According to Professor Sean Wise, who claims to have worked with more than 15,000 entrepreneurs (including many with the popular TV shows Shark Tank and Dragon’s Den), no matter how great the idea and the opportunity, in the end it is only the execution that creates change and generates wealth.
His new book, “HOT or NOT: How to know if your Business Idea will Fly or Fail,” focuses not only on the elements of a good idea and a good pitch, but also on the key attributes that we both look for in identifying the entrepreneur who can deliver, versus the fast-talking idea person:
- Never fails to be an evangelist.
This entrepreneur gets out there and actively looks for people who can
help make an idea into a business, including potential customers,
suppliers, employees, investors, friends and peers. No secret
discussions about the great idea, or paranoia that someone else will
steal it.
- Willing to listen, and will address skeptical views.
Good executors always ask the hard questions, and don’t let people get
away with saying just what they want to hear. They dig deep, and keep
asking questions until they understand what you don’t like or won’t
work, and even offer do some homework before getting back with a better
answer.
- Proactively sets metrics and track goals.
There are more things in a business to keep track of than any single
human being can accomplish without a serious project management mindset.
Good implementers find a way to translate long-term goals into daily
action items, and make sure everyone is “singing from the same song
book.”
- Ties rewards to performance results.
Effective business people work hard to align everyone in the
organization toward key metrics. They don’t hire friends, or just pay
people for showing up and looking busy. A properly designed rewards
structure is the most powerful tool for mobilizing the team to meet business success objectives.
- Ties organizational structure to strategy.
The entrepreneur who can execute quickly identifies strategic value
chain activities and can quickly communicate who’s in charge of each
one, so these key activities don’t fall between the cracks. This doesn’t
require that all traditional titles be filled, to impress investors, or
due to a lack of imagination.
- Willing to question assumptions and adapt.
Most successful startups make several major pivots early in their
business lives. The chances of your first business plan being correct
are very low, so great entrepreneurs take ownership of their plan and
make it a living document. Others commit to stay the blind course, and
will probably fail.
- Entrepreneur is a personal role model.
Not only does an entrepreneur breathe life into the company, but they
also instill their values, passion, and work ethic. If they can’t make
and keep commitments, neither will the company. Investors recognize
difficult personalities and large egos as high risk for effective
execution.
Certainly, successful implementation requires an understanding of the "big picture," but the devil is in the details. Yet leading for execution is definitely not about micro-managing people or doing it all yourself. It is about “owning” the process, leading others by example, with no excuses.
We have all heard lots of entrepreneurs proclaiming that their idea is the “best you will ever see!” But every investor and advisor I know has to think a long time before they can talk about the best execution they have ever seen. How many do you know?
