Execution is Important But Analysis is Critical
I’ve written before about the importance of proper execution. There are whole books like Ram Charan’s Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done devoted to the subject. We get it – execution is important.
A recent presentation at the 2011 ASTD International Conference reminded me that proper execution of a flawed analysis is failure. You can check 
An example I use during discussions on metrics retells the story:
If a company has 75% turnover, what should you look at? Most people reply with manager communications, employee recognition or promotional policies.
Now, what if the analysis shows that the vast majority of this turnover occurs in the first six months of employment? Does that change the picture? Sure it does. Now the focus might be something more like onboarding, recruiting, etc.
This is why initial analysis is so critical. The results of your analysis define the solution. And the last thing you want to do is implement the wrong solution. Or a solution that doesn’t completely fix the problem.
Even when you think you know the problem, it’s still a good idea to do an analysis. I can’t tell you how many times the analysis has produced a new dynamic or completely different answer. It reminds me of a very enjoyable presentation by Dr. Paul Hersey – father of Situational Leadership – who pointed out that practice does NOT make perfect. If you practice the wrong thing, you end up perfectly wrong! In Dr. Hersey’s words, perfect practice makes perfect.
Sometimes we might be tempted to skip the analysis because we think we already know the answer or it doesn’t look like we’re taking action. Doing the analysis ensures we take the right action.
Image courtesy of Flavio@Flickr
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