What Is Execution – Process, Discipline Or Success?

 

"What is execution?" This line came up in a discussion recently, and it got me thinking about a question I've circled back to many times: what is the acceptable definition of "execution"? How do we judge it? Is it labour, is it work, or is it success?

 

My answer: Direction + Prioritising + Process + Plan + Implementation + Moderated Velocity + Monitoring & Pivoting = Execution.

 

Is Success A Parameter Of Execution?

Execution is not success – success is the result of seamless execution. In fact, success is not even a parameter. Including it takes the mind away from execution, which needs a laser-like focus on the objective, and the way to go towards it — while keeping an eye on the strategy and the market shifts so one can pivot to cater to the evolving market or internal changes. That is the fundamental core of execution

 

Understanding Execution

A commando or a soldier does not think of the battle victory. He or she only focuses on the process and getting ready + staying ready. Any other way, and the risk is failure — thinking of success during execution is a distraction. It leads to needless risk-taking, and damage all-round. There is nothing more dangerous than thinking of the result – you have thought of some steps to get that result – your job now is then to get those steps executed, while keeping 10% of your mind on monitoring internal or external environmental shifts to check if any change in steps is required. That is the simplest way to think of execution.

 

Some Examples

A real story: we were chasing a massive account — high value. Took three years. We did all we could, and then just waited. One does not land a massive corporate deal in twenty-two minutes. We stayed the course, shifted as the market changed, but kept at it. They signed after thirty-six months. Patience, perseverance, direction and confidence.

 

The Pushback

Many people, when they see a successful business,  think of it as remarkable execution... By this definition, execution is success. Others use "relentless execution," which they mean as labour — working the same task over and over. These words, at a very surface level, hide the complexities of real life — especially in startups. Many people may be hiding something complex, not clearly experienced, behind the word "execution" — all the ingredients, all the recipes of success.

 

Context Matters

Here's how I'd put it: context matters. Success is only the result — it tells us nothing of how the company got there. That is not execution; it could be the purest of luck. Examples abound. Relentlessness, yes — that is part of execution. In the three-year account I mentioned, there were multiple opportunities for the sales team — I was observing from marketing — to call it off as a dead lead. They didn't. That is execution, given the context of the opportunity the lead presented.

 

Early in my career, I made 23 visits to open one counter. Why? Because that counter was the opinion leader in the market. I did not want their sales — I wanted their stamp of approval, which helped me penetrate 16 counters in the vicinity.

 

A competitor once told me, when I asked him frankly how he had cornered a large share of my company's market — his answer: "You were present in 79% of the market. I just told my team: get me the balance 21%, and a majority share in all of those."

 

Execution Cannot Have a Standard Definition

Execution cannot be a standard definition in the context of business. It has to be designed for each company, and depends on the internal context, external market and regulatory situation, and other factors. Every example above is execution — strategy, market awareness, and so on and so forth. The reason is that the relative distribution of focus on the constituent elements identified above varies as per the context of the situation at hand – some company may need to work on the PM Fit, some may need executional discipline, some may need resource management, and so on. It depends is the best I can say.

 

That is why - never keep success as a parameter in the execution phase — it is the RESULT of execution. Success is kept in mind during planning and strategising. Once you commit organisational resources to the plan — end of story. Then go all out and execute. During monitoring, check and decide if you need to pivot. That is execution at its most basic. There is a lot that lies in the backdrop to execution – strategy, the plan which also includes resource management & allocation, coordination of teams and so on – there is no time to drift your attention to distractions during this phase.

 

Viewing success as a parameter during the execution phase is a distraction — and staying free of that distraction is exactly the mindset required to maintain operational discipline. And discipline is central to all execution.