Mark W. Womack’s

I... Be unreasonable when setting performance and behavioral standards and expectations

II... Get everybody on the same page

III... Pay attention to how things are being done in the day-to-day aspects of organization performance

IV... Be constructively intolerant about performance and behavior variances related to disciplined execution – EVERY TIME

V... Be flexible about everything that doesn’t require disciplined execution

VI... Behave as-if

©2007 J.W. Webb, Inc.

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I... Be unreasonable when setting performance and behavioral standards and

First, the organization needs to have a vision or overarching goal that inspires the members of the organization to stretch well past their previous best performance and behavior. Extraordinary organizations begin here. The vision or goal must be audacious in its magnitude but also realistic in that the members of the organization must believe that they are collectively capable of achieving it if they realize their full potential.

A vision or goal well beyond an organization’s current state defies reason. By definition, such a vision or goal is excessive. Reasonable leaders wouldn’t have such thoughts. It follows that such a vision or goal requires organiza-tion leaders to be unreasonable in setting standards and expectations that relentlessly drive the performance and behavior of the organization toward the vision or goal.

Performance standards and expectations are what must be done. Behavior standards and expectations are

how organization members conduct themselves while achieving the what. Once these are set,

they must be imperatives that define the organi-zation as much as it’s products or services.

II... Get everybody on the same pageThe performance and behavior of the entire organization must be inspired

and guided by the same vision or overarching goal. Every individual excep-tion to this undermines the organization’s drive to realize its full potential and negates some of the progress made by those team members who are unit-ed behind a common purpose and ambition. The organization must be con-stantly vigilant in ensuring the fewest possible exceptions and swiftly address them when they may occur.

An organization that has an inspiring vision or goal and all members united behind it is an extraordinarily powerful competitive force. The critical suc-cess factors for achieving this are never-ending communication of the vision

and consistent role-modeling of vision-centric performance

and behavior by the organiza-tion’s leaders.

©2007 J.W. Webb, Inc.

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III... Pay attention to how things are being done in the day-to-day aspects of organization performance

Paying attention to day-to-day performance and behavior is the best per-formance management tool a leader has. Setting unreasonable standards and expectations and getting everybody on the same page behind a common purpose and ambition is just the beginning. Organization leaders must then continuously pay attention to how the organization is actually doing things day-to-day vs. the standards and expectations.

It’s not enough to evaluate performance in review meetings. Too much is missed or glossed over. Many of the most valuable opportunities to gauge and refine the organization’s performance and behavior occur real-time in the course of the day-to-day activities that are the lifeblood of the organiza-tion. Real-time feedback and coaching on a day-to-day basis is the shortest path to unprecedented performance, both individually and collectively.

IV... Be constructively intolerant about performance and behavior variances related to disciplined execution – EVERY TIME

In order to realize its full potential, an organization must be constructively intolerant of performance and behavior that is counter to its aspirations. This means that the organization must refuse to accept less than the performance and behavior that is necessary. It’s crucial that this unwillingness be abso-lutely consistent — NO EXCEPTIONS. This develops exceptional organiza-tional integrity and confidence, which generates a profoundly positive effect on the entire organization.

It’s imperative that this unwillingness be coupled with a constructive ap-proach to identifying and refining any performance or behavior variances. The critical success factors for such a constructive approach are that vari-ances are addressed as soon as possible after they are discovered and that coaching and teaching are the primary methods for refining the substandard performance or behavior.

Organizations that are constructively intolerant develop a crystal-clear per-formance and behavior identity — it becomes a huge part of who they are as an organization and how they do what they do. It becomes a great source of pride and a significant component of their organizational brand.

Michael DellChairman & CEO, Dell Inc.

©2007 J.W. Webb, Inc.

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V... Be flexible about everything that doesn’t require disciplined execution

Organizations that are constructively intolerant of performance and behav-ior that is counter to their aspirations also benefit greatly if they are simultaneously quite flexible about everything that doesn’t require disciplined execution.

Not everything organization members do requires disciplined execution. Not everything needs to be done in a certain way for an organization to real-ize its potential. Not all types of behavior need to align with standards for an organization to live up to its highest ideals. In fact, there are many things organization members do that are best left to each individual to determine the best methods relative to their unique strengths, talents and style.

Being constructively intolerant about the things that require disciplined execution AND otherwise greatly empowering organization members with the freedom and latitude to execute their roles as they see fit…That’s a force that no competitor wants to face.

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VI... Behave as-ifThe surest path for an organization to realize a vision of success is to begin

assuming the characteristics of the vision as soon as the organization commits itself to it. To achieve total commitment to a vision, organizations need to continuously answer four critical questions relative to the future image they have of themselves:

What would we do if we were the organization we aspire to be? What wouldn’t we do that we’re currently doing? How would we think? How would we behave?

The natural tendency of organizations that have aspirations well beyond their current state is to unconsciously wait for the day when they realize their vision of success so they can begin to behave commensurate with it. This ap-proach creates a loop of self-limiting thinking and behavior because it never allows the organization to break free from many of the things that hold it back from realizing its aspirations. Organizations can only realize their po-tential by consciously and continuously molding their thinking and behavior to the future image they have of themselves — until they are one and the same.

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