a quick guide to dominating your industry
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A QUICK GUIDE TO DOMINATING
YOUR INDUSTRY
, ,
plan that will propel your company to the top
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To accomplish
great things, we
must not only act,
but also dream; not
Dominating your industry sounds like an incredible lofty goal- maybe even
impossible. Except when you consider that companies are doing it all the time, inevery industry. Certainly not every company will dominate, but every industry
has a company or handful of companies that achieve what others only dream of-
being the biggest, richest, most respected, most effective organization.
dominate [dom-uh-neyt] v. [latin, dominari, to rule]
To have or exert strong authority or mastery.
To be situated in or occupy a position that is more elevated or decidedly
superior to others.
on y p an, ut a so
believe.
-Anatole France
Domination is about more than control; its about your organization reaching its
potential. Of the many companies Ive worked for and with, only a handful have
managed to reach their potential. All of those companies used similar principles,
which can be learned and duplicated.
The benefit of trying to become a dominant company is that quite often, you
succeed. Even if you dont succeed in dominating your industry, you will build a
superior organization- one that surpasses all of your expectations and masters its
domain. You might even create a better world. And you will have a lot of fun and
satisfaction doing it.
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In this guide, you will find the most advanced
techniques for strategic plan design andexecution. Some of these techniques will push
you out of your comfort zone, others will
seem preposterous. Still others will seem
simplistic and obvious.
Acknowledge your feelings, but push past
them and try each technique. Its only by trial
that our companies-and in turn, ourselves-
grow and prosper.
Its lonely at the top. 99% of the world is
convinced they are incapable of achieving
great things, so they aim for the mediocre
middle-ground. The level of competition is
And finally, one piece of advice that if takencan yield extraordinary results: believe. Have
a strong, passionate conviction that you and
your company can dominate. Have a burning
trust that you and your company can be wildly
successful. Know that the Universe isconspiring to make you successful.
Because it is.
t us ercest or rea st c goa s,
paradoxically making them the most time-
and energy-consuming. -Tim Ferriss
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Contents1. Beyond Values
2.Mission: Possible3. A Compelling Vision
4. Strategies: The Critical Few
Just FYI,
I write in a style that isvery succinct and direct. I
dont believe in writing
just to fill space, but to
actually convey a message.
Once that message isconveyed, it is up to you to
put it into practice. All
success in utilizing this
uide de ends on our
www.planhacker.com4
.
6. Goaltending
7. Leadership, Redux
8. A World of Difference
9. A Case Study
10. Final Thoughts and Resources
ACTION.However, if you feel you
need to hear the concepts
presented in this guide on a
regular basis, be sure to
check out our blog:www.planhacker.com/
blog.html
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1. Beyond Values
The ability to subordinate an impulse to a value is the essence of theproactive person. Reactive people are driven by feelings, by circumstances, byconditions, by their environment. Proactive people are driven by values -
carefully thought about, selected and internalized values.-Stephen Covey
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Youve already learned about
creating a strategic plan if youveread the PlanHackers Strategic
Planning 101 guide. If you havent,
please stop here and read that first.
Its free and downloadable.
The first task in creating a strategicplan is to identify your
organizations values- those beliefs
that resonate with how you
conduct your business (and
However, exceptional companies
take values several steps further. Towrite down an organizations
values is a given. To preach them is
a start. But to live the values- that
is the highest ideal. That is what
Stephen Covey meant by
internalizing values- living them.
Dominant companies live their
values. They dont believe in lip-
service, they believe in action. And
to ensure that the values are lived-
customers, suppliers, and
employees.There are some companies where
codification had become almost
sacred. Ben and Jerrys, Disney,
Southwest Airlines- all of them
have codified what their values
mean in action. Ask Ben and
Jerrys how they put justice in
action. Ask Disney what they mean
by imagination. Watch Southwest
o erationalize fun. These
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, .
companies have articulated theirvalues, and many post them for all
to see.
Youve no doubt created values,
too. And if youve followed good
advice, you may have alsoincorporated those values into
your mission statement and
strategies.
acted upon-they do something thatfew other companies do:
They codify their values.
Codification is a method of
explaining how to operationalize
values. It is a roadmap to showhow to make the values come alive
in the everyday tasks of running a
business and dealing with
companies- all dominant in theirindustries- have shown that living
the values brings tremendous
success.
Unless and until you codify your
own companys values, you haventinternalized them. You are still, in
effect, paying lip service. And that
doesnt build a great company.
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To Do: Codify ValuesStep 1: Take a second look atyour values.
Stephen Covey identifies values as
those things that are thought about
and carefully selected. Take the timeright now to review, think about,
and carefully judge the values you
have previously selected. Do they
still resonate with you? Do you
customers, shareholders, etc.
Step 3: Identify one thing
that you could do in your
daily interactions with each
stakeholder group that
would demonstrate each
value.Or, identify each type of
interaction (sale, return, phone
call, email, hiring, training, etc.)
and what could be done to show
Write it as if you are explaining
your ideals to someone brand newto your company. Explain why
you and the company believe in
the values, and how each person
should show the values in their
everyday work.
Step 5: Show the values.
Set clear expectations for your
staff to let them know you are
serious about living the values-
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action everyday?
Step 2: Identify your
stakeholder groups.
People are the audience for
demonstrating values, so identify
the groups of people you intendto demonstrate to. Possible
stakeholder groups would include
managers, employees, suppliers,
your values in each. If a value
cannot be clearly shown, you need
to decide whether its really a
value to keep.
Step 4: Write an operational
handbook.
It doesnt have to be long or
complicated. Write it for the front
line staff, management, everyone.
then, demonstrate them yourself.
The most powerful tool in your
arsenal is a strong example.
Just by operationalizing your
values, you will see huge changes
within your company. When you
show your values, stakeholderswill take you seriously, and that
will bolster your reputation
within your industry.
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2. Mission: Possible
What you do speaks so loudly, I cannot hear what you say.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Actions speak louder than
words.That is probably one of themost recited axioms in the world-
for good reason: when someone
does something while
simultaneously railing against it,
we take the action as the more
authentic response.
Part of the reason we view action
as so important is that the world is
kinetic. Language is relatively new
with a mission statement?
A mission statement tells whyyour organization exists. If your
organization doesnt exist to live
our values through your actions in
daily business, then why does your
company exist?
Dominant companies craft their
mission statements using their
values, then codify their values to
identify actions to guide the
in most organizations. Credibility
leads to trust, trust leads torespect, respect leads to loyalty,
loyalty leads to devoted fans. And
its far better to have devoted fans
than just customers, just
employees, or just vendors.
Devoted fans carry your companyto success. Achievement becomes
almost effortless.
You may think that codifying
values and actin on the mission
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,
action is what crafted the world-and keeps crafting it.
You have probably already
designed a superb mission
statement, using many of the
values you have also created. Ifyou havent, again refer to the
Strategic Planning 101 document.
Now, what does action have to do
us ness. us, v ng e va ues n
daily business exchanges becomeseffectively living the mission.
Living the mission becomes:
Doing what you say you will
do. All day, every day.
The importance of acting on your
mission statement is immense. It
gains your organization credibility,
an all too often missing ingredient
are the same thing, and wonderwhy I would repeat the message.
Actually, one is defining and the
other is acting upon. But if I seem
to be redundant, there is good
reason:
Not many companies do either of
these things.
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To Do: Do What YouSayStep 1: Review your
companys mission
statement.
Ensure that your mission includes
your values in some fashion. If you
have codified how to live your
values in your daily operations,
then the mission review is eas :
memorize the mission
statement.
No exceptions. If an employee
cant explicitly say what your
company will do, they cant do it,
either.
Step 3: Give your employeesexamples about how they
can live the mission. Give
them permission to live it.
Ask them for exam les the have
Dont ever discipline them for
doing something that correspondswith your values or mission, even
if it costs money or takes time.
Step 4: Provide clear
consequences for NOT living
the mission.Your employees have to know you
are serious about doing what you
say before your other
stakeholders, including your
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ust identify what your companydoes, using qualitative, value-
driven descriptive terms. If your
description matches your current
mission statement, you are good
to go. If not, revise the mission
statement.
Step 2: Require everyone in
your organization to
on how they have demonstratedthe mission in the past. Ask them
to define how other employees
have lived the mission.Train your
employees how to act. If they
know the mission word for word,
and know clearly how to act uponthe mission, there is no excuse for
not acting upon it. Give them
autonomy to live the mission, too.
customers, will know. Not living
up to the mission and values of the
company should be a serious
infraction. Especially for you.
Do what you say, no matter what. All
day, every day. Everyone, all the
time, without exception. Let youractions speak for your company.
Its the best marketing you can
get.
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3. A Compelling Vision
Cheshire puss, said Alice, would you please tell me where Iought to go from here?
a epen s a goo ea on w ere you wan o ge o, sathe Cat.
I dont much care where- said Alice.
Then it doesnt matter which way you go, said the Cat.
-Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
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Getting somewhere special
requires a destination. If youdont have a destination, anywhere
you go is good enough. Most
companies dont know where
theyre going, and as a result they
get no where.Youve no doubt crafted a vision
statement for your organization.
Youve answered the question:
what do we aspire to be? If
pick out a destination. Exceptional
companies go a great deal farther:
They create a huge, audacious,
unbelievably inspiring vision of
what they want to be.
The type of vision that makes
people jump up on their feet and
beg to go along. The type of vision
that inspires people to give their
best, and even beyond. The type of
vision that makes em lo ees into
companies skip doing a SWOT
analysis- the vision they craft, ifexecuted (or even attempted),
trumps the environment. They
create unimagined opportunities;
threats dissipate as if by magic;
strengths become exaggerated and
weaknesses cease. All by the power
of an incredible vision.
But arent visions like this
unattainable? Yes, they can be.
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youve followed sound advice, like
in Strategic Planning 101, you may
even have a dynamic vision
statement based on envisioning an
ideal company in the future, or
how your company can positively
impact your industry. Thats a greatstart.
Dominant companies do more
than just craft a vision statement,
however. They do more than just
owners, makes customers intofanatics, and makes competitors
into helpless laggards. There is no
effective competition for a
compelling vision.
When you create a vision that
compelling, environment ceases to
be important. You dont react to
the circumstances around you;
instead you create your own
circumstances. Thats why some
en you cra an au ac ous goa ,
you create the possibility of notachieving it. But the difference
between a standard vision and a
compelling one is the difference
between saying when I grow up, I
want to be an astronaut versus
When I grow up, I want to
change the world. It may not
happen, but the striving is what
counts.
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To Do: Craft a
Compelling VisionStep 1: Review your vision
statement.
Read it to yourself. Does it speak
to you? Do you want to jump upon your feet and yell hallelujah!
when you read it? If you dont,
nobody else will either. You need
to go beyond what your
company do to make it happen?
Write it down.Step 3: Picture your ideal
company- again, in every
perfect detail.
What are the key characteristics
you see in that company? What arethe specific actions the company
took to create this ideal? Who are
the people you served, who led
you, who worked on the vision,
Try to make it short, simple, and
able to be memorized. Then,memorize it.
Step 5: Close your eyes.
Picture yourself presenting
to a crowd of people your
organizational vision.
Pretend your life, even your
childrens or spouse lives depend
on getting the crowd to help you
attain that vision. Envision the fate
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organization does, beyond where
you believe your company wants
to be, beyond what you think is
possible.
Step 2: Picture an ideal
world- every detail of why its
perfect.
Now, explain how your company
contributed to crafting this perfect
world. What specifically will your
an w o suppor e you y
utilizing your products orservices? Why did they decide to
devote their life energy to your
company?
Step 4: Using all of the
attributes youve attributedto the ideal company crafting
the perfect world, write
down what your vision is
now.
o e wor angs n e a ance.
Decide what you would say tothem to get them energized,
inspired, enthusiastic, passionate,
even boldly determined against
any odds to help you achieve that
vision.
Step 6: Now go do it. Start
with your leaders and
employees. Go from there.
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4. Strategies: The Critical Few
Concentration is the secret of strength in politics, in war, in
trade- in short, in all management of human affairs.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Multitasking sucks. Its not
effective. To hear people talkabout it, youd think multitasking
was an essential skill. Actually, its
counter-productive. Focus is the
essential skill. Without focus,
nothing of quality gets done.
The maximum number of pieces
of information the human brain is
able to remember effectively at
one time is 7. Thats why phone
accomplished and certainly not in
any matter considered quality. Itsa very well known fact that there
are just a few critical things that a
business must do to be successful,
and yet it seems quantity trumps
quality time and again. But
exceptional companies have asecret:
They concentrate all of their
energies and resources on the
Harnish talks about J. Rockefeller
and his habit of concentrating on afew critical numbers. Rockefeller
knew what he was doing: there
are very finite reasons why you
pay what you do for products,
why people choose to work for
you, why customers buy yourproducts or services. By
identifying and focusing on those
few reasons, you take care of the
most important aspects of your
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.
numbers only work because areacodes seldom change. The fewer
pieces of information to
remember, the more effective the
brain is at managing them.
I see organizations craftingstrategic plans with dozens of
strategies, actions, and goals,
which seldom all get
cr ca ew ngs a ma er.
From strategies to action plans to
goals, they have few and they
devote everything to getting those
few done well. They prioritize the
important, and let the rest go. As
Stephen Covey would say, they putthefirst things first.
In the book Mastering the
Rockefeller Habits, author Verne
business without wasting extra
money and effort. You increase
both your efficiency and
effectiveness.
Learn how to focus like a laser
beam on the critical few
important strategies that willpropel your organization forward.
Concentrate on quality, not
quantity.
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To Do: Focus on the
Critical FewStep 1: Review yourstrategies.
How many do you have? If youvepaid attention to good advice like
Strategic Planning 101, you shouldhave 5 or less.
Step 2: Ensure your strategiesare concentrated on the rightareas.
Step 3: Imagine a crazyperson is holding a gun toyour head.
The crazy person tells you thatyou must narrow your strategiesdown to no more than 3, or hewill blow your brains out. Which
ones would you keep? Whichwould become priority, and whichwould drop by the wayside?
Step 4: Imagine the crazygun-toting person cocks thehammer.
quality? Why would that particularthing garner the top spot?
Step 5: You now have aprioritized list of your mostimportant strategy, and yourtwo next important. Writethem down.
Do it according to priority. Listthe reason it is a priority rightunder the strategy.
Step 6: Share the strategieswith the enthusiastic people
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Who are the critical people toyour companys success? What arethe critical characteristics forachieving your vision? What arethe areas or segments of your
business that demand the mostattention? Are there anysimilarities or differences betweenthese categories? Revise thestrategies as necessary accordingto your answers.
He now tells you to narrow yourlist to the most important strategyonly. What one thing would youfeel it necessary to concentrate onto keep your organizationrunning? If there was only one
thing to put first, what would thatone thing be? People, or product?Employees, or stockholders?Service, or growth? Finance or
w o are e p ng you a a n
the vision.Explain why each thing is apriority, and which comes first.Require them to memorize thestrategies. Show them very clearlyhow this roadmap will help you
define the actions to reach yourshared vision.
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5. Tactical Execution
A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect
plan later.
-General George S. Patton
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Violent execution sounds bad.
Its not something that peoplesmile about. It doesnt inspire
fuzzy warm feelings. But its just
about the best thing that a
company can commit to do.
Most organizations eventually act.
The larger the organization,
generally the slower the action. If
the organization has a pressing
deadline, the action may be faster
prioritized strategies and a
compelling vision, which providesmotivation and direction. But they
also have another major advantage:
They have effective tactics, and
the structure and desire to
aggressively execute thosetactics.
Effective tactics mean that the
actions the organization have
planned specifically and directly
The world today is moving rapidly,
much faster than in the past. Muchof this is due to having more
population and information than
ever before. Today, its not
necessarily the finest product that
dominates the market, but very
often the first product. Somecompanies dont bother pursuing
patents like in the past; they know
that the life cycle of a product is so
short that competitors will appear
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. ,
action is haphazard and slow.Execution is different than action.
Execution implies a strategy and a
plan. Most companies with a plan
and strategies execute, or attempt
to execute anyway. But themotivation and ability to execute
varies by the quality of the plan.
Exceptional companies have
target and affect the areas mostcritical to their success. The
structure to execute means that
the actions are clearly laid out
with accountability, resources, and
timelines associated. The desire to
aggressively execute is mostimportant; there has to be a sense
of urgency in getting the actions
accomplished.
almost instantly, and the only clear
advantage they have is being first
to market.
Speed of execution is critical to
achievement. People only stay
motivated when action is clearly
visible and motion is continuous.Momentum needs constant
attention in the form of aggressive
execution.
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To Do: Prepare to
ExecuteStep 1: Review your
strategies. Decide what
actions are critical to moving
your strategies forward andrealizing the vision.
List out every action that you can
think of.
Ste 2: Verif that the actions
enhance those success factors.
Step 3: Minimize tomaximize.
Ensure that you have as few
actions identified as possible, and
that those actions are very potent.
Minimizing the number of tacticalactions ensures that your
resources, attention and energies
(and those of your leaders and
staff) are directed in a very focused
and moves with the same sense of
urgency is to have someone withauthority held accountable for the
action, and to have a deadline in
place for completion of the tactic.
Also, set times to regularly review
progress.
Step 5: Commit resources to
the actions to ensure that
completion is not hampered.
If the action needs money, people,
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you think are critical areactually critical.
There are very few actual reasons
that employees work for you, or
that customers buy from you, or
that you influence your strategies,
for example. Identify those critical
few actual reasons for your
companys success in each of your
strategies. Then, decide which
actions will actually modify or
manner. ou s ou never ave
more tactical actions than you dostrategies. Ideally, 1-3 actions
work best. If it helps, imagine the
crazy person holding a gun to your
head!
Step 4: Assign an accountableperson to the action, and a
timeline.
The only way to ensure that
everyone prioritizes the actions
or any ng e se o ge
accomplished, see that thoseresources are available to the
accountable person. If you dont
feel you have the resources for a
certain tactical action, go back to
step 3, re-prioritizing and
minimizing action until only the
critical elements are there. Then,
assign resources immediately.
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6. Goaltending
The ancient Romans had a tradition: whenever one of theirengineers finished an arch, as the capstone was hoisted into place, theengineer assumed accountability in the most profound way: he stoodunder the arch.
-Michael Armstrong
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Goals are the end points of
action. Thats why goals andtactics are so closely associated;
goals are the success markers for
tactical action.
Most organizations have goals.
They may revolve around such
things as finance, sales, or
marketing. Goals are something
we are taught we must have in
order to succeed, on a professional
make sure the goals directly state
what success looks like for theaction. They makes sure the goals
are measurable to gauge progress.
But dominant companies also do
something else:
They hardwire the goals
throughout the company.
Not just with the accountable
person- but completely and totally
throughout the organization- from
what success looks like and when
it should be achieved, and howtheir work directly impacts the
attainment of the goals.
Hardwiring also means that the
individuals performance is
measured directly on the goals.
Not the generic crap that most
companies throw into an
evaluation, but totally on the
attainment of goals that directly
im act the or anizations oals.
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.
understand by now that goalsunassociated with good tactics,
strategies, visions, missions and
values have far less impact and
meaning than goals associated with
those elements.
Dominant companies obviously set
their goals according to the tactical
actions they see as critical to
moving strategy forward. They
top to bottom.
Hardwiring is a term that means
the goals become an essential part
of what everyone in the
organization works towards. Not
ust leadership, not just
management. Everyone. Tohardwire a goal means that each
department, each person within
the organization knows exactly
Exceptional companies know thathardwiring the goals throughout
the company gets everyone in the
organization rowing in the same
direction. Silos break down,
teamwork improves, and stuff
gets done. Thats how success
happens.
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To Do: Tend to the
Goals.Step 1: Review your tactics.
Again, each should be assigned an
accountable person, timeline, and
resources. Progress should bemeasurable (this will inform the
goal).
Step 2: Visualize what success
looks like for each tactic.
least one of the goals. If a position
cannot impact at least one of thegoals, is the position necessary?
Even support people can impact
goals. Find out how each position
in the structure of the organization
relates to the goals. Then, revise
the evaluation process to directlyemphasize the attainment of the
goals, and create goals for the
employees that directly impact
those organizational goals.
evaluating the employees
performance based on theattainment of the goals, all
incentives become aligned towards
making success happen.
Step 5: Report the progress of
the goals to the employees on
a regular basis.
The unique part of hardwiring
accountability for the success of
the organization is that as much as
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What does that success mean?What does it look like? How will
it be measured? Who will measure
it? How will it be reported, and
how often?
Step 3: Align the employeeswith the goals.
Trace how each position within
the company can directly impact at
Step 4: Communicate thegoals and the evaluation
process.
By now the staff should be very
aware of the entire strategic plan,
and should be very aware of the
direction of the organization. By
communicating the organizational
goals, tying the goals to the
employees day to day work, and
eac s a mem er as a
responsibility to achieve thecompany goals, leadership has the
responsibility of providing feed-
back so the employees can
effectively alter behavior and
action to achieve the goals.
Accountability is a two-way street,
so communication is vital.
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7. Leadership, Redux
The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good
men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint to keep from
me ng w t t em w e t ey o t.
-Theodore Roosevelt
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You now know how to craft a
superior, executable strategicplan. The only thing left to do isto execute it, which you have also
learned a little about along the
way. The rest of this guide is
intended to give you advice,
examples, and resources to help
you execute what you have
learned.
The first piece of advice: develop
observed, You manage things; you
lead people. Amazingly, much of
what people consider leadership is
actually management. Leadership
is about people, and only by
developing our skills surrounding
our interactions with people can
we hope to be leaders. There are 6rules, learned from observing the
leadership traits of dominant
companies, I consider essential to
good leadership:
resume) and not values or
character traits, you may not
attract the best and brightest.
Learn to spot organizational fit.
You can teach skills, you cant
teach attitude.
Rule 2: Give clear
expectations.
Nothing is worse than hiring a
bright candidate and watching
them flounder until they fail. Your
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nto a ea er. en, eve op ot ers
into leaders. Execution dependson leadership.
If you are reading this, you are
likely a consultant, an executive,
or in management of an
organization looking to developand grow. You may even think you
are a leader already. But leaders
are different from managers. As
Grace Hopper once astutely
Rule 1: Select good people.im Collins, in his excellent book
Good to Great, observed that
having the right people within an
organization (what he called on
the bus) is the critical factor to
success. Certainly, by hiring for
attitude, ambition and character
you build a superior workforce.
By only selecting for skills (a good
o as a ea er s o g ve c ear goa s
and outcomes for them to achieve.You need to tie their achievement
to the achievement of the
organization, and make sure they
understand what success will look
like when they acheive.
Rule 3: Get the hell out of the
way.
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Leadership isnt constant coaching
and direction. If a person needs
you to think for them, then they
are not needed. Once you hire
someone competent and give
them clear expectations, let them
figure out how to meet those
expectations. Guiding them toresources is appropriate, but thats
about it. Rely on the expectations
you set to gauge their
effectiveness. Concentrate on the
new ways to conquer problems,
and to build persistence. Allow
failure, but do not allow failure to
drag on. Once the person has hit a
point where success is simply not
possible, guide them to a new
path. If failure becomes consistent,
then either you have the wrongperson or unachievable
expectations.
Rule 5: Motivate.
in it for them. Dont automatically
assume everyones in it for the
money, either. Theyre usually not.
Rule 6: Reward them.
If your people are bright, have
clear expectations, learn to think
for themselves, learn from theirfailures, and achieve progress
towards the results you are
looking for, reward them. Often.
Pay them well. In fact, pay them
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outcomes, not the process. As
general Patton said: Dont tell
people how to do things; tell them what
ou want done and let them surprise
ou with their results.
Rule 4: Let them fail, fast.
Failure is experience. Experience
is the price we pay to get to
success. Allowing failure is
allowing a person to grow, to find
ne o e grea es quo es on
leadership comes from DwightEisenhower: Leadership is the art of
etting someone else to do something
ou want done because he wants to do
it.Getting people to want to do
things is what motivation is all
about. And motivation is simple:
communicate your inspirational
vision and figure out whats in it
for them. Then, tell them whats
e er an you n you s ou .
Let them share financially in thesuccess of the company. Thank
them publicly. Write a handwritten
letter, and mail it to their home.
Give them breaks. Promote them.
Make them a hero and publicize it.
Lead them. They will follow.
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8. A World of Difference
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed
people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that
ever as.
-Margaret Meade
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Changing the world sounds
clich. And really, its not like youset out with your company tochange the world. To make some
money, or realize a dream, or
whatever- but change the world?
Not likely. Besides, how could
you? Your organization is only a________ company, anyway.
But you know what? Changing the
world is simpler than you think.
changed the world?
People would tell you.And how could you change the
world?
Change it for the people you
serve.
Heres the secret to changing theworld, with your organization,
right now:
Do what you do better than
Commit to doing whats right,
doing your best, right now, right
where you are. Set an example for
the people and companies around
you.
You will do more than become
exceptional. You will do more than
dominate your industry. You willdo more than motivate people. You
will do what countless
inspirational people throughout
histor have tried to do- what
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know.After all, whats the world
composed of?
People.
And who cares if the world
changes?
People do.
And how would you know if you
anyone e se, or t e so e intent o
iving your best to the people youserve.
If every company, organization,
association, community, or any
other type of group decided to do
this, what would we have?
A much better world.
So start with your organization.
Ghandi preached:You will become the change you
wish to see in the world.
And that changes it.
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9. A Case Study
They say that one of the requirements for people to feel good about themselves isto know that what they are doing is worthwhile. Well, let me tell you now thatyoure working in the greatest field on the face of the earth. You care for people
else cares. If there is an industry closer to all that is right and good I dont knowwhat it is. And if theres any way to make it better, it is up to us.
-Address to the employees of Silverton Hospital, 2004
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I could tell you all about some
big company that you knowand how they became
dominant in their industry.And its easy to use a Disney, or
Southwest Airlines, or Ritz-
Carlton as an example because
everyone knows who they are and
most people have used their
services. They are massively
successful and most have used the
than running theme parks, making
movies or flying airplanes.
So I will use an example of one
company I have worked with that
used the exact principles
elucidated within this guide to
become exceptional, an example
that may help motivate you tobegin the journey.
Silverton Hospital is a small, 50-
bed general acute care hospital in a
competent staff, a beautiful and
supportive community, and
motivated leadership, Silverton
Hospital started down a journey of
change in 2003. A visit by a very
inspiring speaker turned what
should have been a afternoon
distraction into a siren call ofpursuing perfection. She told the
gathered audience of staff and
leadership that they could be
exceptional- that they could
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build that success.But if I used them as an example,
you may forever link becoming
dominant with becoming huge,
becoming publicly held, becoming
world-famous. And that has an air
of impossibility around it,
especially if you are a small,
regional company doing
something much more mundane
sma , , person own n
rural Oregon. In the hospitalindustry, 50 bed hospitals are
considered very small and usually
dismissed as irrelevant as far as
changing healthcare goes. And of
course, small towns generally are
considered irrelevant as far as
changing the country goes.
Because of a unique mix of
circumstances, including a very
change the world- and the
audience believed her.
Silverton had crafted a mission
statement several years earlier,
which was nicely summarized as
Committed to Compassionate
Care for Our Communities. Thestaff had also organized their
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values into the acronym HEART,
which stood for Health,
Excellence, Accountability,
Respect, and Teamwork. But never
before had they codified these
values, nor had they crafted a
compelling vision or the strategies
to achieve that vision.In early 2004, the leaders and staff
did just that. Along with an
initiative called Passport to
Excellence Silverton Hos ital
actions that coincided with the
codified values were given so that
employees knew how their peers
enacted the values in their work.
The hospital even created publicity
around the value heroes and held
a quarterly awards ceremony for
the employees. Suddenly,incidents like walking a visitor to
their destination or staying past
shift change to help someone
became commonplace, and the
memorized the mission and signed
a pledge to live the mission in
their daily work. Clear
expectations were set for the type
of person that could be hired
within the organization, again
based on fit with the mission. The
hospital gained a reputation as aquality and caring place to receive
medical care.
They set a compelling Vision.
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began applying the principlesyouve learned about:
They codified and operationalized
their values.
Each value in the HEART acronym
was clearly spelled out with guideson how to implement the values in
the everyday work of the hospital.
Examples of past and present
hospital gained a reputation for
incredible customer service andinviting atmosphere.
They lived the Mission.
Employees were trained in how to
do what the mission said, everyday.
Defining compassion as havingHEART brought the values
forward. Each employee
o many e rura osp a s
would be audacious enough tohave this vision:
To be the Best hospital in the
West. Provider of Choice,
Employer of Choice.
The hospital leadership even setspecific outcomes that would
indicate becoming the Best in the
West. The vision was clearly
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communicated with the staff, who
immediately became inspired and
motivated to achieve the vision. As
one employee told me,
We were so psyched up. Everyone
began to believe that if we worked
together and lived Passport [to
Excellence], we could really becomethe best hospital in the West. The idea
was so inspirational. I mean, who really
wants to just be mediocre?
cry for the hospital. Everyone,
from housekeepers (the best
hospitals are immaculately clean.) to
the leaders (the best hospital
demands the best people, starting with
me.) were inspired to give their
best to their jobs.
They set the critical strategies.
The hospital identified the
strategic areas they would have to
confront in order to meet their
They called the strategies their
pillars, and each employee was
required to know them. By
selecting strategic categories that
were consistent from year to year
and could continue to guide them
over time, the employees could
more thoroughly understandthem, and even engage within the
planning process.
They executed superb tactics.
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e organ za on qu c y oun
something essential about theiremployees, something common to
ust about everyone:
People want to believe in and
work for something larger
than themselves.Thats what gives meaning and
purpose to our work. A
compelling vision was the rallying
v s on: erv ce, ua y, nance,
People, Growth, Community.Although there were more
strategies than most companies
would set, the hospital
commented that Community
category was added because they
believed the community hadsupported them so much, they had
to show their commitment back to
the community.
ac s ra egy a assoc a e
tactical plans, in many cases nomore than one per strategy. The
tactical actions were pushed
throughout each department of
the hospital.
Service had an associated plan forincreasing patient satisfaction.
Quality had an action plan for
increasing compliance with quality
measures. Finance had plans for
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meeting expense reduction and
revenue targets. People had
action plans for decreasing staff
turnover and increasing education.
Growth had action plans for
recruitment and new services.
Community had plans for giving
back resources within their servicearea. Suddenly, the hospital was
alive with focused activity. People
in the community began to
comment that things were changing
the evaluation process was altered
so that every employee had
accountability to goals that
supported the hospitals vision.
Goals were regularly reported to
the management and staff, and
some staff took it upon themselves
to post the results for public view,even when the results were not
complimentary. The speed of
change was accelerating. As one
employee said, you had a
for the job. We found that training
our own was of more benefit to us,one
director told me. Expectations
were clear and completely
associated with organizational
goals.
Communication was drastically
improved. Employees were askedfor input, and kept informed of
progress, failures, and course
changes. Accountability was
hardwired throu hout the
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with that little hospital.
They took care of their goals.
Each action plan was assigned
accountability with one leader,
although sometimes that leader
was a staff person, and most
actions flowed across alldepartments.
The goals were decided upon, and
purpose, all the time, everyday. It felt
different to work there. More focused,and yet more vibrant and fun.
They practiced leadership.
The leaders wouldnt hire anyone
that didnt fit with the values,
mission, and plan. Sometimes thatmeant that people were hired for
their character and then trained
organization; this allowed
creativity in accomplishing the
goals, and paradoxically reduced
the time managers were dealing
with coaching employees.
As employees recognized the
changes within the hospital, theybecame more motivated:
We were watching everything change,
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and it was like, wow! This is really
oing to happen! That just made us
work harder for it. Nobody had to get
up and do the rah-rah thing.
Leaders did, however, reward the
employees. Hand written letters
mailed directly to staffs homes,
public awards for living themission and values, and other
perks were commonplace. The
hospital quickly went from having
multi le o en ositions to havin
hospitals. The hospital had
achieved something miraculous.
The list appeared in national
magazines ranging from TIME to
Modern Healthcare. They were in
such company as Mayo Clinic,
Cleveland Clinic, and Johns
Hopkins University hospitals. Inthat survey, the little Oregon
hospital had set the benchmark for
service scores and growth rate.
Had that been the onl accolade
To the community, the hospital
had become a source of pride.
People from all over the state and
country wanted to call Silverton
home, many just to work for the
hospital. It wasnt long before
Silverton was voted one of the 10
Coolest small towns in America.Other hospitals started visiting
Silverton to find out how they
could replicate those astonishing
results. Silverton Hospital started
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waiting lists of prospective
employees.
The ResultsIn early 2006, after two years of
solid effort, Silverton Hospitals
CEO received a surprise phonecall. The hospital had just been
chosen by a respected independent
benchmarking company, Solucient,
as one of the nations top 100
this story would have a very happy
ending. But, it didnt end there.
The hospital was selected by Press
Ganey, a patient satisfaction
surveying company, and JD Power
and Associates for service awards.
State and national awards forquality followed. No other hospital
on that prestigious list garnered as
many local and national awards as
Silverton Hospital.
to change the way other hospitals
delivered care.
The employees would tell you that
they knew it was going to happen.
They hadnt decided to change
healthcare, or the town, or win
those awards-they just wanted toachieve their vision of being the
Best in the West.
And they did that, too.
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10. Final Thoughts and Resources
If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your
story.
-Orson Welles
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Silverton Hospital is notalone. Many other great
organizations have dominated their
industry and gone beyond
achievement to change the world.
In fact, Mayo Clinic transformed
medicine starting in a small town
in Rochester, Minnesota in muchthe same way. If Silverton and
Mayo can do it despite their
obstacles, your organization can,
too.
business guru at some point. Not
even the compilation of these
critical points is what counts.
Every company that has ever
dominated their industry has
succeeded not because they read
something like this; but because
they acted upon it.Will your organization end up
dominating your industry?
Perhaps. But only if you put these
conce ts into ractice. The world
successful company. A company
without peers or competitors. A
company that changes its leaders,
employees, customers, and
community.
And perhaps the world.
Having a happy ending very much
depends on where you end your
story. I hope your story is just
getting started.
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In less than 40 pages, for lessthan the cost of 15 minutes
worth of a consultants time,
youve learned how to create
and execute a strategic plan
that will propel your
company to success.
Theres nothing magical here.
Everything in this guide has been
written by some well-known
is indeed kinetic; it takes action to
achieve results. Your company may
not dominate, even if you follow
this guide. But the cool thing is
that:
By shooting for the moon, you very
often end up among the stars.
By following the advice you have
read, you are very likely to create
an exceptional company. A highly
You know everything you need to
know. You can make a plan, you
can follow the plan to success. But
we all need some additional help
from time to time. So, weve
compiled a list of resources for
teaching, motivating, and helpingyou and your organization achieve
your goals.
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Resources
All things strategic, includingtemplates, publications, tools, and
current events:
www. planhacker.com
Strategy, Execution, and
Facilitation Services:www.planhacker.com/services.ht
ml
Essential Reading
Quint Studer wrote this book as a
follow-up to principles he had
been teaching for years in his
consulting company. Highly
recommended.
Good To Great: Why Some
Companies Make the Leap
and Others Dont
Built to Last: Successful Habits
of Visionary Companies
im Collins is the author of both of
business success.
Strategic Planning 101Simple, straightforward, effective,
and best of all- FREE!
Mastering the Rockefeller
Habits
The essential book on focus andviolent execution.
The Magic of Thinking Big
David Schwartzs title says it all.
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The 7 Habits of Highly Effective
People
First Things First
Stephen Covey wrote both of
these bestsellers, which everyone
should read regardless of whether
they lead a company or not.
Hardwiring Excellence: Purpose,
Worthwhile Work, Making a
Difference
these classics, and is the master of
looking at success by case study.These books are worth their
weight in gold.
In Search of Excellence: Lessons
rom Americas Best Run
CompaniesTom Peters is the guru of modern
management, and everyone should
read this to understand modern
Linchpin: Are You Indispensible?
A great book by Seth Godin on
what makes great people.
Getting Things Done
The book on personal productivity
by David Allen.First, Break All the Rules
Marcus Buckinghams book should
be required reading for mangers.
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What we think, or what we know, or
what we believe is, in the end, of little
consequence. The only consequence is
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what we do. John Ruskin