Overcoming Implementation Inertia.

One of the biggest hurdles managers face is the ability to work on their business, not in their business. Once a strategy has been developed, implementation is often the greater challenge. In fact, up to 80% of plans are never acted upon as day-to-day spot fires are always a priority.

From our perspective as outsiders, it seems that so much energy and political capital is expended looking at the issues and devising schemes, there is little left for actually doing them. It's a bit like getting the jogging gear on, then sitting back down to watch TV!

We have seen this with a small mum-and-dad manufacturer who decided that the growth they wanted would be too much work. And also in a global brand that didn't have the ability to raise certain topics with their head office. In both these cases the problems seemed too big to tackle.

So, how do you overcome this inertia? 

• The first step is mindset; the ability to understand that long term plans are just as vital as day-to-day activity. 
• Make it a priority. Every WIP or group meeting should have time allocated to go over the vision and plan a few steps. Regular action will demonstrate that the plan is important, help create a rhythm and then establish it as a habit.
• Hold yourself and your team accountable. There needs to be consequences for not acting and roadblocks must be solved, not used as excuses. An external coach can be incredibly valuable as they offer the discipline you require as well as assisting to work-shop solutions.
• Break down the plan into digestible parts. These small goals will eventually conquer larger objectives. As my wife says,  “Just 15 minutes of housework a day makes a huge difference!”

A physiotherapist tells us of his success with six weekly business coaching. He’s been amazed at his ability to move the business forward as he begins to understand where to find the most growth. He loves his clinical work and enjoys the interaction and the challenges, but was never taught how to run a successful business. In tough ecomonic times, it becomes critical to have a plan with actions in place to achieve favourable outcomes.

The ability to drive change is a different skill-set to other management tasks. That's why we need personal trainers to drag us away from the TV and work up a sweat. Even Tiger Woods has a coach! If your marketing or business plan is gathering dust, it may be time to step-up and take that leadership role. Focus on the vision, allocate responsibility, get a coach who can keep the team accountable and help problem solve. Make today the day to start ticking off some actions.