Disciplined Execution vs. Radical Focus
I caught up with the future Mayor of my village today and we were discussing performance objectives and accountability. I mentioned Radical Focus as a worthwhile book to read; as it glorifies the concept of OKRs - Objectives and Key Results. The book became popular within startup power circles about a decade ago and it is still relevant today.
OKRs are supposed to galvanize teams by encouraging them to rally behind ambitious and inspirational objectives; possibly designed to be just out of reach, to push teams to their limits and give them an opportunity to excel, then learn from failures.
Radical Focus can be visionary but imo it preys on naive people who presume access to motivated teams that can tolerate iterative cycles of failure. Most people can’t handle the prospect of even one failure. The reality for most outside of Silicon Valley is being strapped for cash and human capital. I think this is especially true in the government and non-profit spheres.
After our meeting I texted another preferred book recommendation: The Four Disciplines of Execution; shortened to 4DX by people in the know.
4DX is especially well-suited for environments where clarity, discipline and steady progress matter.
Some of the nerds who email me say that 4DX creates needed structure by aligning the team around a Wildly Important Goal (WIG). The method works particularly well when reporting is limited to few metrics that are truly actionable; reserving meetings for coaching rather than peacocking status updates.
e.g. WIG
“Increase the percentage of resolved citizen complaints from 60% to 85% by December 31.”
This WIG is specific, measurable, and time-bound.
Progress can be tracked with lead measures such as:
# complaints responded to < 48 hours and;
# follow-up actions completed per week
The lead measures are actionable and status updates can be shared via dashboard
Accountability is tangible and ongoing.
Use 4DX when the challenge is about transforming habits, driving operational results, and aligning a large group toward shared, measurable wins.
Use Radical Focus when the team needs to embrace learning and stretch into new territory and when cultural buy-in is critical. Note: any team using this must be “incentivized to fail” otherwise it just doesn’t work.
