This article forms part of the “Sands of Time” series written by members of the faculty at the University College Cayman Islands

In the previous management articles in this series we considered how we have gotten in the messes we sometimes find ourselves in and see them as opportunities for changing our organizations.

We reviewed the days of the soon-to-be-extinct approach to management, how we need to change our attitudes, how to stop looking for government solutions, how to train and develop ourselves to do more for our organizations and society, how to increase the value of our human capital, and more recently how to decide which route to take and when. Many management theorists would consider this series of stories to be about ‘strategic planning.’

Now we turn to ‘getting it done.’  Talking about getting things done is fine, but, as is often said, ‘actions speak louder than words’.  Nike hit the nail on the head – or more appropriately, Tiger’s ball off the tee - when they adopted the slogan, ‘Just Do It!’  This now famous statement reflects a sentiment shared by all ‘doers’ but it is rarely embraced by most academics or business observers.

Getting things done (or as expensive business consultants would put it, ‘implementation’) requires a different set of management skills.  Such skills are found in operational planning, project coordination, monitoring, measuring, controlling, motivating, and training. 

It is in implementation that the fanciful ideas of strategy, or conceptual skills, must meet the realities of achieving results in real time.

Every strong strategic plan must address the operations plan, and every operations plan should reinforce the tenets of operational excellence – out-performing the competition on a daily basis.

So, let us turn to the title of the article – ‘The Drive.’  No, we are not going to emulate Tiger’s 380 yard drives. This, for most golfers, is more about dreaming than realizing achievable results. Instead we turn to a simpler story about driving a passenger van as an allegory for achieving business excellence.

When we choose to take a group for a drive we go through the planning phase of ‘vision’ (where we want to go), mission (what we want to achieve), assessing strengths (the van runs well; there is enough gas), weaknesses (distractions like impatient passengers), opportunities (enjoying a sunny Cayman day), functional plans (how to get there), and human resources planning (who will come along). These are all aspects of strategic planning.

Now we come to implementation.  Since this is ‘the drive’ toward business excellence we need to bring along our operations people (those who perform our prime customer related services), our support staff (those who serve our operations people to get services to our customers), our senior management (who serve the operations and support staff people, and our customers), and perhaps our lawyers and accountants.

• Yes, we would take lawyers and accountants along, but only if there were room in the van. The primary goal is to achieve results in real time, and accountants and lawyers are limited in what they can offer in this regard. But, let’s assume there is room for them in the van. Now we need to consider the seating arrangements.

• At the wheel we need our head of operations –the person who knows more about getting the required results than anyone else. But they need advice.  In the seat next to the driver is the general manager. This is a debatable choice, but a key decision maker is needed at the front – reviewing progress, integrating feedback and support from others, and regulating the tempo of the driver. The general manager has to pull everything together and do so in a way that ensures that the team performs at its best.

• In the next few rows we find the people representing marketing, sales, design, production, and maintenance – the departments necessary for the organization. They look over the shoulders of the operations driver and general manager to see where they are headed. Naturally, their observations and comments are important and affect the decisions and actions of those in the front seats. The front row must take the advice and adjust the vehicle accordingly. Actions and communications get quite active at the front of the van.

• In the last row we put the lawyers and accountants.  But, for the sake of what they most often do, we turn their seats around so that they have a clear view out the rear window.

• Accountants are at their best when they account- look at past results (through the rear window) and report to the general manager how the journey has gone, and how it compares to the plan.

• The lawyers provide a similar function. They spot the ‘potholes’ that have been driven through, and those who have been ‘cut off’ by our actions. They tell the general manager about what they have seen, and how to deal with the ramifications - if they should arise.

• The lawyers and accountants could be important contributors to ‘the drive.’ If we had put them at the front we could have avoided some problems, but in practice this would undoubtedly make the trip slower and, probably, boring.

• If the accountants and lawyers controlled ‘the drive’ management would have the time to get all the facts. They could identify every alternative, evaluate every option, compare every outcome, and determine the optimal, fool-proof, best-of –the-bunch, no-one-can-argue action to follow. Well, that approach may have worked a century ago when the speed limit was ten miles per hour, but today’s world is moving much faster.  Today, moving slowly is most often associated with business failure.

• The general manager, in the front row, learned classical decision-making theories, but threw them out the window when she became accountable for the results. All the expert advice – the theory – didn’t help much in actually getting things done. ‘The drive’ in today’s business environment is about making prompt decisions using highly developed, intuitive skills that enable the ‘drivers’ to identify and prioritize the opportunities and challenges that exist - now!

With the ‘Sands of Time’ series coming to an end in a few weeks we can look back on what the message for management has been. The real challenge for management and leadership is to change so that they can better contribute to the Cayman, regional and international economies. They need to better encourage and manage their valuable human resources.  By continuing to adapt to the forces for change in management, those with the skills necessary for ‘the drive’ will lead Cayman along an exciting and successful journey.

The author welcomes comments and may be reached at jharvey@ucci.edu.ky.