In my last post I wrote about the importance of Vision in a Development Culture. It is so true that without Vision, the people will perish. But Vision can only take a leader or an organization so far. Just because you can see a clear picture of the future (Vision) does not mean that future you are seeing will all of a sudden come to fruition.

Yes, you must have Vision, but you also must Execute that vision. Execution is often a forgotten step for most people. People love to talk about their Visions. But too often they fail to accomplish anything because they lack the will to Execute. Notice that I said “will”. Execution is not about being smarter than everyone else. It is about doing what other people won’t do. It is about having the courage, the will to do what is necessary to be successful. Execution is a discipline.

If you want to create a Development Culture, you must invest in your people and in yourself. You must have a clear Vision. And you must realize that Execution is a core element of this type of culture. A Development Culture is not soft! That is why Execution is so important. Execution is the job of every leader in your organization. That means it is every employees job.

Execution doesn’t just happen. There are some essential building blocks that must be put into place. Here are a some behaviors that can help you as the leader, manage Execution in your organization:

• Know your people. In our new book, The Turnaround we talk about the Know Factors. This is one of them. If you do not know your people, how will you know if they are capable of Executing the Vision?
• Be realistic. Realism is at the heart of Execution. Mistake are made when you are unrealistic with your vision.
• Set goals and priorities. Don’t forget about the Vision! There is a reason that blog came first!
• Follow through. Most organizations are poor Executors because they do not know how or they are unwilling to follow through.
• Reward your people. If people Execute and produce the desired results, you must reward them.
• Build up other leaders! Leaders Execute, not followers. You must build up leaders in your organization to Execute the Vision.
• Know yourself. You must be honest with yourself about your own capabilities. You have to surround yourself with people who can Execute the Vision. You cannot do it alone. You must understand your strengths and weaknesses. Let other people fill in the gaps.

Execution really is the cornerstone of a Development Culture. From the lowest level of employee all the way up to the CEO, a company’s leaders must recognize the importance of Execution. The right Vision, mixed with proper Execution leads to the desired results. Too many companies struggle to bridge the gap between goals and results — they create decent plans, but they either fail to execute properly or sadly, they don’t execute at all.

You may be able to relate to this. How many times did you plan to do something and then not do it? How many strategic plans has your company paid for and not executed? The time is now to create a Development Culture. The time is now to clarify your Vision and start taking action. Execute your Vision and your will be successful.