It's Not Rocket Science: 4 Simple Strategies for Mastering the Art of Execution

Chapter 7MAP It!

The Challenge

Many managers don't display data soon enough after performance to show the team clearly whether they are winning or losing. This can drain urgency and permit poor performers to falter for too long, digging themselves into ruts that eventually become graves. In addition, when results are posted or circulated, the tote boards or other scoring mechanisms used focus primarily on outcomes rather than the key daily activities that create them. As noted previously, people then commonly fall into the trap of confusing the scoreboard for the game, becoming so enamored with the numbers that they don't pay enough attention to identifying and holding people accountable for the daily behaviors—the master the art of execution (MAX) measures—that create them. The primary cause is a lack of visibility around those measures.

Get TUF, MAX It, and MAP It!

After you determine the ultimate few objectives (TUFs) and choose the MAX measures to achieve them, you are ready to create a MAX board to MAP those measures daily. In simplest terms, although many organizations have an in-view tote board that tracks sales or production results, very few track and post the MAX measures that create them. To increase execution prowess and consistency, you are going to have to provide faster feedback that shows the team where they stand daily in their endeavors to attain their TUFs.

As discussed in the “MAX It!” chapter, you will need to give disproportionate focus to your version ...