Converting Ideas into Results

The short answer to converting ideas into results is Execution, which I strongly believe in and have mentioned in several of my blogs. However, there is a plethora of books and articles today on the strategies for transforming ideas into results, so many in fact it can become confusing when it doesn’t need to be. Ten years ago it seems the biggest concern was coming up with good ideas, but today people seem to want to know the actions they need to focus on to be successful. The interesting thing about the change in interest from Ideas to Actions is that the actions are basically the same for every business.

Again there are many books, articles, and subject courses at colleges that spell out the actions required to run a business, whether a startup or an established business. Therefore, I’ve taken the liberty of recapping what I feel are the basic essential strategies here.

1. Vision – As Stephen Covey taught us in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People … begin with the end in mind. In other words have a clear and compelling vision in your head of what you really want to do. But you need to take that idea and document it and communicate it in a way that enables every member of your team and your customers to understand what your vision (or What) is.
2. Work Ethic – find the best people you can. You can’t teach work ethic so that is the key element you need. Doers can be taught; Thinkers think, but seldom are action oriented. The future of your company is based on the quality of people you attract and keep. You must have a winning culture that your team commits to.
3. Communication – you have to have open, honest, and candid communication throughout the organization. You need a keen or sixth sense of radar as to what’s going on at all times. This is a key intuitive requirement in my opinion. At the same time, the key elements of communication in the business world are a.) conscious listening, b.) common sense versus emotion, c.) and reading and understanding the meta-messages that are not spoken.
4. Sense of Urgency – whenever I have talked with someone who has made major changes or transitions they have always said they wish they had done them sooner. And that applies to business acumen too. You have to have a sense within your culture of getting things done … make important things happen now. Furthermore, a sense of urgency will keep at bay any efforts to start a bureaucracy, therefore, it is a positive source of energy. Acknowledge and reward fast action on key matters. The leader sets the pace. What you focus on will set the example for your people and who you spend time with will be an asset or a detriment.
5. Execution – is a key requirement for positive results. (Heck, Larry Bossidy wrote a whole book on Execution that is a fabulous reference for us all.) A performance-based culture will demand quality and excellence. Furthermore, a sense of execution within a performance-based culture encourages continuous innovation and improvement, and will not tolerate mediocrity or poor performance.
6. Customer Centric – build into your personal dashboard mechanisms for getting feedback from customers. Knowing that you are delivering what the customers want and value is what is going to make you successful. A positive attitude and the ability to truly listen are important elements in dealing with customers. A well-managed customer focus will drive all factors that affect profitability. And the best results you can get are consistent profits.

The above strategic steps used in a synergistic manner will create a successful business model. It is always best to focus on one principle at a time, but important for the leader to understand the big picture of the synergy of all elements … or as Stephen Covey said, “… with the end in mind.” Again, it may be impossible to address all six principles at once, but start with the one principle you feel will be the most impactful at creating leverage immediately and build from there.

Two keys here are to fight off bureaucracy and do not accept mediocrity … both of these are cancers on a business. I suggest you focus on four key watchwords – integrity, excellence, discipline, and action.

Establishing a culture whereby simple actions done in an outstanding way are more effective than complex and time-consuming actions done poorly. Don’t be swayed into thinking that “simple” means “easy to do.” Nothing about running a business is easy to do. But having a road map with these six principles will help you implement and execute your plan successfully.

© Phil Hoffman 2013. All rights reserved

Explore posts in the same categories: Consulting, Leadership, Mentoring/Coaching, Vision

Tags: Communication, Converting ideas to actions, Customer-centric, Excellence, Execution, Integrity

You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.