Fighter Pilot turned 9 Figure-Business owner
Fighter Pilot turned 9 Figure-Business owner
How do business owners transform ideas into execution?
The part of the brain where you create the idea is very different from the part of the brain where you try and articulate it. The challenge is when you look at execution, execution is very scientific. It's very numbers and days and measurables and outputs and analytics and metrics, a lot of science. Ideas are very creative. So somehow we have to cascade from the creative mind to the science mind. I created a word for it and it's called the “high-definition destination.”
It's a destination, but it's not vague. There's detail around it which is crystal clear. The simplest way of explaining it would be, if you're a mountain climber, you want to climb a summit. You look at the mountain, you see the summit, I'm going there.
Your idea is your story. It needs to be creative, but it needs to be clear. The science of execution starts with that story each day, asking four simple questions. What's my plan? How do I communicate it? How do I execute it? How do I debrief or reflect on it? Plan small, plan often. Briefing is what people understand, not what you say. Execution is staying focused on the plan until it's executed so, as not to get distracted.
How can entrepreneurs clearly define their ideas?
The planning process has six steps. What's my objective? What's stopping me? What resources do I have available? What are my actions, me personally? What am I actually going to do? And what if the wheels fall off? What if something I can't control happens?
The six steps create a framework. What do I want? What's in the way? What have I got? What did I learn yesterday? Then share those actions. How many entrepreneurs do you know that sit there and plan in their own heads? They run through all the scenarios in their own head and tell their team what to do. Meanwhile, the team's like, where is this coming from? You've got to invest time to allow the team to go, ‘Hey guys, I was thinking about this, I thought about this and I connected these dots. What do you think?’
A team is engaging with someone who understands what you're trying to do, but they're not highly involved in your crazy plan. If it's simple and clear, it'll get executed. If it's complex, it will be procrastinated. So, the team tightens your plan up and then you all go out and execute it
*This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.*
