Poor execution is an excuse

I am weary of hearing the word execution. Not the killing kind, the "do what you are supposed to do" kind. Leaders who blame failure on the lack of execution are misguided and, to be frank, wrong!

Failure in execution is actually grounded in the roots of poor communication. If one understands with complete clarity what they are to execute, and it is entirely possible with the resources and time available, there is only one reason for failed execution; I will get to that [one reason] in a moment.

The following story overwhelmingly illustrates the need for clarity in communication:

In the world of retail, the term facing describes the process of bringing merchandise to the front of the shelf to present a neat and full look for the customer. The manager of a certain new employee asked him to go and face aisle #5. After a period of time this manager noticed the employee just standing in aisle #5 and discovered that the employee understood the instruction to mean that he was to stand with his face toward aisle #5.

This is a true story; despite being simple and silly, a lack of understanding by either party is the primary root of poor execution.

By either party? Good communication requires good listening. Some leaders bark out instructions without realizing certain roadblocks and hindrances that make it difficult and sometimes impossible for complete execution. Listening and understanding would allow for a collective approach to removing these barriers, but some leaders believe that they [problems] will somehow disappear if they ignore them. And while "nothing is impossible with God," Matthew 19:26, those who ignore real problems will have rely exclusively on his or her faith to have any success.

The reality is, that blaming the lack of execution for failure is only an attempt to hold others responsible for poor communication. With respect to capital punishment, imagine holding an inmate on death row responsible for a botched execution attempt. That would of course be ridiculous.

That one reason: if the plan is sound, doable and clearly understood, the only possible reason for failed execution is open defiance / insubordination. This is a much different problem and relatively easy to resolve.

Poor execution is an excuse