Execution That Won't Kill You

Follow though is my nemesis.

My whole life I've been able to generate ideas that have excited me and engaged others. I'm a great starter. Of course, a great start does not make a great result. Actually delivering on the potential of my initiatives has haunted me for far too long.

I have a severely limited capacity for detail and my administration abilities are lacking. I can never stay motivated and engaged enough to bring most of what I dream to fruition. It bugs me. More than that it means I don't accomplish what I really want to, and I end up disappointing or frustrating other people as well.

I've tried any number of popular productivity programs and time management hacks. I can start them with my usual enthusiasm, but they never last long. The ongoing maintenance of the system grinds me down far too quickly and I find myself again free styling from idea to idea and rushing deadline after deadline. I'm actually pretty good at that.

Last summer I saw Chris McChesney speak at the Willow Creek Leadership Summit. His topic: the 4 Disciplines of Execution (4DX) didn't really inspire me. I was expecting to feel inadequate and guilty while he expounded on another brilliant platform to drive results that I could never sustain.

Instead, it felt like I had finally found someone who understood how I think and work.

I bought (and even actually read) the book, and have become mildly obsessed with understanding the relatively simple, but surely not easy approach he and his team have developed over the last 14 years. You can see a brief explanation of 4DX for yourself: https://youtu.be/YLZwgc-sH34

At the heart of the disciplines is the understanding that we all live and work in the midst of a whirlwind that demands our attention and energy. Much of what goes on in the whirlwind is good, much is necessary, but it prevents us from getting to the important but not urgent things that propel organizations and people forward. And if we are able to identify those Wildly Important Goals, the whirlwind constantly conspires to prevent us from giving them the attention and effort they need to succeed.

There's really nothing new or magical in 4DX. Having reviewed and discussed it a bunch of times it's such common sense I'm a little embarrassed I haven't been doing it all along. Which is exactly the point.

As I'm preparing for our next major Strategy Sessions I'm more and more convinced that applying the 4 Disciplines can be a powerful and sustainable way for Catalyst to move forward to greater impact as we approach the end of our first decade of trying to help leaders and organizations be healthy and achieve their dreams.

If you've used 4DX I'd really love to hear your thoughts. And if it intrigues you let me know, maybe we can walk it through together and see if it's actually as good as I expect.