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.