C-Suite Success: The “How to Do” Behind the “What to Do”

Everyone knows the importance of establishing a plan for business growth for 2009. But many business owners and sales leaders find it frustrating when their best laid plans are not executed and fail to yield the expected and anticipated results.

If you find yourself in this predicament, ask yourself the following questions:

• Was your plan or idea well communicated both orally and in writing?
D• id you delegate effectively? Did everyone understand who was responsible for what?
• Does everyone know what needed to be done, and within what time frame?
• Did you have a system to measure, monitor, and hold people accountable?
• Are they feeling motivated and empowered?

Many companies are developing wonderful ideas full of great intent, but their ability to execute on these ideas is clearly the biggest challenge we have seen them face. To address this, we would like to share a best practice that K.Coaching has created, and that many companies are now using successfully. The best practice goes by the acronym DOGOM: Description, Objective, Goal, Owner, Measurement/Monitoring. DOGOM is a planning format that helps you take your idea—the “what to do”—and clearly communicate the “why” and “how” to do it.

The following explains how to use DOGOM to put some real meat on the bones of your great ideas, and also includes examples of objectives, goals, and means of measurement. Your own DOGOM, of course, is more specifically shaped to your subject. But we think that once you’ve embraced this concept and completed a DOGOM for your business, you won’t go back to any other method.

• Description: Describe your idea in writing—the “what to do.” This should be a one or two paragraph statement of your strategy. At this stage, you don’t need to include specific objectives or goals; these will be defined in upcoming steps. The description should simply be a general statement of intent—clear, concise, and easy to understand by anyone outside of your company or industry.

• Objective: Create bulleted items of what you want to achieve. List in specific terms your intentions, reasons, and expectations for the execution of your strategy.

• Goal: Goals should be measurable, realistic, and attainable. Your goals should be quantifiable: cite specific numbers and dates for completion.

•Owner: Identify a single individual who is ultimately responsible for the success of the strategy—the owner. This person should be intimately involved in the strategy, as well as leading the team and holding them accountable for meeting the specific goals and objectives for which they’re responsible.

•Measurement/Monitoring: This step defines accountability for the different aspects of strategy execution. It can be tied to reports and metrics, but should contain reward and recognition for accomplishments. Your measurements and monitoring should be clear and consistent.

Create Company DOGOMs

DOGOMs should be used to clearly define a specific strategy. Your DOGOM should not try to address multiple strategies, nor should it be complicated; limit your DOGOM to one or two pages. The DOGOM is a written format where you can commit your creative ideas to paper in order to share and collaborate with others.

But the DOGOM is not the kind of plan you create on your own and then e-mail to everyone as a set of instructions. Hold team meetings around the development of your DOGOM; express your ideas, solicit input, delegate tasks, and gain commitment. We have also seen sales teams, once they have a set strategy, use the DOGOM to come up with more tactical plans. Collaboration builds camaraderie, allows everyone to feel a part of the plan, and empowers them to execute and make it happen.

Creating Individual DOGOMs

A sales rep can take this exact format and build their own DOGOM. This gives a rep the format to establish what they know they need to do differently to grow their business, and puts it in a tactical form. For example, for a sales rep who wants to start prospecting more, a DOGOM gives him the framework for specifically establishing goals and objectives. The rep can define how many new accounts he will open and in what time frame. He can state specifically how he intends to take ownership, and measure and monitor his progress.

One of the greatest advantages of using the DOGOM lies in its ability to help companies better communicate expectations. The DOGOM provides a concrete frame of reference and accountability. In one brief, concise document, you can establish the specific ways and means for characterizing your ideas, pursuing them, creating responsible ownership, and measuring success. K.Coaching hopes that you will embrace this approach and share it throughout your organization. As with so many other companies we have worked with, let the DOGOM become a part of your culture and language: “Did you do a DOGOM on that?”

SMM online columnist Krista Moore is president of K.Coaching, LLC, an executive coaching and consulting practice that has helped literally hundreds of sales executives and leaders reach their full potential and strengthen key business partnerships. For more information and free resources on ShipBuilding, go to www.buildyourships.com or find out more about K.Coaching at www.kcoaching.com.