It’s one thing to think about an idea. It’s another thing to implement the idea and do it well.
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It is easy to come up with ideas. The challenge can be in executing them. Implementing or operationalizing ideas requires you to be clear on the main idea and be able to distill it into actionable steps. And just because you can implement the idea doesn’t mean it will work well, so here are six tips to help you ensure that it does:
1. Own the idea.
Accept that the idea is yours. When you own an idea, you feel more confident in making decisions and driving the project derived from that idea.
Have agency over the idea. Bring solutions. Have a bias for action.
2. Visualize the end goal.
Ask yourself, “What result do I want to see? What needs to happen?” Understand the ultimate goal and purpose of the project or initiative. If you know where you need to end up, it will be easier to figure out how to get to the end. As leadership expert Stephen Covey said, “Begin with the end in mind.”
3. Ask questions.
Do some research before you identify concrete steps on how you are going to reach your end goal. Gathering information before crystalizing a plan will allow you to keep your options open and be flexible and innovative in your approach.
Be curious. Ask questions. Dive deep. Learn. Gather more context and perspective on the issue.
4. Work backwards to identify a plan.
Once you understand where you want to end up and have contextual information to better inform your plan of attack, start writing the steps down. Work backwards from the end goal. Ensure that each step is clear and actionable. Break up more complex goals into smaller steps. Include metrics in the steps to measure your progress and effectiveness.
5. Influence stakeholders.
The ability to execute an idea within or for an organization usually depends on the cooperation of colleagues across functions. You need to be able to communicate with diverse professionals and earn their trust so that you can influence their behavior and motivate others to act.
Take the initiative to learn about your colleagues’ work and their goals. The more you demonstrate an interest in your colleagues and show that you are open to understanding how they work, the more inclined your coworkers will be to listen to you and support your goals.
6. Insist on high standards, but don’t let perfection slow you down.
If you are going to take the time and effort to execute, you want to do it to the best of your ability. You want to try and do it as well as possible, but don’t try to be perfect. If you spend so much time and effort making everything perfect, you may miss the opportunity to execute at all. That is, you want to do it right but not at the expense of never doing it or doing it too late, which could present a risky outcome for your organization. “Perfection is the enemy of success,” said billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban.
To help you avoid going down the road of perfection, identify timeframes for where you need or want to be in the process to execute well. Balance quality with urgency to identify an optimal timeline to execute on your idea.
Doing is more valuable than thinking. When you have an idea or are given an idea to implement, optimize your opportunity to successfully execute on the idea. Own the idea, visualize the end goal, ask questions, work backwards to identify a plan, influence stakeholders and hold yourself to high standards.
What helps you to successfully execute ideas? Share with me your thoughts and stories via Twitter or LinkedIn.
