You’ve just spent a few hours or a few days planning your fall program. To make this planning time valuable you have to execute these plans otherwise it was wasted time. Today’s blog post deals with getting things done so that the plans you have made do not go to waste.
Make your phone calls now
If you have to book rooms, buses, bands, etc, there is not better time to do them than now. I have seen my plans go up in smoke because I waited to call those parents to see if they could drive or because I did not buy those supplies I needed for that game. Great plans are dashed by poor execution. In their book Execution: The Discipline for Getting Things Done, Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan talk about the difference in leadership style and execution, and I summarize:
Leaders who lead from 50,000 feet, and never get their hands dirty, should not be shocked when plans do not executed.
Leaders who micro-manage a task to death should also not be shocked if a task is not executed well. It’s probably because you are in the way.
My Take:
Choose what is yours, and only yours to do, like making those phone calls, and then do it.
Delegate wisely and check in to see if your volunteers need help. Trust them, but verify that the task is getting done.
Put It Out There
Make a calendar of these events and get them out to parents, students, and the congregation. Let them know “This is Happening”. Declaring your plans means you are giving people a chance to decide to be a part and to help make these plans happen. Getting your plans out there means kids can get excited and start talking about the events. Putting your plans out there means you may get some push back but that’s o.k. because it will test your convictions and fire you up to push through to succeed. Put it out there and then you work like crazy to fulfill what you have promised.
Go Ahead and Fail
Sometimes we hesitate in making our plans known because we might fail and we don’t want others to know we’ve failed. In my earlier days, I failed more than I succeeded. Guess what? I still fail. Things still do not go as planned. Failure is not the end. So what if this plan or that plan did not go through. Get back to the planning table as quick as possible and see if X program or event can be salvaged or how can you make lemonade from the lemons you’ve been handed (or grew yourself)
“In it’s most fundamental sense, execution is systematic way of exposing reality and acting on it.”- Larry Bossidy, Ram Charan, from the book Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done.
Interpretation: Do what you planned on doing and you’ll see if your organization is what you thought it was.
Plan well, but execute better.
What is your greatest obstacle to executing your plans?
Do you hold back on big events or letting your plans be known because of fear? Why?
What one thing will you do differently this year to make sure your plans are executed?