LAUNCH mode: The architect and the chef

To appreciate the value of execution, we need look no further than architects and chefs. In each case, similar design guidelines can be provided (building specs or a menu) and both groups can be limited to the same supplies (construction materials and raw ingredients) and even the same time and budget constraints.

Yet certain architects design landmark buildings that standout out for their aesthetic, beauty and attention-to-detail, while certain chefs prepare recognized recipes that deliver a gastronomic experience worthy of Michelin stars. Others, meanwhile, create completely forgettable, uninspired structures and mediocre meals.

Execution is, most certainly, in the details.

Launch mode is the most intense and critical time for any business. It is an exhilarating and exhausting experience as theories are put to the test and new ideas are put into practice. Final details come together to establish and execute against strategic growth plans.

It is a combination of validating that you have planned the best possible blueprint or recipe, and recognizing the danger of sloppy or lazy execution. Whether it is slightly off-color or over-cooked, failure in small or basic details can have an amplified impact, causing many things done right to go unnoticed and unappreciated.

While it is debatable, it is probably true that the perfect execution of a poor plan may still be better than the poor execution of a perfect plan. After all, I’d rather eat ramen noodle over a burnt steak any day.

As you prepare for the truth-telling that comes through execution, consider the following:

How much have past failures been the result of poor execution versus poor planning to guide that execution?
How much are you relying on assumptions or speculations when it would have been possible to use data to make more informed, more objective decisions?
Do you measure excellence on a sliding scale, more often having deadlines define your delivery than attention to detail?