Key lessons from "The 4 Disciplines of Execution" and our G.P.Q.

(Source: McChesney, Chris; Covey, Sean; Huling, Jim (2012-04-24). The 4 Disciplines of Execution. Simon & Schuster, Inc.)

Discipline 1: Focus on the Wildly Important. 

This discipline requires you to go against your basic wiring as a leader and focus on less so that your team can achieve more.

Discipline 2: Act on the Lead Measures

Lead measures are quite different in that they are the measures of the most high-impact things your team must do to reach the goal. A good lead measure has two basic characteristics: It’s predictive of achieving the goal and it can be influenced by the team members.

Discipline 3: Keep a Compelling Scoreboard - discipline of engagement. 

In principle, the highest level of performance always comes from people who are emotionally engaged and the highest level of engagement comes from knowing the score— that is, if people know whether they are winning or losing. It’s that simple... It must be simple, so simple that members of the team can determine instantly if they are winning or losing.

Discipline 4: Create a Cadence of Accountability
This is where execution really happens. The cadence of accountability is a rhythm of regular and frequent meetings of any team that owns a wildly important goal. These meetings happen at least weekly and ideally last no more than twenty to thirty minutes. In that brief time, team members hold each other accountable for producing results, despite the whirlwind.

For our Design Team, we have narrowed our focus on 3 areas:

1. Growth (i.e. professional growth of individual)
2. Productivity, and
3. Quality

Affectionately called GPQ. It would probably be more in line with the recommendation of the authors if we could narrow it down to even fewer priorities (i.e., just one), but after much consideration we have realized these 3 areas are inter-related and integral for our survival in DAS business.