Ambition drives progress; however, if you do not have a plan to harness ambition with a disciplined effort in executing it, you are only burning fuel for warmth — instead of lighting the flame of success. To go from “Merely as a Dream” to turning that dream into reality in business means clarifying your goals, building teams to mobilize them, aligning resources with those goals, and creating momentum through obstacles as you create an enterprise.
Goal / Result:
Every successful company starts with a dream of what they envision for their company; the business model provides the only vehicle for bringing that dream to fruition. Dreams alone do not generate revenues, allow scaling of operations or create positive impacts. The real difference between aspiration and true achievement is the ability to systematically convert abstract ideas into actionable plans that produce measurable results.
Let us look at two example start-up companies:
The first example has a company with very high objectives but lacks a detailed roadmap. Consequently, their growth has been slow, sporadic and difficult to maintain.
The other example has laid out milestones and measures progress based on performance; hence, they are growing steadily and have gained increased market traction.
The real difference is execution, not intent. This article will discuss how to create a systematic approach to successfully move from aspiration to execution.
1.The Strategic Foundation Begins with Understanding
The Vision is Clear
Your vision is the compass of your business. It’s the reason people—employees, partners, customers—know where you are going, and why they should care.
Question to Reflect On:
‘What will be our long-term impact on society?’
Example:
Patagonia has an environmental mission outside of making outdoor products; its mission of environmental stewardship drives decision-making and builds loyalty among its customers.
Develop SMART Goals
Without structure, your goals become fantasies. The SMART system breaks down your goal into:
- Specificity: Define your objectives clearly and precisely.
- Measurement: Track the progress of your implementation.
- Achievability: Realistically assess your goal and its objectives.
- Relevance: Ensure that your goal aligns with your overall vision.
- Timeliness: Provide a planned deadline or timeframe in which to reach your goal.
Practical Requirement:
Based on a high-level objective for your business, determine three SMART goals you can start working to achieve this quarter.
2.Create a Culture of Execution
Process Produces Results
Passion creates excitement and begins efforts, but process determines how these efforts will continue through to completion. Focus on developing an organized process and maintaining accountability for the results of the work as a means of keeping progress moving forward.
Case Example:
Toyota embraces a kaizen approach to employee engagement, whereby every employee is expected to contribute. The process-driven mindset of Toyota has been instrumental in establishing its position as one of the world’s most efficient manufacturers.
The Power of Ownership
Ownership creates commitment to the end result; an intangible aspect of the outcome that is more than merely performing a task.
Take a Step
Create RACI charts (responsible, accountable, consulted, informed) to clearly define the responsibilities of all involved parties and eliminate any ambiguity with regards to roles and responsibilities.
3.Measure What Matters: Translating Strategy to Metrics
Measurable Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) include both past performance (results) and predicted performance (leading indicators of success).
Business KPI Examples:
- Customer acquisition costs (CAC)
- Customer lifetime value (CLV)
- Employee engagement
- Project delivery on time.
Dashboarding for Real-time Visibility
Dashboard reports give teams visibility into their work. Use tools such as Tableau, Power BI, or Google Data Studio to turn numbers into actions.
Expert Advice:
Dr. Lila Chen, performance analyst: “Without context, data is just noise. The right metrics create focus for teams.”
4.Master Execution With an Agile Rhythm: Embrace the Agile Operating Rhythm
Agile is not just for technology companies. All businesses can/should use its principles – short cycles, iteratively improving, and getting quick feedback.
Weekly Check-ins – Weekly check-ins are small reviews that address issues before they become large.
Quarterly Reviews – A quarterly review is where the past results, goals for the next quarter, and realignment of resources occur.
Experimentation, Learning and Repeating
Don’t view failures as failures; they are just data. Design experiments with a hypothesis and a way to measure.
Example:
A retail company might test two different pricing strategies in two different markets and measure conversion, revenue, and customer response to determine which to scale up.
5.Being an Emotional Intelligence Leader
Teamwork is the foundation of achievement.
People-Centered Leadership
Great leaders are people-oriented—they know the strengths, weaknesses, fears, and motivations of their team members. Emotional intelligence (EQ) enables great leaders to establish trust within their teams, resolve conflicts more easily, and improve performance.
Tip for Leaders:
Listen actively, provide valuable feedback, and acknowledge people’s efforts in public.
Psychological Safety
Teams achieve peak performance when they feel free to talk openly about audacious ideas without fearing embarrassment.
For Example:
According to Google’s Project Aristotle, psychological safety is the most crucial aspect of a team’s performance, even more than individual talent.
6.Solutions for Overcoming Common Barriers
Barrier: Analysis Paralysis
Too much time spent planning causes delays in executing plans.
Solution:
Limit the time spent planning. Start with a Minimum Viable Strategy (MVS) or a good enough plan to get going and iteratively improve, based on what you learn through experience.
Barrier: Resource Constraints
Small teams wear too many hats, while having too little resources.
Solution:
Prioritize extremely well. Use the Eisenhower Matrix to sort your tasks by urgency and importance. Concentrate your energy on activities that produce long-term success.
Barrier:
Fear of Failure
Cultural stigmas against failure stifle innovation.
Solution:
Think of failure as a step towards a new direction, rather than as an end. Recognize that we learn from failure and acknowledge this at the same time as celebrating success.
7.Cases from Real Life
Netflix goes Digital
Situation
Initially, Netflix was almost indistinguishable from any other DVD rental service when it began.
Action
- Strategically, Netflix decided to be the leader in digital streaming.
- Set SMART goals regarding subscriber growth.
- Transitioned to agile product development methods and created original content.
Outcome
In less than 10 years, Netflix has established itself as the world’s largest provider of internet streaming services, thanks in large part to its ability to deliver highly personalized viewing recommendations, but also because of its award-winning shows and movies.
Lesson Learned
When you combine a strong vision with data-driven execution and the ability to adapt, you can win in a competitive marketplace.
Slack Reverts Back to Internal Solution
Situation
When Slack was first developed it was intended for internal use only by a gaming company that was failing.
Action
- This was done by identifying one key internal issue and creating Slack as a solution for that issue.
- Developed, tested and launched the tool via frequent iterations, improving the product with input from the users.
- Utilized user data to enhance the communication functions of Slack.
Outcome
Slack is considered one of the “gold standard” tools for workplace communication, worth billions of dollars.
Lesson Learned
Innovation comes when we address real internal issues through disciplined execution of ideas.
Final Thoughts: Convincing Yourself to Be Excellent by Achieving
Ambition is only the place where we turn aspiration into achievement. To turn your business goals into achievement requires that business leaders have an articulated vision and a method of achieving that vision.
- Clear Vision/Goals – Where do we want to be? Business leaders need to have a vision of where they are going.
- Execution Muscle – Make a plan to turn strategy into action.
- Hold Yourself Accountable for Results – Measure your business and compare it to prior periods.
- Create an Environment for Learning – Learn and improve continuously.
- Be a People-Centric Leader – Believe in empowering people to do great work.
Take Action Today to Transform Your Ambition into Success:
- Assess Your Business Goals.
What are your top three business objectives? Have you set them up as SMART objectives? - Create a KPI (Key Performance Indicator) for each business goal.
Measure the success of the goal on a weekly basis, and review the results on a monthly basis. - Run a 90-Day Business Execution Sprint.
Create specific deliverables for your business above listed goals, create a team, and measure the results.
Success doesn’t happen; it is achieved one step at a time, by design. If you want to be successful, start taking action today. What is the first business goal you want to make into a SMART objective? If you need help, send me an email, and we will work through it together.
