Recently, I was in Nashville, Tennessee working with a client, speaking at a major conference. I had the opportunity to go downtown and have dinner at Jack’s, which is a famous barbecue restaurant. And why do I tell you this? Simply because what I found is Jack’s is a very accountable restaurant. They’re incredibly successful and I believe one of the reasons is that they are accountable to do the right things consistently. They know what their strategic intent is, to serve great barbecue, keep their customers happy and grow their business.
But by doing the right things consistently, they’re able to achieve on their strategic intent. What are the right things for Jack’s? Well, one of the right things is having a great sauce. Another right thing is cooking the meat properly. Another right thing is having a nice spread of food, an assortment to choose from. Another right thing is having a clean environment, plenty of tables, an experience that you’ll remember and talk about with your friends. Their right things go on and on. My question for you is, what are your right things? Do you understand what your strategic intent is? Are you focused on that strategic intent and do you determine what your right things are? What are those activities that you need to execute daily, weekly, monthly so that you move towards your strategic intent?
When I work with clients, individuals and organizations, looking for that growth, that’s the first place we start because once you know your strategic intent, focus on and execute your right things, you are on the road to growing your organization and making accountability your competitive advantage.
