Startups, Do you have an Execution Excellence Coach?

By Jacob Chandy VargheseMalcom Gladwell in his book titled ‘Outliers’ says that the important aspect to success in any field is practice regularly. He goes on to say that those who have practiced 10,000 hours go on to become the masters of the field, which he calls the 10,000 hour rule. He cites examples from various sectors to prove his point. Even with regular recurring practice, it clearly takes a few years to be an expert. In our own lives, if we have become an expert in any field, be it music, be it sports, what makes us above the ordinary is steady practice.

However, there is also another aspect to practice. My music teacher always says, ‘practice makes permanent’. That implies that you should also be careful what you are practising, because if you are practising the wrong thing over and over again, that too becomes permanent. That is the reason you need a good coach in any of the field you want to excel. The coach periodically keeps training you in the right techniques, keeps steering you in the right direction to reach the goal, and you go back and practice the same by yourself every day.

If any skill in life can be taught, and improved by practice, can execution excellence be coached the same way? If you look at famous execution excellence consultants like Ram Charan, we see many examples of how he has steered the direction of many famous companies and has helped in their road to becoming the darlings of Wall Street.

In the last few weeks, I have been interacting with some Venture Capitalists and Investment bankers who fund social ventures. All of them endorsed that execution excellence is a very critical factor that contributes to the success of the venture. Many however seemed to believe that if they talk to the founders and look at their credentials for a track record in execution, they can make out if he is good in execution. On the other hand, there was also an admission that the failure rate of ventures in India is still high.

This is where I see a gap. It is not just about whether the venture would be successful. It also is about what the magnitude of success is. In other words, let’s say the founders come with very good track record in execution, and demonstrate high calibre in the plans that they create for getting funding. That is only a starting point. If that was enough, then most of the ventures would be roaring successes. What we forget is that the venture that they plant is a new event for them, and while they have a good starting point in terms of track record in execution, it is very critical they steer that in the right direction, and practice execution excellence very consciously. This is when they need someone to look at the overall picture along with them, and give them steering advice about how to keep realigning to the goal, how to keep an ear on the ground to listen to the various voices around, within the organization and without, how to watch for pitfalls on the way. This is where they need a coach.

An execution excellence coach is a peer level co-pilot for them, who is able to think clearly because he does not have the pressure of delivery and the day-to-day pressures of operations. With that clear thinking, he always keeps an eye on the dashboard, an ear on the cross section of the organization, and with his equally large experience and familiarity with successful and failed execution patterns will be able to give the right direction to the leader. This single step can maximize success of the venture in a very significant way. Holding hands with the execution excellence coach is a light-weight activity which does not impede with the progress of the leader. It only makes the decision making of the leader more informed.

Like any other aspect in life, execution excellence also can be coached. It is not about ‘training’. It is about being a co-pilot for the larger picture. With the right guidance from the coach, and regular practice of implementing systematically many of the ideas, execution excellence will become part of the persona of the leader. If we can focus on this aspect for the social ventures that we fund, we can not only make the ventures successful, but we can make them replicable.

After all, practice makes permanent.