4 Disciplines of Execution by Sean Covey

Title: 4 Disciplines of Execution
Author: Chris McChesney, Sean Covey, Jim Huling from Franklyn Covey
Year: 2015
Pages: 326

Do you remember the last major initiative you watched die in your organization?

Did it go down with a loud crash, or was it slowly and quietly suffocated by other competing priorities?

By the time it finally disappeared, it’s likely no one even noticed. What happened?

The “whirlwind” of urgent activity required to keep things running day-to-day devoured all the time and energy you needed to invest in executing your strategy for tomorrow.

The 4 Disciplines of Execution can change all that forever: the authors suggest adopting the four disciplines.

These disciplines are to Focus on the Wildly Important; Act on Lead Measures; Keep a Compelling Scoreboard; Create a Cadence of Accountability. Through these disciplines, leaders can produce breakthrough results.

As a result, I gave this book a rating of 7.0/10.

For me, a book with a note 10 is one I consider reading again every year. Among the books I rank with 10, for example, is Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People.

Key Lessons from 4 Disciplines of Execution

The 4 Disciplines of Execution (4DX) is a simple, repeatable, and proven formula for executing your most important strategic priorities in the midst of the whirlwind.

4DX is not a theory. It is a proven set of practices that have been tested and refined by hundreds of organizations and thousands of teams over many years.

When a company or an individual adheres to these disciplines, they achieve superb results regardless of the goal.

According to the authors, 4DX represents a new way of thinking and working that is essential to thriving in today’s competitive climate.

The authors suggest adopting the 4 Disciplines of Execution.

These disciplines are:

1. Focus on the Wildly Important – This discipline is about identifying the few goals that are truly critical to achieving success, and then focusing all of the team’s efforts on those goals. The idea is to avoid spreading resources too thin by trying to achieve too many goals at once. Instead, by focusing on a few key objectives, teams can make real progress and achieve real results.

2. Act on Lead Measures – 80% of your results will come from 20% of your activities; are you focusing on the right ones? This discipline is about identifying the key activities or behaviours that drive progress toward achieving wildly important goals. It’s about focusing on the things you can control, rather than outcomes, which you can’t control. By measuring and tracking lead measures, teams can quickly adjust their actions and make course corrections as needed to achieve their goals.

3. Keep a Compelling Scoreboard – This discipline is about creating a way to track progress towards wildly important goals in a way that is simple, visual, and easy to understand. A compelling scoreboard helps to create a sense of accountability and urgency, and it makes it easy for team members to see how their actions are contributing to the overall success of the team.

4. Create a Cadence of Accountability – This discipline is about creating regular, structured check-ins to review progress, hold team members accountable for their actions, and make course corrections as needed. The idea is to create a rhythm of accountability that keeps the team focused on achieving its goals and ensures that everyone is working together towards a common purpose.

The path to implementing the 4 Disciplines of Execution typically involves several steps, including:

Identify the Wildly Important Goals: The first step is to identify the one or two goals that are most critical to the organization’s success. These goals should be specific, measurable, and aligned with the organization’s overall mission and strategy.

Identify Lead Measures: The next step is to identify the key activities or behaviours that will drive progress towards achieving the wildly important goals. These lead measures should be specific, measurable, and under the control of the team.

Create a Compelling Scoreboard: The third step is to create a simple, visual way to track progress towards the wildly important goals. The scoreboard should be easy to understand and should be prominently displayed so that everyone on the team can see it.

Create a Cadence of Accountability: The fourth step is to create a regular, structured check-in process to review progress, hold team members accountable, and make course corrections as needed. This should be a regular meeting where progress on the lead measures is reviewed, and any necessary adjustments are made.

Establish a culture of accountability: The fifth step is to establish a culture of accountability, where team members take ownership of their actions and are held responsible for achieving the wildly important goals. This can involve setting up a system of rewards and recognition for achieving goals, as well as clear consequences for failing to meet them.

Review and Adapt: It’s important to regularly review the progress and adapt the approach as necessary. Regularly monitoring the progress, learning from the results, and making adjustments can make the 4 Disciplines of Execution more effective over time.

It’s important to note that implementing the 4 Disciplines of Execution requires the commitment and participation of the entire team and may take some time to fully implement.

It is recommended to have a team leader or coach to guide the process and ensure the success of the implementation.

The 4 Disciplines of Execution is a widely popular and well-regarded method for achieving goals, however, like any methodology, it is not without its criticisms.

Some of the criticisms of the 4 Disciplines of Execution include:

Complexity: Some critics argue that the 4 Disciplines of Execution can be overly complex and difficult to implement, especially for smaller teams or organizations. They argue that the method requires a significant investment of time and resources to set up and maintain.

Lack of Flexibility: Some critics argue that the 4 Disciplines of Execution can be too rigid and may not be adaptable to different types of organizations or industries. They suggest that the method may not be suitable for companies with rapidly changing goals or priorities.

Limited scope: The 4 Disciplines of Execution is focused on achieving specific, measurable goals, and may not be suitable for organizations that wish to focus on more abstract or long-term goals that cannot be quantified easily.

Limited creativity: Some critics argue that the method’s focus on measurable goals and accountability may stifle creativity and discourage experimentation. They suggest that the method may not be suitable for organizations that need to be more flexible and open to new ideas and approaches.

My Book Highlights & Quotes

A good lead measure has two basic characteristics: It’s predictive of achieving the goal and it can be influenced by the team members

The cadence of accountability is a rhythm of regular and frequent meetings of any team that owns a wildly important goal. These meetings happen at least weekly and ideally last no more than twenty to thirty minutes. In that brief time, team members hold each other accountable for producing results, despite the whirlwind

In determining your wildly important goal, don’t ask “What’s most important?” Instead, begin by asking, “If every other area of our operation remained at its current level of performance, what is the one area where change would have the greatest impact?” This question changes the way you think and lets you clearly identify the focus that would make all the difference

It’s important to note that these criticisms are not necessarily a fault of the method but the way it has been applied by some organizations, and the method has been used successfully by many organizations to achieve their goals.

As with any methodology, it is important to understand its strengths and limitations and to tailor it to the specific needs of your organization.

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