The Four Disciplines of Execution

The ones where the authors’ ideas have been refined over years of teaching and training — they know what works and where the pitfalls are. One of the best is “The Four Disciplines of Execution” by Chris McChesney, Sean Covey, and Jim Huling. A simple (but not easy) framework for ensuring that the most important work is completed, which has been battle-tested in over a thousand consulting engagements.

A true classic, as applicable to personal life as it is to business. Most executives criticise their company’s inability to achieve its most important objectives. This “strategy/execution gap” is addressed by 4DX. The gap occurs when any goal necessitates behavioural change. The most common reason people fail to achieve their goals is “the whirlwind.” The whirlwind is the day job; it is the tasks that must be completed in order for the business to function. It undermines the achievement of larger goals. It triumphs when there are too many goals, the goals are unclear, and/or there is no responsibility for achieving the goals.

The Four Disciplines of Execution

Discipline One: Discipline of Focus.

Choose one critical goal (or at the most two.) This is your WIG, or Wildly Important Goal. Most ambitious leaders find it difficult to concentrate their efforts on a single goal, but this concentration of forces is required to defeat the whirlwind (bonus: the process of choosing a WIG often sharpens strategy.) Staff should still devote 80% of their time and effort to day-to-day operations, but 20% should be devoted to the WIG. When a WIG is completed, it becomes habit and returns to the whirlwind.

To choose a WIG, have your team brainstorm all possible goals. When more creative possibilities are gathered, the WIG tends to perform better. From the four disciplines of execution, A good question to ask is, “Which one aspect of our team’s performance would we like to improve the most (assuming everything else remains constant) in order to achieve the organization’s overall WIG?” Then, sort the options by importance and make a shortlist.

Examine each WIG on the shortlist to see how it will affect the organization’s overall goals, whether it can be measured effectively, and if the team has control over the results. Simply state the final option: “We will travel from here to there by this date.” Finally, make sure the WIG is challenging but achievable — if you’d be happy with 70%, it’s too difficult. Remember, you’re attempting to design a game that the team can win if they perform to their full potential.

Rules for WIGs

Rule #1: No team can concentrate on more than two WIGs at the same time.

Rule #2: The chosen battles must win the war. WIGs at the bottom of the organisation must serve to achieve the WIGs at the top.

Rule #3: Senior leadership cannot set lower-level WIGs but can veto them. People must be involved in goal setting in order to be involved in goal achievement.

Rule #4: All WIGs must be in the form of a journey from X to Y by a specific date (see Kennedy’s challenge above).

Discipline Two: Discipline on Leverage / Lead Measures

The second discipline from the four disciplines of execution is to concentrate on the activities that lead to results. There are two kinds of measurements. Lag measures describe outcomes — what you are attempting to achieve (revenue, profit, market share.) Your WIG is a lag indicator. Lag measures are impossible to “do,” and they arrive too late. Lag measurements are difficult to implement because any lack of clarity about what a team member should be doing is a win for the whirlwind.

Lead measures are activities or sub-goals that can be implemented. A good lead measure predicts lag measure success, and the team has direct control over it — it is not dependent on another team. The team should select their own lead measures by focusing on activities that will have the greatest impact on achieving the WIG.

The accuracy of lead measures is critical for successful execution. Gather the team again and brainstorm good lead measures. “What could we do that we haven’t done before that could make a huge difference to the WIG?” There are two kinds of lead measures: small outcomes and leveraged behaviours. Small outcomes concentrate on a weekly goal, with flexibility in how the team achieves it. Specific activities are tracked by leveraged behaviours.

Create a shortlist by ranking impact. Choose only a few. The shortlist should be tested. Is it predictable, influencing, or measurable? Define the unit of measurement simply and clearly. Are you following the group or the individual? What is the frequency? Lead measures are activities or sub-goals that can be implemented. A good lead measure predicts lag measure success, and the team has direct control over it — it is not dependent on another team.

Discipline Three: Discipline of Engagement

To stay engaged, team the four disciplines of execution should always know if they are winning. When there is a scorekeeper, people take their games more seriously. Staff will be distracted by the whirlwind if they do not know the score. A visible scoreboard assists the team in determining how to proceed.

The difference between a manager’s scoreboard and a team’s scoreboard is significant. The team’s scoreboard should be simple and visible, display both lead and lag measures (actions and results), and indicate if the team is winning at a glance. Physically creating their own board can be motivating for the team.

Pro Tip: Make sure there is a fail-safe method for updating the scoreboard. The goal of The Four Disciplines of Execution is to create a winnable game for the team that can be played every day. The sense of victory has the most powerful effect on morale and engagement — and it’s something the whirlwind lacks.

Discipline Four: Discipline of Accountability Cadence

The first three disciplines prepare for the game; the fourth is the game itself — execution. Each team in charge of a WIG meets at least once a week in a WIG session. The goal of the WIG session is to hold team members personally accountable, clear the path forward, solve problems, and commit to next week’s actions. There are two unbreakable rules for a successful WIG session. First, the session is always held at the same time, at least weekly. The meeting is sacred. Second, no matter how pressing the situation, the whirlwind is not permitted to enter.

How to Conduct a WIG Session?

WIG meetings are typically 20-30 minutes long and follow the same agenda:

1. Account: Provide an update on individual commitments made during the previous session.
2. Examine the scoreboard: Learn and solve problems.
3. Strategy: Make new commitments.

Each commitment must be for a specific deliverable, not to “work on” something. Every commitment must aim to move the leading indicator. “What are the one or two most important things I can do this week to impact the team’s performance on the scoreboard?” is a good question for each team member to ask. All commitments from the four disciplines of execution are personal and must be completed within a week. Managers will most likely participate in two WIG sessions per week, one that they lead and one that their manager leads. Frontline teams, such as those in an ER, may need to hold a shorter weekly WIG huddle.

The WIG meetings are similar to experiments in which the team tries out new ideas and activities and reports back. The importance and consistency with which the leadership places on the WIG sessions determines their effectiveness. That, as well as the fact that people make their own commitments. Attendance and consistency of WIG sessions are the primary measures of success for many proponents of 4DX.

Common mistakes

1. Do not confuse whirlwind tasks with WIG commitments. Inquire whether the commitment will have an effect on the scoreboard.
2. Ensure that each session has a clear commitment and is not the same week after week.
3. If someone has not kept their promise
4. Exhibit respect.
5. Make accountability a priority. Accept no unfulfilled promises.
6. Encourage excellence.

Conclusion

The four disciplines of execution are intended to help overcome the “Whirlwind” — the day-to-day business that crowds out action on strategic initiatives. Staff will still spend 80% of their time on the whirlwind after implementing the four disciplines of execution, but 20% will be focused on strategic execution. There are two unbreakable rules for a successful WIG session. First, the session is always held at the same time, at least weekly. The meeting is sacred. Second, no matter how urgent the situation, the whirlwind is not permitted to enter.