THE 4 DISCIPLINES OF EXECUTION

“Although the disciplines may seem simple at first glance, they are not simplistic. They will profoundly change the way you approach your goals. Once you adopt them, you will never lead in the same way again, whether you are a project coordinator, lead a small sales team, or run a Fortune 500 company. We believe they represent a major breakthrough in how to move teams and organizations forward.

Here’s a quick overview of the 4 Disciplines.

Discipline 1: Focus on the Wildly Important. Basically, the more you try to do, the less you actually accomplish. This is a stark, inescapable principle that we all live with.

Discipline 2: Act on Lead Measures. This is the discipline of leverage. It’s based on the simple principle that not all actions are created equal. Some actions have more impact that others when reaching for a goal. And it is those you want to identify and act on if you want to reach your goal.

Discipline 3: Keep a Compelling Scorecard. People play differently when they are keeping score. If you doubt this, watch any group of teenagers playing basketball and see how the game changes the minute scorekeeping begins.

Discipline 4: Create a Cadence of Accountability. Discipline 4 is where execution really happens. The first three disciplines set up the game, but until you apply Discipline 4, your team isn’t in the game.”

- Chris McChesney, Sean Covey, Jim Huling from The 4 Disciplines of Execution