Executing ideas ‘the real problem’

The so-called implementation deficit disorder some say has been plaguing Barbados in the current recession is something that should not be ignored.
American business adviser and executive educator John Spence issued that warning, noting that even with the best talent, culture, and customer focus, organisations would be frustrating their efforts if “disciplined execution” was missing.
Spence was the specially invited speaker at last week’s Barbados’ Best Employers awards luncheon at Hilton Barbados and he identified poor implementation of ideas and plans as “one of the biggest problems I see in organisations around the world”.
“Last year it was five to ten per cent . . . . There is no shortage of really smart people that can come up with creative [and] innovative ideas. There is a huge shortage, though, of people who can take those ideas and turn them into action,” he said.
“It’s one thing to understand an idea; it’s completely another thing to apply it and you need to take . . . talent, culture and extreme customer focus and then execute on it with tremendous discipline day in and day out with high levels of accountability.”
Speaking on the topic Achieving Business Excellence, Spence told an audience that included several leading business executives that “talent plus culture plus extreme customer focus [multiplied by] disciplined execution equals business success”, calling them “four foundational things that if you focus on every day can build a strong platform to a sustainably successful organisation regardless of the size and type”.
“To me there are only two distinct competitive advantages left, the quality of the people that you get, grow and keep on your team, your talent, and the relationships they create with customers. If you have the best of the best and they treat your customers incredibly well you have something that is extremely hard to copy, extremely hard to steal. (SC)