IT’S NOT WHAT

YOU SAY...IT’S
WHAT YOU DO
How Following Through at Every Level
Can Make or Break Your Company
LAURENCE HAUGHTON

LAURENCE HAUGHTON is a management consultant with more than 20-years experience in the
manufacturing, retail, media and service industries. He is a popular keynote speaker who also conducts
workshops on revenue growth and management follow through. Mr. Haughton is a former producer for ABC
Radio and is the coauthor of It’s Not the Big That Eat the Small...It’s the Fast That Eat the Slow.
The Web site for this book is at www.laurencehaughton.com.

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 It’s Not What You Say...It’s What You Do - Page 1

MAIN IDEA
In average companies, only about half of what actually gets decided is ever followed through on. The rest of the items just fall through
the cracks and get ignored, usually inadvertently. A number of studies have shown that over the last fifty years, 83-percent of all
corporate slowdowns were attributable not to external economic forces but to the lack of follow-through within the organization itself.
Therefore, to improve your performance, spend less time worrying about finding the best strategy to use and more time closing the
gap between what you say you want to do and what you actually end up doing.
To be more specific, there are four key building blocks you can use to close the credibility gap between what you say and what you do:

The
Credibility 4 Key Building Blocks
Gap to Closing The Credibility Gap

What What 1 State a clear, unambiguous direction

Your Your
Organization Organization 2 Get the right people involved
Says Does 3 Start well by having plenty of buy-in
4 Use personal initiative to keep moving

“Over the last decade, business has tried every quick fix and crafty financial maneuver to get a leg up on the unrelenting competition.
None of it has had sufficient staying power and a lot has landed our businesses (and more than a few executives) in trouble. Now it’s
time to forgo all the exotic answers and get back to basics. What makes or breaks your company is your ability to get everyone at
every level following through.”
– Laurence Haughton
“Becoming a winner, a loser, a climber or a tumbler in any industry is not the result of finding (or failing to find) the perfect strategy for
your organization. What makes or breaks a company’s performance is its grasp over management’s most basic mission – to make
sure everyone at every level follows through.”
– Laurence Haughton

Building Block #1 – State a clear, unambiguous direction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pages 2 - 3

Every executive starts out with good intentions, but the pressure of having too much to do often means
they end up not conveying their expectations with absolute clarity. It’s little wonder, then, that people head
off in different directions. To avoid this:
1. Turn vague expectations into clear, specific targets people can work towards.
2. Empathize with your people and help them connect the dots.
3. Provide tactics with your instructions that will help people succeed.
Building Block #2 – Get the right people involved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pages 3 - 4
If you get the right people in place, you significantly enhance your likelihood of following through. This
simply means matching your people with your desired outcomes and expectations. To achieve this:
1. Always hire for attitude rather than for experience.
2. Make sure everyone is on the same page.
3. Find someone who will champion follow-through as your project leader.
Building Block #3 – Start well by having plenty of buy-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pages 5 - 6
Don’t assume people will automatically buy-in to your new idea simply because it makes good sense.
Instead, anticipate that inertia will make people reluctant to change. To increase buy-in:
1. Outmaneuver your reluctant people.
2. Teach everyone to try the new idea before criticizing it.
3. Create a hot execution team everyone wants to be in.
4. Get hands-on personal involvement.
Building Block #4 – Use personal initiative to keep moving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pages 7 - 8
Leaders must do everything feasible to maintain the mood for following through on what needs to get done.
The only way this will happen is if people are encouraged to use their personal initiative rather than
constantly waiting for directions and instructions. To guarantee more initiative:
1. Share your purpose for why things need to be done.
2. Show more respect for the judgement of the people involved.
3. Hit the right balance between enough and too much accountability.
 It’s Not What You Say...It’s What You Do - Page 2

Building Empathize with your people

State a clear, unambiguous direction 2
Block #1 and help them connect the dots.

If you can “read between the lines” when speaking with your boss
Every executive starts out with good intentions, but the pressure or when giving instructions to your peers or subordinates, you
of having too much to do often means they end up not conveying can save a lot of time and substantially enhance your
their expectations with absolute clarity. It’s little wonder, then, productivity. To do this in practice:
that people head off in different directions. To avoid this:
n Always be ready to explain a new idea five or six different
1. Turn vague expectations into clear, specific targets people ways – because people from different operational
can work towards. backgrounds will always look at anything new from the
2. Empathize with your people and help them connect the dots. perspective of their own area of specialization. Very few
3. Provide tactics with your instructions that will help people people are generalists, so you need to be ready to explain
succeed. your idea using words and examples that will resonate with
your listener.
n Align any new idea with the current corporate priorities – and
stay flexible because those priorities will change as
Turn vague expectations into clear, circumstances and personnel change.
1 specific targets people can work towards. n If at all possible, use a working prototype to explain your new
Nothing frustrates workers more than corporate gobbledygook – idea – because this will be far more memorable than asking
when a boss gives them vague, generalized directives and people to use their imaginations. People usually feel better
cliches that can be interpreted in a hundred different ways. If a about the prospects of anything when they see a prototype,
subordinate doesn’t understand exactly what their boss wants, even if it’s just a crude example. Use that to your advantage.
their most likely course of action will be to let that item fall through Overall, empathy is a key to closing the gap between what’s said
the cracks in the hope it won’t get raised again. and what’s done. Empathy means to put yourself in the position
The key to avoiding this is to be clear and concise right at the of the listener, and to understand the pressures they’re under. It
outset so there is no question in anyone’s mind what the means to use your intuition and draw conclusions without giving
objective is. How do you do this? undue influence to your own emotional baggage.
1. Always set goals or objectives that are SMART – that is, that To empathize with others effectively:
are specific, measurable, accountable, realistic and n You have to use your head – and try to anticipate what the
time-bound. Every time you set a goal, give a succinct and other person is thinking. For example, if you’re selling an
crisp definition of what success will look like. Clarify your investor on a specific project, drip-feeding them little snippets
expectations in your own mind first, engage people in a of information about progress will be better than sending them
two-way conversation and then listen to the feedback you get a glossy brochure once everything is completed. People like
to make certain they’re on the same page as you. Never ask to be involved in an unfolding story with its ebbs and flows far
anyone to follow through on something you don’t understand more than they like being sold to.
clearly yourself.
n You have to use your heart – to understand what emotions are
2. Communicate more effectively – by dividing big ideas into motivating others to do the things they’re doing. When you
small, palatable bites. Break complex goals down into use your heart, you see your product or service through the
manageable steps everyone can comprehend. Get feedback eyes of your clients. This allows you to better sense your
to ensure your people know what you mean. Let everyone customer’s expectations and what you need to do to satisfy
know the precise steps you’re asking them to make, and give those expectations.
a sense of how each of those actions will impact on the
n You have to have courage – since you’ll be acting on your
overall team performance.
intuitions rather than on facts and figures. Empathy often
3. If you’re given fuzzy or ambiguous expectations, keep requires that you take the initiative and do something extra for
discussing and negotiating with your boss – until you have a people based not on what they say but more on what you’ve
crystal clear picture of what is expected. Don’t just agree to observed or felt. It means to pick up on the small signals most
do something vague to get your boss out of your office. busy people gloss over. That will take nerve, and support from
Realize they have lots of pressure coming from all sorts of others in your organization.
directions. Get your boss engaged and listen to what he or
she says until you can completely clarify their expectations in “Empathy is not sympathy. Empathy allows you to maintain
fine detail. To assist you in doing this: objectivity. You are able to empathize with people you don’t
• Prepare beforehand with some good leading questions. necessarily like, drawing conclusions reached without your own
• Do your homework and go through facts, not opinions. emotional baggage. Empathy is important for managers who
• Be open in asking for more information. need reliable intuitions about what others expect so they can
• Be persistent. Explain it is in everyone’s best interests. create a clear direction for the team’s follow-through.”
• Don’t worry about apportioning blame. – Laurence Haughton
• Listen to what your boss says.
“Empathy is defined as the capacity to think and feel oneself into
• Remember you’re both on the same team, not adversaries.
the inner life of another person.”
• Don’t be antagonistic.
– Heinz Kohut, psychoanalyst
• Be patient and even-handed.
 It’s Not What You Say...It’s What You Do - Page 3

Provide tactics with your instructions Building

3 Get the right people involved
that will help people succeed. Block #2

“Clear expectations are not enough. Clear direction requires a If you get the right people in place, you significantly enhance your
comprehensive system for assessing how you are doing at each likelihood of following through. This simply means matching your
step of the way.” people with your desired outcomes and expectations. To
– Laurence Haughton achieve this:
It’s one thing to signal the direction you’d like to head and quite 1. Always hire for attitude rather than for experience.
another to get your organization moving in that desired direction. 2. Make sure everyone is on the same page.
To achieve this practice, there are three disciplines you’ll require:
3. Find someone who will champion follow-through as your
1. Put your thoughts down in writing – because when you go project leader.
through the discipline of writing things down, any holes in
your logic will become obvious. It also becomes easier to pick
up on vague expectations, hasty conclusions, ignorance of 1 Always hire for attitude rather than for experience.
the true situation or an absence of common sense. A written
report creates a permanent record that can be reviewed later In former times, matching a person’s resume to the knowledge,
for accuracy. It encourages people to think things out in detail abilities and skills required for a new job made sense. This is no
and to reach logical conclusions rather than making longer the case, however. Today, adaptability rather than past
uninformed stabs in the dark. performance is more important, and you need to hire people who
2. Look beneath the surface – and find out why things aren’t are a good fit with your team rather than those who have the right
working out in practice the way you had planned. A good way level of experience.
to do this is by asking five “Why” questions which build on So how do you find someone who will be a good fit?
each other in this way:
1. Develop a profile of the traits and behaviors you need to
• “Why have we got nowhere with this project?”
screen new people for – which will usually be the way you
Answer: Our projects weren’t linked to our strategic goals.
rank six factors: problem solving ability, empathy or people
• “Why weren’t these projects linked to each unit’s goals?”
skills, maturity, assertiveness, adaptability and self-drive.
Answer: It wasn’t a criterion for selecting a project.
• “Why wasn’t this a criterion?” 2. Plan your screening interview in advance – and start by
Answer: We didn’t know it was important. getting people to talk freely about the things they have
• “Why didn’t everyone know this was important?” learned and experienced in their previous positions. Ask
Answer: We didn’t ask the right questions at the outset. them about what they did in the past more than hypothetical
• “Why didn’t we ask the right questions?” situations. Ask them to give you examples of times when they
Answer: We didn’t know which questions to ask. had to handle an irate customer or work with a boss they did
Most people in management have an ingrained tendency to not like.
jump to conclusions. By having the discipline to ask why a 3. Ask good leading questions – which will get them to open up
few times before trying to create a solution, a much better and provide you with more information about how they think.
solution which addresses the root cause rather than the For example:
flow-on symptoms can often be found. • “What made your favorite boss so good to work with?”
3. Always let someone else check your accuracy – because • “What specific things tend to get you irritated?”
outsiders will look at everything factually rather than • “What helps you do your very best work?”
emotionally. Insiders will tend to let things slide whereas 4. Keep in mind they will be trying to guess what you want to
outsiders will be impartial and uncompromising. They will hear – so you’ll have to take care not to be fooled. To avoid
have no problems exposing both the good and the bad. problems in this area:
Outsiders won’t make any conclusions without facts to back • Always trust your gut instincts.
them up. By contrast, insiders will often make off-the-cuff • Get a second opinion from one of your peers.
judgements. An outside audit team will give you the • Take your time.
unvarnished truth. • See how they deal with conflict and pressure.
• Keep assessing, even after you hire them.
“The more strictly we are watched, the better we behave.”
– Jeremy Bentham, 19th century social philosopher “I am not one for hiring experience. Reading resumes and the
rest seldom seems to work out. When hiring, it is critical to
“Does every employee understand where your business is
differentiate between the things that can be learned and things
going? Are the steps necessary to reach each goal plain to see?
that are highly resistant to change. By the time we are twenty-five
Is there a good line of sight between your company’s mission and
years old, our personalities are largely set. Attitudes and
what your people do? Does your team support the direction of
interpersonal style are much harder to modify than technical
the business? Forty-eight percent of the 12,000-plus top
skills and industry specific know-how. Technically sound
executives, middle managers and front-line employees
managers are a dime a dozen. The person who develops an
surveyed recently could not answer yes when asked those
aptitude for understanding different people and being versatile is
questions. It’s the simplest of all business calculations – if people
unique. This is going to be the differentiating factor in the most
don’t understand precisely where they are headed, it’s only
successful managers.”
sheer luck that will get them to where they need to be.”
– Dr. Sarah Bridges, executive coach & doctor of psychology
– Laurence Haughton
 It’s Not What You Say...It’s What You Do - Page 4

2 Make sure everyone is on the same page. Find someone who will champion
3 follow-through as your project leader.
Many companies have used stock options, commissions,
bonuses, overseas trips and the like to try and motivate people to Follow-through within an organization just won’t happen
do what the firm requires. When people fail to achieve those consistently unless you find the right person to champion it and to
rewards, the usual response is to fine-tune the mix of rewards, take care of all the operational details.
incentives and consequences. A better idea, however, is to
An effective champion will have these key character traits:
create a match between each person’s own professional goals
and the goals of the business unit. When that kind of alignment 1. A champion needs to be able to read between the lines – and
occurs, impressive things can happen. will have empathy for the feelings, thoughts and experiences
of the other team members. Champions are even willing to do
Creating a clear direction and matching everyone’s agendas is a
some extra work in order to ensure that everyone feels a part
three step process:
of implementation processes.
1. Start by understanding each of your team member’s own
2. The champion needs to be willing to get their hands dirty –
individual expectations – by initiating an ongoing dialogue.
and to focus on all the logistical issues involved. Champions
Get people to talk about where they want to head in their
need to have a good feel for the sequence projects should
careers. Ask some good leading questions:
move forward in.
• “What do you expect to be earning five years from now?”
• “What professional advances do you want to make?” 3. Champions need to be adept multitaskers – because
• “What are your top skills that qualify you for this team?” invariably there will be four or five things that have “top
• “What would you like to be able to do better?” priority” status at any one time. In addition, there will also be
• “What do you need from me?” the schedules of loads of people to mesh together. Doing that
will take some strong skills.
2. Do a reality check between your team member’s
expectations and the investment they are willing to make to 4. Champions need to be straight shooters – with the
meet their targets – to determine whether or not they’re self-confidence to look senior people in the organization in
willing to invest realistically in developing their careers. Many the eye while they lay out the facts.
people assume things will just happen automatically if they 5. Champions need to gain satisfaction from the team’s
turn up for work. Prepare them to think more realistically by performance – rather than obsessing over their own personal
asking: reputations.
• “What kind of time would you commit to your goals?”
6. Champions need to be willing to learn from their mistakes
• “Would you make a financial commitment to your career?”
and keep moving forward.
• “How do you plan on gaining new skills?”
7. Champions need to embody and radiate infectious
3. Fit what you’ve learned about each individual with the goals
enthusiasm – and feel genuinely excited about the
of the business unit – and decide whether people need to be
opportunity to explore unchartered corporate territory.
reassigned or your goals need to be adjusted. If you can plan
how to hit each person’s personal agenda at the same time 8. Champions must have the ability to create consensus –
as the business unit achieves something noteworthy, you’ve which means listening to the team members, encouraging
created a win-win situation for both sides. Both you and they them to speak up and dealing openly with their concerns. The
will be motivated to make things happen, which is great. You champion then needs to spread widespread credit for
can also help those people whose personal goals are a poor achievements so everyone feels like this was a collaborative
match transfer to other business units where they can shine. achievement rather than an individual accomplishment.
9. Champions must have the ability to show respect – to both
“Matching agendas does not require a manager to reject or their bosses and also to all the front-line staff who will be
endorse the idea of using financial incentives to reward their directly affected by the project. Respect means getting
people. Matching agendas simply recognizes that a people in on the early stages of planning rather than later
one-size-fits-all scramble for financial rewards won’t necessarily when everything is set in stone. It also means taking the time
make your people happy.” to explain things and giving credit to others.
– Laurence Haughton
10. Champions must have the ability to generate a sense of
“Unless a manager understands each associate’s agenda, and urgency – otherwise following through will become a low
matches each individual’s goals to their unit’s goals, he or she priority item.
will fall short of getting an enduring commitment to follow All in all, a follow-through champion within the organization must
through.” be someone pretty special. They have to be a passionate battler
– Laurence Haughton willing to go against corporate inattention, distractions and
“The only way you’ll ever discover your team members’ lethargy as well as all the external obstructions that will arise. Put
expectations is by asking them. You’ll learn a lot from such a the right champion in place and everyone will become
dialogue. Some people will tell you they expect to achieve a great passionate about following through. Equally, put the wrong
deal with little investment of time or other resources. Others will person in place, and nothing much will happen.
be too guarded to answer thoroughly or honestly. Whatever their “Champion is an especially appropriate word for the person
response, it will be an eye opening experience. When it’s over, chosen to lead a follow-through. It comes from the thirteenth
you’ll wonder why you haven’t been asking your people to share century, meaning a gladiator, militant advocate, or defender, one
their expectations with you your entire career.” who does battle for another’s interests.”
– Laurence Haughton – Laurence Haughton
 It’s Not What You Say...It’s What You Do - Page 5

Building Teach everyone to try the new

Start well by having plenty of buy-in 2
Block #3 idea before criticizing it.

In addition to people who are outwardly critical of new ideas,

Don’t assume people will automatically buy-in to your new idea everyone in your organization will feel slightly unsettled and
simply because it makes good sense. Instead, anticipate that afraid when confronted by the need for change.
inertia will make people reluctant to change. To increase buy-in:
1. Outmaneuver your reluctant people. “We all have a tendency to hold on to our old ideas and worn-out
ways, stubbornly refusing to change. That means every
2. Teach everyone to try the new idea before criticizing it.
company is filled with potential obstructors ready to get in the
3. Create a hot execution team everyone wants to be in. way of the organization’s follow-through. Managers need to do
4. Getting hands-on personal involvement. more than outmaneuver the opponents to any single new idea.
They need to show everyone on their team how to instinctively let
go of this impulsive reaction, of attacking anything new and
1 Outmaneuver your reluctant people. unfamiliar.”
– Laurence Haughton
Every organization has people who are ethically and religiously
To achieve this in practice, there are three steps involved:
against anything that involves change. This applies even when
the changes are obviously needed and will benefit everyone over 1. Start with a dialogue where you teach people it’s all right to let
the long term. go of outdated ideas – by looking at situations where
corporate decision makers couldn’t let go of their old ideas to
To outmaneuver these people and generate more buy-in for
respond to changing market conditions. Ideal candidates for
following through from the rank and file, there are four things you
this type of discussion are Dell vs. established PC makers,
can do:
GM’s Oldsmobile car division and Encyclopedia Britannica.
1. Kick off your change initiative with a genuinely impressive Explore the reasons why these companies didn’t make
“wow!” event – that will capture everyone’s attention. Most rational decisions, even in the face of unquestionable
often, this will involve achieving something truly impressive evidence.
where everyone was forecasting impending doom and
2. Conduct a team exercise – where you have everyone
gloom. Pick a wow! event which will be biased towards
participate in listing examples in your organization of:
success and which involves people who are enthusiastic
• Blinders – assumed beliefs about products and markets.
rather than reluctant.
• Comfort zones – well worn ways of doing things.
2. Blitzkrieg your reluctants – that is, follow through so fast with • Sacred cows – taboo subjects nobody speaks about.
more and more evidence of success that the reluctant types • Sunk costs – throwing good money after bad.
don’t have a chance to get organized or to start a whispering
3. Finally, put together a list – of all the things that you’d like to
campaign. Keep the early successes coming fast and strong
let go of as an organization in order to grow in the future.
so you build such momentum for change everyone gets
Dwell on the benefits, without discounting the short-term
swept along. With any luck, you’ll have results in the bank
discomfort change will entail.
before they can even think up reasons why it won’t work.
3. Create some advocates amongst your rank-and-file “The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in
employees – ideally individuals who have been “liberated” escaping from old ones.”
from nonproductive work and who are passionate about – John Maynard Keynes
moving things forward in order to enhance job security.
“In business, the force that breaks an organization free from its
These advocates will become your ambassadors for change
inertia is called ‘buy-in’. Buy-in is management shorthand for an
because they have inside knowledge of how bad things used
associate’s willingness to trust and go in new or unfamiliar
to be. They also have the advantage of having no hidden
directions and do his or her best to help others on the team follow
agendas.
through. Conventional wisdom says that if your reasons for
4. Take your immediate success stories to the CEO and other changing direction are well communicated and your plan is solid,
top managers – and let them hear from people in all layers of the majority of people will buy in automatically. At the most, that
the organization what’s going on. This will have the effect of conventional wisdom continues, if their buy-in isn’t automatic,
deflating the expectations of anyone who is reluctant. In managers can get enough buy-in by giving their teams a chance
addition, the CEO will get a feel for the increases in to participate in deciding what is to be done. But that line of
productivity and performance which are bubbling away inside thinking doesn’t match up to reality. More often than not, no
the organization. The CEO has the energy, the clout and the matter how well a leader communicates the reasons, or how
resources to expand and build on success, disarming any intelligently he plans, or even how much participation he
threat the initiative can be derailed by the naysayers. facilitates, not buying in is the automatic reaction to new or
unfamiliar directions. So managers need the skills for starting the
“Most managers think that the obvious need for change, careful
implementation of every bright idea and change in direction with
planning, and good communications will counter this negativity.
more buy-in – enough to break their teams free from the law of
These managers forget the truth of the human condition. A
inertia.”
negative person’s attack is not founded on reason. It’s an
– Laurence Haughton
emotional appeal to people’s fear of change. You cannot reason
a person out of a position they did not reason themselves into.” “Following through is not as simple as most executives expect.”
– Laurence Haughton – Laurence Haughton
 It’s Not What You Say...It’s What You Do - Page 6

Create a hot execution team 4 Getting hands-on personal involvement.

3 everyone wants to be in.
Getting high performance people to work together in a hot team
Hot execution teams are those where the work is fun and sounds daunting, but it’s not as challenging as it may seem at
challenging, where everyone feels like they’re doing something first glance. It depends to some degree on the amount of
important. When you’re part of a hot team, you can’t wait to get to interdependence required, but to a larger degree the overall
work each day to see what you can achieve. Morale is performance of a team will rise or fall on the strength of the
exceptionally high when you’re on a hot team where everyone is relationships between the team’s members.
enthusiastic about achieving things. So how do you lead a hot team? The smart approach is not to
So how do you build a hot team around the concept of getting even try doing it yourself, but to distribute the responsibilities of
more things done? There are some simple do’s and don’ts: leadership across the team members and let them lead
themselves. To do this into practice:
n Don’t become rule-bound – but trust the collective judgement
of the team members. Hot teams cannot exist in an overly n Set up a buddy system – where established team members
structured environment, so avoid this at all costs. assume responsibility to show new people the ropes. A good
buddy should be willing to share all the knowledge they have
n Don’t be unfair – but judge and reward people within the team
and to provide any on-the-job training that’s required. This
on the strength of their actual performance rather than the
has two-way advantages in that the person doing the training
depth of their political connections. Ideally, let the team itself
knows they can be eligible for more opportunities to advance
decide who should be rewarded the most and stick with that.
their own careers by making certain their protege is fully
Hot teams always know who actually contributes the most.
capable of taking over their duties.
n Don’t be mean – that is, don’t use tactics which humiliate,
n Put in place comprehensive coaching arrangements – where
manipulate or attempt to create scapegoats out of team
a coach is available to provide advice, give feedback and
members. Always attack problems rather than people.
deliver regular performance appraisals. Coaches need to be
n Like your people – and enjoy working together. Protect your higher in the organization than the people they are coaching.
people from bureaucratic interference and they’ll move A reasonable ratio is for one coach to work with between
heaven and earth for you. seven and ten people at most.
n Believe in your people – and be prepared to go out on a limb. n Appoint team advisors – resource people who will sit down
Demonstrate that you have complete confidence in their with each person and put together a personalized career
ability to get the job done and you’ll be pleasantly surprised development plan. Team advisors help people gain new
how often people exceed your expectations when given half a competencies and steer everyone in the right direction.
chance.
n Provide robust 360-degree feedback – with information
n Listen to what your people are saying – that will increase trust, coming from peers, subordinates, superiors as well as
be an opportunity for one-on-one information gathering and self-assessment. You should seek the opinion of everyone
lower the barriers. All of these actions have the ultimate effect who has a stake in the future path of the business in
of enhancing self-esteem. completing this evaluation.
n Make teamwork engaging – so that everyone feels like they
“Unrestrained knowledge sharing, people looking out for one
are part of something great. Make people feel like they were
another rather than sitting on their hands, everyone buying in to
‘chosen’ to belong to the team because of their skills and
the group’s big objective and going above and beyond to follow
background interests. You might even designate someone to
through – this is the level of teamwork we all dream of. But it
be the official Visionary, someone else to be the Skeptic,
doesn’t have to be a dream. The obstacles to teamwork are
another person to be the Technologist and so on. Set roles
significant. There are innumerable task interdependencies and
that plays to the strengths of your people.
countless interactions. Any crack among all the relationships
n Let the team members make actual decisions – about the way could cause your follow-through to fail. When you do the math
they want to work. Great people will love the freedom to and compare the time and attention it could take, the
decide, and will usually act responsibly and productively. complications appear to be overwhelming. But if you can see in
your staff the willingness of each person to ‘add their own touch
“Hot team members want to come to work, enjoy being at work,
to shaping and improving the future path of the business’, and
and would rather work for you than for someone else. That
focus that drive, turning it into coaching and providing helpful
translates into less absenteeism, more initiative, and greater
feedback, the result will be naturally improved relationships and
company loyalty, three results that are hardly impractical or
teamwork.”
idealistic. What’s more, hot teams feel they can trust
– Laurence Haughton
management and the company’s direction. That translates into
the willingness to try new ideas and support changes in direction, “The average businessperson demonstrates an average
creating more buy-in. Every minute you spend to make your amount of commitment. They stick to their promises as long as
team hot will make your business better.” things are going as planned. But when things don’t they fall back
– Laurence Haughton on excuses. ‘You’ve got to understand’ makes it all too easy to
accept the conditions that disappoint customers and lead to their
“When people feel special, they’ll perform beyond your wildest
defection. Commitment means never asking the other side ‘to
dreams. Creating a hot team is about mind-set. Hot teams don’t
understand’. Instead of dodging responsibilities, commitment
necessarily have to be organized around exciting projects.
means to take a deep breath and recommit yourself.”
We’ve built teamwork into even seemingly ordinary tasks.”
– Laurence Haughton
– Tom Kelly, manager, IDEO
 It’s Not What You Say...It’s What You Do - Page 7

In sharing your purpose, you’ll also need to overcome skepticism

Building
Use personal initiative to keep moving and cynicism. Do this by stressing you’re responsible for your
Block #4
actions, and that the opinions of the cynics are really of little
consequence. Great achievements have always been made
against a background of naysayers and doubters. Be patient,
Leaders must do everything feasible to maintain the mood for
show determination and be ready to follow through relentlessly.
following through on what needs to get done. The only way this
With luck, even your critics will eventually admit (even if they do
will happen is if people are encouraged to use their personal
so grudgingly) that you are committed to your cause.
initiative rather than constantly waiting for directions and
instructions. To guarantee more initiative: “You must have noticed that it is not easy to make ends meet.
1. Share your purpose for why things need to be done. Why is this? You yourself produce goods of various kinds (milk,
2. Show more respect for the judgement of the people involved. grain, potatoes, etc.) and I suppose you do not receive too much
payment for them. No, I am sure you don’t. Yet everything is so
3. Hit the right balance between enough and too much fantastically expensive. To a great extent, this is due to the
accountability. middlemen. We have taken a step in the right direction by
offering you goods at the same prices your dealer buys for, in
some cases even lower. IKEA will create a better everyday life
1 Share your purpose for why things need to be done. for the majority of people.”
– Ingvar Kamprad, founder, IKEA
Follow-through increases when people are given a plausible
reason to rise above tough conditions and actually do what “Walt Disney wasn’t trying to ‘extend the Disney brand’ as he
needs to be done. This is simple human nature. Money alone battled with lenders and municipalities who thought his Magic
won’t generate the kind of passionate commitment a shared Kingdom was a bad bet. Rather, he was driven to create
purpose can and will. Disneyland by his singular purpose, which was to build a place
that makes people happy. That purpose, not cold corporate
So how can you generate a shared purpose that will inspire your
analysis, extended the brand and made for a huge
people to exercise initiative and become better at following
multigenerational success.”
through? There are three things you can do:
– Laurence Haughton
1. Look at what you do through the eyes of your customers –
and focus on the good your product or service does for
Show more respect for the
customers. Inside every product is the potential to enhance 2 judgement of the people involved.
someone’s quality of life. Focus on that purpose rather than
making money and hopefully your people will feel more
inspired and motivated. Everyone likes the idea of doing Most managers are so focused on achieving their goals that they
good. give people strict directives and then demand absolute
compliance. Dissent is usually discouraged as being
2. Ask yourself and your people: “What gets you out of bed each
counter-productive and people are encouraged to follow their
morning?” – and stress the most fulfilling aspects of your
leaders, regardless of whether they turn out to be right or wrong.
work. Sometimes you’ll have to think back to precisely why
This can be a huge waste of time and resources, especially when
you got into your line of work in the first place. Or you may
people within the organization have more up-to-date information
have to emphasize those parts of your job description you’d
to work with.
enjoy doing, even if it was your hobby and not your source of
income. Refresh your thinking about where your personal To offset this potential impediment to effective follow-through,
satisfaction comes from and help everyone go through the managers need to show more respect for the judgement of their
same exercise. Personal motivation will surge when you people. Instead of demanding absolute compliance with their
revisit these kinds of issues. edicts, managers need to encourage people to use their own
initiative. To achieve this in practice:
3. Identify a common enemy that you are committed to
defeating as an organization – and use this imminent threat 1. Check your assumptions – and see whether they are causing
to engender a strong esprit de corps. Applaud any personal you to view the world in a way that harms your organization.
initiatives your people are taking to defeat that common The three most damaging and yet common management
enemy. Others will pick up on that theme and get into action assumptions are:
behind your banner. • Only the management need to know the financial details.
• The rank-and-file aren’t ready to understand things.
Once you find a purpose, you then need to share it and explain it
• Those at the top know best.
thoroughly if you’re to enhance follow-through. Write your
purpose down and discuss it at length. Bring this written 2. Nurture the confidence of your people – by encouraging them
description out whenever employees set goals or whenever to speak up if they disagree with what is being suggested.
managers come together in planning meetings. Define the Create an atmosphere where constructive dissent is fine, as
purpose so explicitly and clearly that you can develop actual long as there is a logical rationale behind what is being
quantitative measures. You can then create methods by which suggested rather than a personality clash. Be especially
goals can be set in this area and progress can be measured careful about what happens in the event things don’t go as
daily, weekly and monthly. All of these supplementary actions planned. The way you deal with the inevitable mistakes which
will enhance your organization’s sense of purpose and drive will crop up will speak volumes about what people should do
follow-through. Support that by creating recognition programs in the future, and how they should put forward their ideas.
which will institutionalize opportunities to recognize the Make it easy for people to speak up, even if things go awry,
contributions individuals make. and your organization will be better for it.
 It’s Not What You Say...It’s What You Do - Page 8

“We forget that the same people we are around at work go home
Hit the right balance between and build the new church, remodel the schoolroom, help a
3 enough and too much accountability. neighbor fix their car, organize the Heart Association’s local
fund-raising, all on their own without the pushing and prodding of
Accountability is directly linked to following through. As a general managers. We just need to unleash and focus those same
rule, the more accountable people feel for generating results, the motivations in their work.”
better. Like most things in business, however, too much – Mel Haught, CEO, Pella Corporation
accountability can be a problem. You have to be careful about
how much accountability you impose. Impose too much “You can say all you want, you can send e-mail and memos, but if
accountability and it ends up being counter-productive. keeping commitments is not built into the way your people think
about themselves and each other, it won’t happen. You do what it
For example, making one employee accountable for results
is that you say you’re going to do. We had an obligation. We
which are highly dependent on the on-time input of someone
owed our investors. We owed our customers. We owed our
else is pointless. So too is accurately assigning accountability
employees. Plus we believe in the market. The robustness and
when the results depend on the highly coordinated actions of a
stamina of the follow-through is my responsibility. All our
number of teams. It’s also difficult to make people accountable
promises have my name on them.”
when there are time and cost pressures involved which are less
– James Crowe, CEO, Level 3 Communications
than ideal. Managers need to find the line between too much and
not enough accountability. “Good judgement is the result of experience, and a lot of that
To achieve this in practice: comes from bad judgement.”
1. Start by defining your concept of accountability realistically – – Will Rogers
taking into account real world conditions. The ideal definition “Why should we have to put all kinds of stuff in place to follow up?
of accountability is: “Accountability is a partnership, where We have found it is better to let people go. As long as we have
smart, creative, and hardworking managers divide big competent people and we give them the right prerequisites – the
expectations into clearly understood pieces, then mutually information, the knowledge and the tools – we can trust that they
agree with an individual or a group that the latter will take will get the job done without any prodding or pushing.
responsibility for their part. The manager then follows up with Follow-through just happens naturally. We found if someone has
useful and constructive feedback.” Assess honestly and the passion and leadership facilitates the right conditions, there’s
candidly how your actual conditions match that idealistic nothing stopping them. We communicate, we network and we’re
definition, especially in the areas of “clearly understood humanistic. We have values. It’s just that simple.”
pieces” and “mutual agreement”. – Pernille Spiers-Lopez, president,
2. Ask yourself how much control the group or an individual will North American Division, IKEA
have over the outcomes achieved – and determine whether
the degree of accountability you have in mind is fair. Often, “Conventional wisdom says the way to get more individual
bad performance is the result of the actions of managers initiative is for managers to emphasize individual accountability
rather than the front-line workers themselves. Be (by developing programs like MAPS - minimum acceptable
even-handed and fair. performance standards) and apply significant consequences for
poor performance (like dismissing the poorest-performing 5- to
3. Consider how good your managers are at giving useful 10-percent of employees each year). But, conventional wisdom
feedback – because this is an integral element if can often be wrong. Strict accountability and hard-nosed
accountability is to work. If your managers are good at this, consequences are not effective strategies for getting individuals
you can expect more accountability from your people. And and groups to show enough initiative.”
conversely, if this isn’t one of your management’s strong – Laurence Haughton
points, it’s unreasonable to demand tighter accountability
from your people. “Half of all the decisions a company makes in order to solve
4. Decide what’s more important to achieving your goals – some problem or take advantage of some opportunity will fall
pinpoint accountability or collaboration. You may find that it’s through the cracks in less than two years not because of
more important for everyone to work together than it is to uncontrollable factors like a recession, unexpected cost hikes or
keep score of who’s accountable for each misstep. any other outside factors but simply from a lack of follow through.
And a 50-percent failure rate is for the average company To
5. Never look at accountability as a panacea for every
avoid this, managers who have cracked the code understand
management ill – but realize that each workplace is unique
four things are required: (1) Having a clear direction so everyone
and will need to be judged individually. There is no
understands where they’re headed in no uncertain terms. (2)
one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to deciding
Matching the right people to every goal. (3) Getting off to a great
accountability issues.
start with plenty of buy-in. (4) Making sure everyone maintains
In essence, finding that line between too much and not enough their momentum by increasing individual initiative. These are the
accountability is hard. You’ll need to have a good feel for the step-by-step solutions by which leaders can take their team,
strengths and weaknesses of your organization, matched by an their department, their division, their region or entire company to
awareness of the realities of your competitive circumstances. a new level of thoroughness and reliability under the toughest
Decide in advance how much accountability is enough and it competitive conditions.”
becomes a useful tool. Used indiscriminately, however, – Laurence Haughton
accountability can do more damage than good.

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