be much easier for a smaller business. However how many businesses have a vision and strategic priorities, with just the CEO and a small number of business leaders understanding the detail? Think about your own organisation or business. Do you truly understand the vision and strategic roadmap? If you don't, be curious and take the time to understand the detail. If you are business leader or leader of people, have you articulated the story and connected the team to their important role? Creating that extra time to invest in executing, as with your personal plan, needs focus and discipline. Don't rush through it just because there are many other priorities. Invest the time in really understanding. What does this mean for our business, how does it impact our teams and and people, how do we bring this life. How do we make sure that strategy pack does not end up in desk drawers, gathering dust to then ask in a years time, why didn't we achieve what we wanted to? How do you ensure that your personal aspirations are achieved in 2025? Until next time Lisa