Execution: The Discipline of Doing Simple Things Consistently and Well

by John Walton

Overview

What separates the Master from the Apprentice, the Craftsman from the Amateur, a Winner from the Loser, or an exceptional performance from an average effort? The answer is often explained in one word, Execution.

Around the world the word Execution has broad meaning encompassing every action people undertake. The problem is, nobody has explained what behaviors when actually executing help maximize success. Until now, we were left to the school of hard knocks to figure out how to execute well.

Mr. Walton brings a unique insight to improving individual results by identifying a set of simple innate behaviors that if developed will increase one's ability to execute in every situation. The reader will learn to define execution in a new way, and learn how simple behaviors performed consistently and well result in greater success.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781504987257
Publisher:	AuthorHouse
Publication date:	03/30/2016
Pages:	108
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.22(d)

Read an Excerpt

Execution

The Discipline of Doing Simple Things Consistently and Well

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By John Walton

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2016 John Walton
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-5049-8725-7

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CHAPTER 1

Awareness

"If I were asked for the most important advice I could give, that which I considered to be the most useful to the men of our century, I should simply say: in the name of God, stop a moment, cease your work, and look around you."

The Wasatch Mountain Range extends south from the Utah-Idaho border for about 160 miles. Millions of years ago, glaciers carved out numerous canyons along this range. On the western side of the Wasatch Range, about 30 miles south of Salt Lake City is the mouth of American Fork canyon. Evidence shows the canyon was populated by early native cultures, and later became a source of various minerals and timber for the pioneers that settled in the area.

A few miles up the canyon from is the Department of Interior operated Visitor and Information Center for Timpanogos Cave National Monument.

Between 1887, and 1921 three distinct caverns were discovered and rediscovered in Mt. Timpanogos by various individuals. The first of these caverns was found by a logger seeking timber on the steep slopes. The other two caverns were discovered later by visitors and family members who were hunting in the canyon.

The three caverns were subsequently connected by man-made tunnels to create a multi-cavern cave system. In addition a trail was built to make it easier for visitors to reach the cave. Today, during the summer months, the U.S. forest service provides guided tours of the cave throughout the day.

The cave's entrance is at a point approximately 1,000 feet above the canyon floor. Access requires visitors to hike up a relatively steep paved trail that originates at the Visitor and Information Center.

To preserve the caves delicate limestone features and prevent predatory wildlife from populating the cave, the natural openings have been covered so that inside the cave there is no natural light.

At some point during the tour the guide will extinguishes the interior lights, leaving everyone drenched in total darkness, and will ask that visitors restrict their speaking to a quiet whisper. Soon the only sounds are those created by visitors moving gingerly about in the blackness. One might hear occasional splashing from drops of water that over millennia have formed various limestone tubes, shields, stalactite, and stalagmite features.

Soon visitors begin to notice odors trapped within the moist but stagnant air. You can taste the minerals present in the caverns. In the silence you can not only hear the beating of your own heart, but the heartbeat of people standing near you.

Our eyes are responsible for 90% of the information we obtain, and immersed in darkness the eye's pupils dilate to their maximum. The brain, lacking its primary source of stimuli, strains for input and slowly begins to enhance the other senses. It seeks information, striving to be aware.

Awareness is the first behavior needed to execute effectively.

So what is awareness? Awareness is the act of assimilating that which is taking place within our environment and developing a more complete understanding of our situation.

Awareness allows us to live in the moment while anticipating future consequences, then take action to avoid, mitigate, transfer, and either minimize or maximize the impact.

When we are aware, we recognize factors that we can leverage as opposed to respond to. Awareness helps us adapt, adjust and pursue alternatives.

Without awareness, luck drives the success or failure of events. It is impossible to consciously take action relative to things we are not aware of. The greater our awareness, the more likely we are to apply that knowledge to our advantage.

Awareness also has a time factor associated with it. If you are attending a baseball game, and a player hits the ball in your direction, you want to know well in advance if it is headed toward you so you have time to react and avoid being hit in the face by the ball.

Awareness is not just a personal behavior. It is applicable in many areas of our society. Consider;

Sports teams gather information on opponents so as to be aware of their opponent's abilities in order to develop a more effective game plan.

Governments devote massive resources gathering intelligence information and analyzing it in order to be aware of global activities that can impact their citizens and society.

Businesses seek information so as to be aware of market opportunities and emerging technologies in order to gain an advantage over competitors.

For people, our awareness is an innate ability, meaning it is an ability we are born with. It is also an ability that varies within each of us. Even when an individual's ability from birth is exceptional, it is still possible to further develop this ability.

This innate ability begins in the form of our five senses, vision, touch, smell, taste, and hearing. The senses provide the information about the world around us that enables us to be aware.

Jack Canfield, once stated, "By taking the time to stop and appreciate who you are and what you've achieved – and perhaps learned through a few mistakes, stumbles and losses – you actually can enhance everything about you".

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SELF AND SITUATIONAL AWARENESS

When discussing awareness, the dialogue generally centers around two areas. The first is self-awareness, the second is situational awareness. Both have their place when it comes to execution.

Self-awareness deals with understanding yourself, what motivates and drives you, your attitude, morals, ideals, what you desire, your goals, and talents.

We are all different, and have different outlooks. Different things drive us, and make us happy or sad. We find pleasure in different things, different colors, different kinds of music, different styles of clothes, different scenery, and different personalities. Self-awareness is about discovering what drives you, your thought, actions, and your behaviors.

Situational awareness is about understanding and assessing the current environment, and discovering the factors driving the people or events taking place around us.

Through situational awareness we gather the information needed to adapt and respond. When we are aware of the situation, we can make choices that increase our own or others happiness, improve an outcome, increase opportunities, and diminish failures. In short, our execution improves.

Everyone can develop increased self and situational awareness, but this requires us making a conscious effort. Many people find that maintaining a personal journal helps them analyze their day, and evaluate their actions and behavior. However you choose to become more aware, start by making it a daily practice.

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DEVELOPING AWARENESS

There are many techniques for increasing awareness.

Reflection is a technique for improving awareness. I previously mentioned the practice of keeping a journal. Maintaining a journal provides a way to look back at past experiences and learn from them. Writing things down forces us to remember the events taking place and reflect on them. It forces us to think about what took place and recognize things that in the heat of the moment were not obvious.

Reflection is best in moments of calm, rather than during intense moments of activity when emotion or adrenaline can influence actions and decisions.

That said, usually it is critical to increase our awareness of events occurring at the moment. It is a little late to wait to record in your journal that you were hit by a train and killed. Some things require immediate awareness. It starts by making awareness a conscious habit.

For most of us, the primary cause for a lack of awareness is simply the failure to take a moment to look around in order to be more aware of what is going on.

Consider, when you park your car, do you take a moment to note where it was parked so you can find your car later?

Do you look both ways before crossing the street, twice? Before leaving the house, do you check your appearance in the mirror; confirm that a stove was not left on, or that you haven't forgotten your wallet, checkbook, or sunglasses, etc.? Are you aware of the time? Do you consciously make a mental note where you set down your keys, purse, or wallet?

These are simple things that if neglected can result in a less than desirable outcome. The same types of awareness behaviors apply to every aspect of the things we do in business, church, community, etc.

To improve your awareness, begin by asking questions. Who is in attendance? What is the agenda? Who is in charge? What hasn't been considered? What is missing? How have conditions changed?

Of course the biggest problem isn't always about gathering information, but determining if the information has relevance. Consider that for most people, much of the daily news we hear broadcast has little if any relevance to our own lives.

Obtaining information for the sake of being informed doesn't contribute to our ability to be more effective. Libraries are filled with information that is largely irrelevant. Establishing what and when information is relevant is the challenge.

The second key practice to developing awareness involves evaluating whether the information enhances the vision or value of activities you are engage in, or if it is a distraction that prevents you from focusing on what is important.

The mind has the incredible capability to store and retain all the information it takes in, but it also filters information from our consciousness that it has been trained to consider irrelevant. People who live by noisy railroad tracks know that this type of filtering happens. My wife refers to it as selective hearing.

Increasing awareness requires retraining the mind to know when and what information is important, and what to filter out. One problem is that no two people share the same informational requirements. We must determine for ourselves what type of information we need.

In his stories Sir Author Conan Doyle's character known as Sherlock Holmes, was a master at discerning information present in the environment around him and subsequently categorizing, prioritizing and establishing its relevance to solving a problem. His ability to see beyond the obvious allowed Holmes to grasp the underlying facts of a situation. Holmes talent for observation set him apart from his peers.

One reason Sherlock Holmes was able to recognize clues beyond the obvious was because he acquired through personal study a wealth of information in a broad range of subjects, but not just any subject. Holmes studies topics that would facilitate investigations and help him decipher clues that criminals might inadvertently leave behind.

To Sherlock Holmes, a few bits of tobacco at a crime scene offered more than the obvious fact someone had been smoking. His studies included categorizing characteristics of various tobaccos, allowing him to identify any type of tobacco he encounters. This potentially leads him to a unique brand of cigar. He also developed a list of tobacco sellers, including which brands were available at the various shops. By obtaining a list of the customers who purchase a specific tobacco brand, Holmes was able to create a short list of suspects.

Many of today's leading corporations are engaged in a similar activity know as data mining. Their objective it to know as much as possible about consumers, shopping trends, fashion styles, etc. so they can target their marketing efforts in a more effective manner.

Improving our awareness requires cultivating a broad knowledge of many subject areas. It is easier to appreciate art if you know something about art. People who study cars are more likely to appreciate the features or style of different models. This increased awareness is benefited by developing a more in-depth knowledge of those subjects that could have a direct or indirect impact on the activities you engage in.

The point is that the brain, with training has the capability to significantly increase its awareness of the constantly changing environment we live in. Those who learn to develop a behavior of increasing awareness will significantly improve their effectiveness when executing.

Lastly, we have all experienced that mental state called day dreaming. When we day dream, our state of awareness to the things taking place around us diminishes. We see things differently, or fail to hear or understand what others are saying. When we day dream we become unaware. Some people get so addicted to this state of mindless thinking that they seek this state by utilizing alcohol or mind influencing drugs that alter their reality.

If not monitored, this lack of conscious attention trains the mind to treat everything as unimportant.

In stark contrast, in life and death situations, people have stated that during that brief intense period of time when life hung in the balance, the world around them seems to be in slow motion. The extreme intensity of the moment causes the mind to accelerate its activity to a point that these individuals became aware of even minute details involving everything taking place around them. The experience is described as seeing life flash before your eyes.

This happens when the brain is in a heightened level of activity. Our normal cognitive mind is so busy compared to its normal activity that our awareness of things appears to move slower than they in fact are.

We sometimes experience this when travelling at faster than normal speeds for long periods of time. Our mind become accustom to processing the increased amount of information passing by. However, when subsequently slowing down the mind need to readjust. Deceleration can make normally high speeds seem incredibly slow since the mind is expecting information at the higher rate.

The brain is one of the primary consumers of energy in the body. During very intense moments, the mind consumes even more energy in the form of glucose, and over an extended duration, it can leave a person physically exhausted. It is therefore important to take a break once in a while to allow the body time to refuel from stored energy.

Continuous improvement is an often discussed topic in the business world. It is interesting to consider, but the first step toward implementing improvements requires awareness of where ones performance is currently at. This requires obtaining some form of metric.

Metrics can help establish a baseline upon which to measure improvement. Awareness occurs by analyzing the metrics to achieve greater understanding of how execution of an activity might be improved.

To summarize, making a conscious effort to be more aware is a simply thing that only requires some discipline to be more effective.

CHAPTER 2

Focus

"Whenever you want to achieve something, keep your eyes open, concentrate and make sure you know exactly what it is you want. No one can hit their target with their eyes closed."

The retina of the human eye contains two types of photoreceptors, rods and cones. According to experts in human anatomy, the rods are more numerous in the amount of approximately 120 million. The rods are more sensitive than the cones and therefore generate more impulses to the brain. However, the rods are not sensitive to color.

Cones provide the eye's color sensitivity. In comparison, to the rods, the eye has relatively few cones, a mere six to seven million.

To better appreciate the level of concentration and proximity of these receptors consider that today's high definition televisions use approximately two million pixels dispersed across a 46 inch diagonal monitor.

The cones in the eye are largely concentrated at the back of the eye within an area known as the Macula. At the center of the Macula is the "Fovea Centralis" an entirely rod-free area comprised entirely of very thin, densely packed cones. These highly concentrated cones gather light equivalent to very high resolution images for the brain to process.

While the combination of rods and cones in the human eye are able to detect motion in a 200 degree field we call peripheral vision, the portion of an image upon which we focus our attention is limited to the Fovea Centralis. This small region limits the acute vision angle to about 15 degrees.

In order to focus on objects of special interest, we unconsciously position our head and eyes so that the projected image of items of interest falls on this dense set of cones in the Fovea Centralis.

You can experience this by picking two objects in the room about three feet away from you, and at least two feet apart, each with details that require that you concentrate in order to see them clearly.

Without turning your head or moving your eyes, see if you can identify details of the second object while still looking at the details of the first item. Unless you are someone exceptional, you will not be able to. Next try moving your eyes back and forth between the two objects as quickly as you can, ensuring before each move that you clearly see the detail of each object, as opposed to simply shifting back and forth and creating a visual blur.

You will discover that it requires a moment; a fraction of a second perhaps, for your eyes to move and stabilize on the object in order to process its image. For that brief moment, your mental capabilities align to focus on the object.

The second behavior of effective execution is the ability to focus your mental capabilities. Focus is the art of not allowing attention to wander, but to concentrate on the task.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from Execution by John Walton. Copyright © 2016 John Walton. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Contents

Preface, v,
About the Author, vii,
Acknowledgements, ix,
PROLOGUE The Battlefield, 1,
INTRODUCTION The Art of Execution, 11,
CHAPTER ONE Awareness, 31,
CHAPTER TWO Focus, 40,
CHAPTER THREE Balance, 52,
CHAPTER FOUR Timing, 57,
CHAPTER FIVE Communication, 64,
CHAPTER SIX Details, 70,
CHAPTER SEVEN Precision, 79,
CHAPTER EIGHT Attitude, 86,