At Collaborative Xceleration we think about the process of getting a business from idea to reality in two phases – idea to plan, and plan to reality. Excellent ExecutionSM focuses on the execution, implementation and operations necessary to move business plans off the page (‘plan to reality’). That isn’t to say that disciplined and flexible execution isn’t necessary in getting from ‘idea to plan’.
Previously I noted that “tactical plans need to be built on a good strategic business plan“. Taking your idea and building a good plan, that people believe is worth funding, requires disciplined yet flexible execution of those efforts. During this stage a business owner is continually learning information about what it takes to turn their idea into reality. They need to be flexible enough to accept the new information and incorporate it into their plans – changing them, if and when necessary. They need to be disciplined enough to take the time to ask the tough questions about product costs, marketing strategy, sales channels, selling prices, etc.
Without this discipline and flexibility during the planning and funding efforts a business owner can end up developing the wrong product, or targeting a market that doesn’t exist, or bringing products to market in the wrong order thereby not maximizing revenue while minimizing associated investment – or a host of other problems that would end up being barriers or obstacles along the way to reaching their objectives. Even raising outside investment requires discipline – without it you can cause yourself legal problems down the road.
Now, I don’t position myself as a strategic planner, and I’m not a market strategist or securities lawyer, but I know when to use the expertise of people who are. This is the discipline of making the best use of the available resources. If you don’t know how to do these things, or don’t recognize when you need the help of an expert, then you should take the time to get educated about how to start a business or get someone on your advisory team who is.