Strategic Acceleration by Tony Jeary (#4)

The first leg of the execution tripod is persuasion (from the last blog post). Persuasion is a necessary part of execution because a successful individual must motivate/inspire those around them to achieve excellent results.

The second leg is production and Tony Jeary discusses the importance of PBP (Production Before Perfection). This concept makes a great deal of sense and I firmly believe in this concept - although I never had a name for it. I think most would agree that "You don't have to have all the facts and details about something before you can start working on it!" (Page 152). Tony Jeary makes a note that he doesn't say it has to be finished before you have all the facts, just that it can be started.

He spends a great deal of time writing about procrastination and that "No human characteristic restricts results and effectiveness more than procrastination" (Page 153) "Most procrastinators don't believe they are procrastinating; they think they are being prudent and cautious, which helps them do a better job when they finally get around to doing it." (Page 154) I certainly have been in this situation before and heard many people - especially when it comes to returning calls - say "I'm going to wait until I have more info".

The point he makes with PBP is that you can always do something before you have the full info. You can start the outline, you can place a courtesy call if you don't have the info to report on the phone, you can start the press release and fill in the details later. This is truly applicable to just about any situation.

"A good procrastinator who is skilled in research can present the illusion of productivity without actually being productive." (Page 159) These are the people who are always "busy busy" but don't seem to ever get the results which line up with the business.

If you just realized that you are a procrastinator you can solve the problem by focusing on those high leverage activities which will push you toward your future vision. This is more effective than focusing only on how you can stop procrastinating because focusing on the future will stop the procrastination and will also move you closer to your vision.

Strategic Presence is the third leg of the execution tripod and, as best as I can summarize, this is the lasting impression which you give those around you. The more authentic and honest your actions, the better your strategic presence will be. A child who stands up for the kid in school who is getting picked on has been inspired by her parents' authentic strategic presence.

"The most important fact about strategic presence is that it produces two possible reactions in others. It either produces a voluntary cooperation or it produces various forms of resistance." (Page 178) I can translate this to say that if you are helping people out, it better be for the right reasons - because if your intentions are not sincere, you will be "found out" and then all is surely lost. This is also a clear message in Bob Burg's book, Endless Referrals.

It is important to note that "Strategic presence dwells in the land of perception, and it is hard to manage and control perception." (Page 195) This is important to note because no matter how sincere you are (or aren't) there will always be individuals, who due to their belief window, will react opposite to what you think they should.

I will use one of the final paragraphs of this book to summarize my main take away. "All you need to do is take an honest look at where you are right now, compared to where you really want to be. Between the two points lie the high-leverage activities on which you need to focus to shift your location and close the gap. You'll know exactly what you need to do and how you need to spend your time to realize your vision, which, of course, will set you up for consistent execution." (page 201)

Note: There are several appendices which contain exercises to walk readers through the thought-changing process "you must embrace to succeed at the speed of life". (Page 203). I am looking forward to working on them shortly now that this information is fresh in my mind.