Principles of Ruthless Execution John Sifonis Managing Director Internet Business Solutions Group
Dec 23, 2015
Principles of Ruthless ExecutionJohn Sifonis
Managing DirectorInternet Business Solutions Group
Typical Barriers to Project Success
Poor participation from project sponsors
Project selection is not prioritized on a portfolio basis
Undefined business value and success metrics
Achievement of business benefit is not measured
Continual and unregulated change
Unrealistic project timeframes
THE PURSUIT OF A GOAL IN SUCH A MANNER AS TO ASSURE IT’S ACHIEVEMENT WITHIN AGREED PARAMETERS REGARDLESS OF OBSTACLES WHICH MAY ARISE.
Ruthless Execution
Guiding Principles for Ruthless Execution
The Alignment Principle: Close partnership of IT to business at all levels
with clearly defined roles, shared responsibility, and accountability.
The “Net-Ready” Principle: IT opportunities are filtered through criteria
which ensures readiness prior to project start. The Prioritization Principle:
Business determines value tradeoffs for IT investments based on “Best Value” return; business controls IT spending; keep accounting simple.
Guiding Principles for Ruthless Execution
The Corporate Standards Principle: Projects follow corporate processes,
infrastructure and enterprise architecture procedures.
The Phasing Principle: Demand near term results; 3-6 month
deliverables on all IT Initiatives. The Measurement Principle:
Serious and accountable metrics drive decision making and action.
Ruthless Execution in Practice
Commitments by team members are treated seriously
Punctuality in meetings, calls, and deliverables is enforced
Members are expected to keep their own functional areas informed and if need be coordinate additional resources
Members are expected to contribute personally, not just coordinate
If a process, procedure, or protocol stands in the way of success, it is changed. The team is expected to properly coordinate this.
If implementing a plan requires disposing of prior efforts, existing software or systems, etc., it is done without remorse. A postmortem in this case re-looks at rationale behind original investment
Ruthless Execution Continued
If a problem cannot be solved as the team would like or within time constraints, a work-around will be adopted until a permanent solution can be deployed
Should it become evident that the project will fail, the team will assess the reasons and debrief all impacted organizations
Should a team member not perform, the team will request a replacement
Should a contractor or partner not perform, another will be selected
Ruthless Execution - People Team, Company, and Customer success are
paramount Motivation toward personal recognition is
unwelcome Team members understand that what they do is
play a role, and that roles evolve and change Members regardless of position or title operate
as a group of peers Leadership within the group is fluid, moving as
tasks demand Passion about the goal is expected but flavored
with objectivity Continued involvement in teams is expected
Ruthless Execution - Company
We are not the experts in everything… so we partner or acquire to obtain what we need
Markets and technologies change… so we alter direction, reorganize, partner, or acquire to adapt
Our agility and success are a direct result of talented people, strong character, and leadership
Healthy paranoia is maintained to avoid surprises
Prioritize Projects
Problems Solutions
Breakthrough Strategies
Rational Experimentation
NewFundamentals
Operational Excellence
Efficiency Value Creation
Innovation/Newness
BusinessCriticality
Low
High
Low High
BusinessImpact
Low High
High
Low Ease of Implementation
Quick Wins
Must Have’s
MoneyPits
Low Hanging
Fruit
Prioritization Matrix
Net ReadinessTM Framework
MetricsMetrics
• Cost savings• Enablers of culture
change• Customer
satisfaction• Experience builders
Example: Metrics for Prioritization
Hit Rate
Early Mover
Advantage
Frictionless
Execution
Productivity
Factor
• Innovations in operational excellence; reengineering
• Efficiency focus• Improving customer
value• Likely success as an investment
• Organizational and eBusiness learning
• Cost of regret
• Success at creating new products/services, or new markets, or new channels
• New business models• Sustained competitive
advantage
Business Impact
Business Impact
MetricsMetrics
• Cost of license• Cost of integration
services• Cost of making
Risk
Time
Finance
• Process simplicity• Number of users• Connectivity to users
• Level of security required
• Newness of initiative
• Quality and availability of data
Ease-of-ImplementEase-of-
Implement
Human Resources
• Availability of skilled resources
• Time required to train personnel
• Tools for scalability
Strategic Fit
• Fifinancial t with vision, strategic and objectives of the corporation
FinanceCustomer RM
Exec. ManagementEmployee Portal
Knowledge Management
1
3 2
21
26
28
814
23
7
17
13
19
20
Bu
sin
ess C
riti
cally
Innovation/NewnessLow High
Low
HighEfficiency New Value Creation
5
11
41.3
eERP
Virtual Closee-Tax
EmployeeInternet Portal
eProcurement
Knowledge Mgt
e-LearningEasy Shopping
Directory
Sales ForceAutomation
eHolidays
31
12.212.1
21.2
21.3
21.4
21.6
21.7
21.9
21.10
22.1
24.1
16
12.324
27
21.1
6
22
21.5
15
18
25
10
22.2
21.12
21.13Benefits
24.224.3
24.4
33
3534
OngoingPlanned
Example: Internet Value Matrix
Prioritization Matrix
Online Sales
BusinessImpact
Low High
High
Low Ease of Execution
Quick Wins
Must Have’s
MoneyPits
Low Hanging
Fruit
Prioritization Matrix
Ongoing
eERP
Quick WinsVirtual Close
eTax
eFinance
EIS
eProcurement
Must Haves
Low-Hanging FruitMoney Pits
Easy Shopping
e.Contact Center
Employee Portal
eStock Options
eHolidays
eBenefits
Directory
Payroll
eLearningAdvertising
Management
Example Prioritization Matrix
Planned
Deliverable
Deliverable
BusinessImpact
Ease of Execution
Low High
High
Low
3 Months
6 Months
9 Months
Set Up Project Phasing
Break Projects into Phases with Concrete Deliverables
Tool NameJul O Jn Ap Jl O Jn Ap Jul O Jn Ap Jul O Jan Ap Jul O Jn Ap
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
6/30
7/3 8/31
10/2 2/29
12/1 3/29
3/1 4/30
5/1 7/31
11/1 1/31
1/1 6/30
6/2 7/31
8/1 8/319/1 9/30
9/1 2/27
9/1 2/279/1 9/30
3/2 7/31
9/1 2/26
7/1 12/31
9/2 10/31
Aged Account Summary Tool
Service Contract Tools (Service Contract Center)
Product Upgrade Tool
Return Status Tool
Return Tool
Order Extract Tool
Ordering Tool (IPC/J)
E-mail Notification Tools
RMA/Service Order Tools (Service Order Submit)
Invoice Total
Integrated Commerce Solution
Service Contract Tools (Contract Status Agent)
Ordering Tool (IPC)
Lead Times Tool
RMA/Service Order Tools (Service Order Status/Parts)
Configuration Tool
Pricing Tool
Order Status Tool 3/1
Examples of Rapid Initial Deployment Cycle
Application Customer self-service for
technical support inquiries Order status Online software
distribution Electronic Commerce
agents Configuration, Status,
Pricing, Service Order submit
Invoice agent Internetworking Product
Center (IPC)
Initial implementation 5 man-months (12-16
since) 3 man-months (40-60
since) 6 people, 6 months
(constant feature additions)
1 person, 2 months 4 people 6 months
(constant feature additions)
Accelerating Project Lifecycles
RFI RFP Pilot Develop Test Document Train
Time
Traditional project lifecycle
Pilot
Develop
Test
Document
Train
Time
Accelerated project lifecycle
Define Success Metrics
New ROI Definitions
Cost savings / revenue generation always of interest, but not required
Customer satisfaction is strong focus Market leadership can drive returns Employee empowerment and
satisfaction foster acceleration
Success Metrics
Combine IT & business measures Established before project completion Focus on driving adoption Publish results widely Evaluate regularly Use as basis for performance evaluation Metrics should be SMART: simple,
measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound
Perform Reality Check
Reality Check
Solid business unit ownership, executive sponsorship
Budget approved Stakeholders identified Communication plan prepared IT resources defined & assigned Key technology requirements identified Success metrics defined & approved
Lessons Learned
You can’t do everything at once Sometimes you must do interim
solutions and replace them later Smaller projects in parallel
dramatically improve success Lagging Infrastructure and non-
standards can negate ROI Outsourcing leverages key resources
Concluding Remarks The principles of ruthless execution weren’t
developed in a day --- they were learned through successes and countless failures.
As with any principle, “Ruthless Execution” has to be part of the belief system of the company; it has to be preached AND practiced by senior management; it has to be imparted to ALL levels of the organization; it has to be rewarded.
But most important, if an individual doesn’t buy into the belief system or doesn’t adhere to the principles when dealing with their peer group, it might be a signal that the individual should seek other career opportunities.