When you need to move a team fast, follow these four keys to successful execution:
Create a sense of urgency that the team understands, believes, and can rally around. Whether the motivation is a critical internal mandate or based on external factors (crisis, market changes, etc.), urgency drives action.
Protect those leading your most critical initiatives from getting distracted by their “day jobs.” The effort project leaders apply is a real force multiplier: it gets the team to move and ultimately saves time for people who are already stretched thin.
To go fast, take time to plan. Applying a straight-forward planning process to get it on the right track from the start will prevent rework and allow the team to work quickly because they understand what needs to be done. At a high level, it’s a simple process: define the target and the work to get there, plan the work, and adapt as needed.
Someone needs to drive the team’s efforts with discipline. You would not hand out sheet music to the orchestra and say “play.” The musicians need a conductor to guide their efforts. A disciplined leader should:
