Stick with It: Mastering the Art of Adherence

by Lee Colan, Julie Davis-Colan

This groundbreaking book includes Winning Insights from... JPMorgan * The Container Store * Fossil * KidKraft * National Motor Club * Sears * Southwest Airlines * The Hartford * UCLA Health Center * and more!

There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all strategy, especially in today's highly complex and competitive world of business. But there is such a thing as a one-size-fits-all approach to business success . . . it's called the Art of Adherence.

A good strategy gets you in the game, but adhering to your strategy gets you into the winner's circle. With today's microwave mentality, business leaders often abandon strategies quickly because they don't yield immediate results.

Learn how world-class leaders and organizations master the Art of Adherence. Stick with It reveals a time-tested, real-world validated formula for

FOCUS X COMPETENCE X PASSION = ADHERENCE

When you consistently sharpen Focus, build Competence, and ignite Passion, you plant the seeds of victory. Initially, you may not see tangible results, but rest assured growth is occurring under the surface. As individuals and teams stick with it, momentum builds, creating a self-reinforcing cycle of victory.

The authors, including leadership guru Lee J. Colan, draw upon 25 years of corporate leadership, field research, executive consulting, and training with many of the world's leading organizations. They combine real-world stories with cut-through-the-clutter tools so you can convert this rapid-read book into fast results.

READ STICK WITH IT TODAY AND WIN TOMORROW!

Genres: Business

224 pages, Hardcover

First published April 16, 2013

Reviews

[Jennifer Stephens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewing business books has mostly been depressing as I’ve found so many of them directly contradict my values and theological understandings as a Christian and prescribe strategies for “success” wholly incompatible with the Christian walk. So I was particularly pleased with the themes Lee Colan advanced in his new book, Stick With It as they avoided such deficits. Colan reminds us (or informs those who weren’t already aware) that perseverance is the hinge on which the doors of success are opened. While strategic planning is necessary for success it is never sufficient; follow through is key.

Colan breaks down perseverance (or adherence as he refers to it) into three essential components:

1. Focus (on our mission)

2. Competence (to complete necessary actions derived from our mission)

3. Passion (for the whole of the work before us and what it stands for)

For each component, Colan provides a detailed blueprint for building and sustaining the intensity necessary to succeed. He includes useful little strategies such as relying on create once- run many times routines, and tracking leading AND lagging indicators of success to verify we are on track.

Perseverance is a lost virtue in American society, that much is clear. So many (myself included) get excited about a shiny new plan and throw ourselves into things with gusto only to slowly fade in enthusiasm and effort a few days or weeks down the line. 21 days to form a habit and all that right? But how many of us actually make it to day 22? Very few I’m afraid. It’s theoretically simple but never easy in practice: plan to stick to the plan! Keep on keeping on. Have the wise been reminding the young, the weak in discipline, the slaves to quick fixes of this key principle for centuries? YES. Nevertheless, Colan’s voice adding to the great chorus of the wise over the millennia on this matter is a welcome one; one more person reminding us of the importance in seeing things through can only help shape our character.

Anyone who has struggled with self-discipline and found that there is a part of himself that has trouble following through with the well intentioned plans the other part of himself drafts in earnest will find value in Stick With It. Hint: that means everyone. Romans chapter 7 reminds us, “21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.” Colan provides some clear and useful techniques for stepping on the neck of that slothful sinful nature within us. For those readers who do not subscribe to Christianity, you needn’t worry – Colan never actually references scripture or religion - he simply reaffirms the value of adherence to our mission, be it corporate or personal, and provides practical methods for achieving adherence. But his counsel overlaps so beautifully with scriptural principles that the faithful will easily recognize the wisdom in his understandings and prescriptions whether he intended to present a case for discipleship or not.

[Nina Harrington · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stick with it by Lee Colan


Mastering the art of Adherence.


One of the biggest challenges a leader has is not crafting a plan. It is executing that plan and staying on track.

Even the best laid plans can be way laid by crises, management changes or an organisation that is dysfunctional and whose employees are not aligned with key goals set in place.

This is where great companies and great leadership can stumble.

Adherence in the individual and the organisation is not just a one time event but a long term, long range focus on the goal.

It is a learned skill. And requires Focus, Competence and Passion.


Part 1: The Art of Adherence.

The Knowing-Doing Gap.

We know what we should be doing - but fail to do it consistently.

Leaders are trained to plan rather than execute -they delegate that to others. But the bottom line is that Consistent Execution of our ideas consistently produces winning results.

Adherence is that ability to consistently execute the strategy.

The Three key components are Focusing on a clearly defined pathway to success, Competence in skills needed to execute the strategy and Passion for why you are doing the work.


Of course everything starts with creating a simple, clear and well thought out Strategy. There are six simple questions which will help to create a winning plan.
•Why do we exist? How do our services or products serve customers' needs?
•Where are we going? What is our goal for the future?
•How will we conduct ourselves - which is a reflection of your values.
•What we will do/not do and how will we differentiate ourselves?
•How will we measure our success?
•What improvements or changes must we make?

Part II: Focus.

Winning leaders use four adherence 'accelerators' to sharpen their team's focus. They:

*Cut through complexity to keep things simple. 80% of profits come from 20% of products and 80% of problems come from 20% of staff. Identify your 80/20.

This allows you to focus on those elements that have the biggest impact on your plan and not get distracted by the trivial many. Complexity is the enemy of focus and adherence.

*Have absolute clarity about the one thing that is most important. Know the one activity that most directly helps you to execute your plan. Do not succumb to the temptation to multitask. Unitask with laser focus on the highest impact activities.

*Know when to say no to activities that diffuse their focus. This can lead to tough decisions about what elements of the business you need to abandon or put to one side when they do not support your plan.

*Keep their plan and critical goals visible for all to see. Communication is crucial. Create a program or meeting schedule with the primary purpose of keeping top priorities visible. One model looks like this: Daily stand up huddle [ 5 mins ], weekly team update - short term initiatives and projects [ 60 mins], monthly department performance review [ 90 mins] them offsite quarterly and annual planning reviews to realign to long term focus.

*Sharpen your Personal Focus. Keep your goals visible at all times. Start each day with a list of what you want to achieve that day. Start work with the most unpleasant task first and get it out of the way. Take baby steps to a long term goal. Stay positive.



Part III. Competence.

The best organisations build competence and productivity by:

*Working smarter and simplifying work processes

*Creating systems and processes that encourages innovation.

*Prioritising work/life balance to avoid burnout

*Making sure that the skills match the work demands.

Companies should treasure the talent they have in their employees. Recruit top talent and develop them.



Part IV. Passion.

Passion drives engagement because it answers the 'why' question. Why is exciting your strategy important to the organisation and the team? A team without passion is a team without purpose.



Part V. Getting Started and Sticking with it.

A summary of the key learning points from the book.





What really worked for me was the tools on how best to approach these topics and keep it simple by focusing on what was essential.

I am a self employed person - both boss and employee, but I need the same basic tools on project management as any organisation of any size. The rules on how to win in today's world are just as applicable.



What did not work so well was, ironically, the sequence on Passion. I did not feel convinced that the tools and techniques were realistic and could be implemented. Passion and emotional connection are so subjective. A tough subject to tackle.

Also I greatly disliked the hard sell at the end of the book. I expected to be given the templates and tables I need to use the tips most effectively - not to be directed to the company training and consultant agency so I could share my email before downloading a few very basic excel charts.

Most unprofessional.

Unfortunately this last section lets the whole book down.

There are many business gurus who have created business books as a promotional tool for their lucrative consultancy business. It is such a pity that Lee Colan chose to close this book with such a cheap advert for his company and thus fell into this trap. One reference - fine. So many? Not so fine.



Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers McGraw-Hill Professional for providing a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Jary Welker · Rating 4 out of 5]

The effective development and implementation of a sound strategic plan is foundational to any enterprise's hope for growth and success. Once a plan has been developed and launched, too often the daily grind, business set backs, and unexpected outside influences knock us off track. That is where the principles of 'Sticking With It: Mastering the Art of Adherence' can help. Filled with the wisdom of the ages as quoted by such sages as Yogi Berra, who the authors quote, "In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is." While obvious on the its face, far too often the obvious and the executed are not the same. This is a very worthwhile read, and filled with proven steps and strategies. The authors, Lee J Colan and Julie Davis-Colan, with their years of business consulting, make a compelling case for why their formula of Focus X Competence X Passion = Adherence can be successful for you as well. While many of the principles included have a ring of familiarity to them, the authors present them all in ways that are simple (but maybe not easy) to introduce in almost any enterprise. The only complaint that I would have may only be a technical one, but the book is filled with scan codes inviting you to scan to access many free tools. Unfortunately every time I scanned the code I received the same emailed response and the anticipation of receiving the downloads was replaced with disappointment.

None the less, I would suggest this as an addition to your library if you are serious about taking your business to new levels of success.

[Wayne McCoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creating and achieving success depends on a lot of factors, including sticking with your strategy. Adherence in business can be a problem. Using the formula Focus X Competence X Passion = Adherence, the authors of Stick With It give advice on how best to achieve business goals.

Throughout the book are practical examples, inspiring quotes, and links to online tools referenced in the book. There are 13 tools and worksheets included. Building on a practical framework, the approach seems like a pretty well balanced approach. The authors readily agree that excellence trumps strategy, and I would think having focus, competence and passion in balance would lead to some great business innovation.

Adherence is tough when we seem to live in a sped up world, but the benefits would seem to be worth pursuing. A pretty good business book with some very practical steps.

[Bill Welte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great resource for leaders who want their organizations to grow.