Flawless Execution Read online

  Another change: In the introduction I talked about latitude. So far, the word has been irrelevant. In developing the Future Picture and mapping out the system, there is no need for constraints; therefore, there was not a need to introduce latitude.

  Now latitude will enter the picture. Everyone on the team will not only have a measurable, quantifiable objective, but in executing their mission, they will be given a clear understanding of what the leader’s intent is so they have latitude to adapt to changing conditions.

  EXECUTING THE COMMANDER’S INTENT

  If I’m on the way into a kill box to attack a specific ground-based target (antiaircraft artillery or triple-A site) and I notice another group of targets similar in nature and posture to the ones our mission is targeting, I can divert some of our bombs into this new target, based on my assessment of the assets we are currently carrying. Then I can proceed to the primary target.

  Are these tactics written into my mission objective? No. But because I have latitude, each of these “changes” helps realize the overall Future Picture and therefore they are good. Because I understand the commander’s intent, which is to eliminate all surface-to-air threats in our kill box, and because I have the tools, I have the latitude to flex my attack plan. By taking out another triple-A site, I contribute to the overall objective.

  Everyone needs latitude, but the degree of latitude will progressively narrow as one gets closer to the place where we execute. I liken it to superhighways and roads. A CEO or an entrepreneur has complete latitude; the service clerk at McDonald’s has a narrow goat path. Media buyers in the media department may substitute radio for part of the TV schedule but not change the product being advertised. They have that latitude because they understand the intent of their mission (saturation advertising for three weeks, let’s say) and how it supports the commander’s intent (successfully launch a new product).

  In the execution engine, we’re dealing with action. We’ve gone from the big picture to combat. Whether I’m sitting strip alert in my F-15 guarding our borders or flying a dawn mission over Baghdad, I’m living and breathing inside the world of execution; how well I do is a matter of life or death.

  There’s a proven process that leads to flawless execution—the Plan-Brief-Execute-Debrief-Win cycle. It’s a time-tested process that keeps fighter pilots winning, that gets us to our targets and brings us back home with a success under our belts. We’ve seen it work in Desert Storm and Afghanistan and in thousands of businesses.

  Here are the essential elements.

  The Plan-Brief-Execute-Debrief-Win Cycle

  Once the leader has communicated the Future Picture and the package of key descriptors, centers of gravity, and their desired effects, the tactical teams enter into a tactical planning phase to translate the strategy into specific, tactical missions. These missions will be responsible for the desired effect of a particular center of gravity. This process has only four steps: plan-brief-execute-debrief.

  Plan

  Before we do anything, we thoroughly plan the mission. To do that, we have a specific process we call the Six Steps to Mission Planning. The Six Steps are where the field commander or field representative takes the intent based on the Future Picture and strategy, and focuses it into a very specific tactical plan—a plan that accomplishes the desired effect or end state for a particular center of gravity. This person was present in the open planning process and thus knows not only the strategy but the decisions behind the strategy. Since he comes from one of the departments and thus is intimately familiar with the tactical environment for the team, the planning and ensuing tactics are aligned with the strategy.

  Brief

  Once we have the plan, we brief that plan to all of the mission participants. To ensure that no one involved has any questions as to what is expected from him or her, or, more importantly, any questions as to how our plan will be executed, briefings take place right before our teams execute.

  Execute

  Armed with our brief, we execute the mission like an actor speaking memorized lines and practiced moves in a play. We know where we are going, where we’ve been, where we are, and what we’re going to do next, down to the second. To maintain that high level of awareness, which we call situational awareness, we employ specific tools to keep us ahead of the silent killer of execution—task saturation.

  Debrief

  Our most important, enduring, institutional step in this four-step process is the after-mission debrief. In my old business, after every mission, every participant walked directly from their jets to the debriefing room, and in it they examined their execution down to the finest detail. They were looking for ways to improve their performance. Debriefing is done in a nameless and rankless environment, using a specific process called STEALTH, which forces your organization to freely admit and examine errors or acknowledge successes. The STEALTH process makes certain that lessons learned are then funneled back into tomorrow’s mission to make it tighter; if we have a lesson that’s big enough, we communicate it throughout the whole organization to accelerate everyone’s experience.

  Win

  No sooner have we debriefed one mission than we start another. Whether you flew a good mission or a sloppy one, you’re alive and you have to get ready for the next. You may have a sales trip planned for the next day or you may have a family vacation. No matter what, you apply the Flawless Execution Model to every situation in life. So remember this—after the debrief, after the moment when you return, you start planning for the next mission. That’s the secret to Flawless Execution. You never leave the Flawless Execution cycle. You just move from one mission to another. You move from one Flawless Execution cycle to another.

  This is the heart of the Flawless Execution Model: Plan. Brief. Execute. Debrief. Win.

  It begins with the plan.

  CHAPTER 8

  Planning

  Flexibility is the key to airpower…

  preparation is the key to flexibility.

  THE SIX STEPS TO MISSION PLANNING

  Mission planning is not hard but it is thorough. Our way of planning calls for a resolution of detail that most people have never considered. It’s no different from the detail we painted in the Future Picture. We fill the canvas with detail and with color.

  First, a perspective. Tactical planning allows us to project our thoughts forward in time and space and allows us to influence events before they occur rather than reacting to events as they occur. We are attempting to influence our destiny by being proactive, instead of allowing someone or something to determine the outcome.

  Then consider this: Tactical planning forms a disciplined framework for approaching problems. It gives us multiple courses of actions, an opportunity to evaluate them, then the chance to take the best pieces from each and create the best plan. With our enhanced understanding of potential outcomes, we can better prepare to make time-critical decisions and have resources at hand.

  In short, it brings us into the cycle of Flawless Execution.

  Fighter pilots hate surprises. It’s hard enough hanging on to a jet while it’s flying through the air at 700 miles per hour and putting nine bone-crushing Gs on you. It’s enough to monitor your instruments, work the radar, listen to the calls on the radio, and dodge an extremely hostile enemy. The last thing you want to do is figure out a solution that requires more than a fraction of a second of thought. There’s no time for complexity in the air while a pilot is executing his mission. The time for thinking is on the ground. That’s why pre-mission planning is thorough. Yours will be, too.

  To cover all the bases, we break the planning process down into six steps. Whether you’re a fighter pilot or a businessperson, you must go through these six steps before you have a plan. Have we really covered all the bases? Are we really ready for that important meeting? The only way to know is to tick off the six steps one by one.

  The Six Steps to Mission Planning

  Step One: Determine the Mission Objective

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p; Step Two: Identify the Threats

  Step Three: Identify Your Available Resources

  Step Four: Evaluate the Lessons Learned

  Step Five: Determine Courses of Action/Tactics

  Step Six: Plan for Contingencies

  STEP ONE: DETERMINE THE MISSION OBJECTIVE

  A mission objective is not the Future Picture nor is it the desired effect of a center of gravity. A mission objective is something that you and I can go out and execute today, in today’s mission. A good mission objective has to be clear. It must be measurable (quantifiable). It must be achievable (believable). And it must support the overall Future Picture of the organization.

  Let’s look at each criterion. First, the objective has to be clear. A good mission objective uses ordinary, simple language. For example, you may be tempted to use lingo or slang, but don’t; your job is to be understood. Too many corporate executives like to sprinkle in hip new business words that are colloquial or trendy but not readily understood. If your people don’t know what you mean—or worse, if your words are subject to differing interpretations—you’re in trouble, and that certainly means the mission is in trouble, too.

  A mission objective is clear, specific, and easily understood by all.

  Second, the objective must be measurable. Did we take out the SAM site? In the cold light of day, our battle damage assessment photography will tell us exactly how well we did. A mission objective is measurable on some quantifiable scale. Here’s a good objective: “We will destroy Al-Qaeda’s C3i (command, control, and communications facility; i.e., headquarters building) by 0905z. I know where the C3i is located, and through proper intelligence I understand the structure of the building and its foundation, which will be matched with the proper size and configuration of bomb we will carry. In turn I know that if we hit the target, we will destroy it. And I realize we must do this in a very coordinated and timely manner since intelligence has told us that high-level Al-Qaeda officials will be present at 0905z.

  By contrast, a weak mission objective might be this: “We will take out Al-Qaeda SAM sites in today’s mission.” What does that mean? How do we measure the phrase “take out”? Does that mean that we were successful if we hit the tracking radar unit of this site but not the linked missile silos? What if we “take out” the target but the SAM site is back up in an hour? And how many sites does “sites” represent? Three? Five?

  I understand what it means to destroy a SAM site. I understand what it means to close eight sales or to put exactly twenty-four qualified leads into my sales funnel. But I don’t understand what it means to “take out” a SAM site or to “load up the pipeline and pump ’em out the other side.” The objective must be measurable.

  Next, the objective must be achievable, that is, believable or obtainable. How many times have you been given a mission objective that was brilliant but there was no way you could accomplish it? I guarantee you, if you’re going to risk men’s and women’s lives, that mission objective better be achievable and believable. That doesn’t mean it has to be easy. On the contrary: Tough missions are worthy challenges. But it does mean that it has to be within the realm of possibility. I can’t grow corn in a week or build a factory in five days. It has to be attainable.

  The same holds true for business. If you’re going to put people into motion, nothing degrades their abilities, their motivation, their energy, or their enthusiasm faster than to give them an impossible task. It just doesn’t work. You can ask them to stretch. They can do whatever it takes: work brutal hours, travel on a weekend, use all of their time, talent, and treasures. But if what you ask is impossible, there is simply no chance for success.

  Finally, a mission objective must support the overall Future Picture of the organization. If I’m going to risk my life, I’d like to know how. If, for example, I were an F-117 fighter pilot, and my mission will affect the Future Picture, I want to know it mattered. A good mission objective for me might not only be to destroy the target but to destroy a valuable target. Destroy Al Qaeda’s C3i—their command, control, communication, and intelligence facility—by 0905z. That’s a mission objective. The objective is crystal clear. It’s measurable. Either I hit the C3i or I don’t. With the jet I fly, it’s attainable, believable, and achievable. Moreover, I’m motivated. It’s an important target. I understand how taking out the nerve center—their command, control, communication, and intelligence facility—will help accomplish the overall Future Picture of the organization: winning the war.

  Give me a mission objective well suited to my skills, well suited to my assets, and in line with my commander’s intent, and I’m willing to risk my life. That’s what I’m trained to do. It’s my type of mission, one with a quantifiable measure of my success, one that contributes to the overall Future Picture of the organization. I’m ready to go. Not just ready—I’m eager to go. I want to get airborne, face the potential SAM and triple A threats, and get over the target because I want to destroy that objective. If it puts me and my jet in harm’s way, well, that’s what it takes. I’m in.

  Does your mission objective get past those vertical head nods and reach down to the hidden part in all of us where we execute with passion? Fighter pilots are out there in a hostile environment, flying at 700 miles per hour, risking their lives, yet doing it with passion. Don’t you want to feel that passion? Don’t you want your people to execute with passion? I promise you, it’s possible. An achievable mission turns a salesperson into a superstar. Have you ever read how intense Ted Turner was when he was young and selling advertising for his TV station, WTBS? In those early years Turner was so motivated, so passionate about his business that on occasion he would actually end up on top of a client’s desk screaming about the virtues of advertising on his TV station. This wasn’t a guy giving lip service to a sales quota. This was a man with a mission. That, my friends, is a Leaning-Forward fighter pilot. Passionate about doing it right. Passionate about winning. Empowered with a clear, measurable, achievable objective that supported the overall Future Picture. Sell advertising on WTBS. Build a big company. Get rich.

  Just look where Turner is now.

  STEP TWO: IDENTIFY THE THREATS

  Unlike the strategic phase where we don’t focus on tactics, threats stand between our current position and where we want to go, today, tactically. Now we have to figure out what threats stand in the way of our future picture today or in the present tense of our tactical mission objective. Well, really, what’s to learn? That there’s a new pizza store down the block or that someone is introducing a new bottled water or a competitor has introduced a new insurance package. So what?

  If you want to build a foundation to execute flawlessly in any environment—much less the hostile, rapidly changing environment of business—this step is critical; you have to identify and know your threats. As a fighter pilot, I wanted to know everything. I mean, think about it. People were gunning for me, there were SAMs out there to shoot me down; I was risking my life. How well did I want to know my threats? I can tell you, you get real serious about gathering information when your life is on the line.

  You have threats on sales calls. You have them on a request for proposals. Someone or something is out there ready to blow you out of the sky. Someone has a new pricing plan that you hadn’t heard about or a new $6 electric toothbrush that just put your $20 toothbrush out of business! As Intel’s former CEO Andy Grove would say, “Be paranoid.” Let them ridicule you for your paranoia. But dig down. Go through the competition’s sales catalog. Do some research. Figure out what your threats are.

  Internal and External Threats

  There are two types of threats you have to consider: the external threats and the internal threats. In my F-15, an external threat was the Mig-29. I wanted to know everything about that threat that I could learn. This went beyond the make and model of the jet my adversary flew; I wanted to get into his head. For example, as an F-15 fighter pilot, my job was to provide air superiority over the battlefield. I wanted to kn
ow everything about the Mig-29, for example. Tell me its top speed, maximum altitude, type of armament, speed, range, and so on. But I also wanted to know everything about the man or woman who was flying that aircraft—because, ladies and gentlemen, I bet my life on the information I got when, at 30,000 feet, we merged and went head to head.

  I wanted to know what they had for breakfast in the morning.

  I wanted to know what their religious beliefs were, their political aspirations, how they were aligned in their economy.

  I wanted to know if he or she had a fight with their spouse or was worried about a check bouncing. Do you get it? I wanted to know everything about their training, their background, and their motivation. What was in their heart, what was in their gut, what was in the soul of that person?

  The same went for that SAM site and its crew, or any other external threat I faced. I dug down deep.

  Do you do the same thing before you go on a sales call? Do you know who your counterpart is and what his or her situation is? I hope so. If not, learn it. Go to association meetings, Rotary Club meetings, meet-and-greets. Dig through their website, their product catalogs; listen to their conference calls with analysts; talk to your vendors. Last year I flew to Australia, Hong Kong, and countless other domestic destinations as a part of my organization, YEO—Young Entrepreneurs Organization. I listened. I learned. I saw what motivated my peers, how they were running their companies, and what they thought tomorrow might bring. Was I taking notes? You bet.