Strategy Requires Execution

This is where we’ve faltered before. Some of our faltering has been due to prioritization—instant-gratification work (our clients) bumps the long-term business work (our plan) onto some back burner where it is forever forgotten. Other faltering has been caused by a lack of understanding (on our part) as to what exactly execution means or looks like. And if we’re being honest, some of it has been simple procrastination. (“We’ll get to that later.”)

We shared these concerns with Liz, and she factored them into our plan so it is made up of things we are more likely to tackle. We also shared our challenges with a mutual friend and advisor, Brad Krueger at Success Beyond Luck. He suggested we think about this in a completely different way: Putting off the business work, the long-term growth work, means we are also putting off the long-term benefits and successes we hope to achieve.

This struck a chord with me.

Suppose we delay the complex task of finding and hiring that critical employee for a month? The gains in capacity and revenue that come with that person would also be delayed.

What if we put off that expensive equipment upgrade for a year? The increase in speed and efficiency that equipment brings would also be pushed back.

And what would happen if we waited to execute this marketing plan? We also would be postponing our exposure to great new clients—along with the opportunities and success they bring.

Every day we don’t do the important business-building activities we could be doing (or having people do for us), our long-term growth and success are delayed by at least a day. That means my retirement is delayed by at least a day, too—and that is motivation.

We are committed to not faltering this time. The work will get done, whether by me or someone on my support team below. Stay tuned, because I’ll be sharing more here as we progress (knowing I have to write blog posts about this helps to keep me accountable).