Some time ago in a Community Group Susan and I were part of, the men discussed (men and women separate once a month for more specific accountability and deeper sharing) various things and the one idea that most of us could resonate with was being intentional about whatever we would like to see happen or change. Without
“DELIBERATE INTENTIONALITY”
a lot of ideas and dreams never happen. Having an idea is one thing; intentionally acting on that idea is quite another matter. We can all think of things we want and should be more intentional about, among them:
- How we spend our money
- How we use our time
- Exercise
- Sleep
- Sharing our faith with others
- Spending time alone with the Lord
- Investing in our families
- Achieving an exciting God-pleasing goal
The chance of any area of our life being different or better will be directly proportional to how intentional we are about it. With the men in this community group that night, we discussed having a game plan to accomplish something. An idea or desire without a game plan is just wishful thinking. It takes both inspiration and implementation for something to happen. Intentionality will facilitate it happening consistently.
However, it needs to be intentionality and a game plan coupled with flexibility. Circumstances and situations are always changing and, additionally, we need to make sure we are not pushing the Holy Spirit right out of our lives by over-planning.
Some of us are very organized and systematic (I raise my hand here) while others have an allergic reaction to planning and organizing and want to be freer (my wife Susan raises her hand here) in how the ideas are executed.
There’s no one-size-fits-all game plan. We need and should be true to how God made us; but the men in this CG all agreed that without flexible intentionality, coupled with a thought-through game plan, it will be the same ol’, same ol’, which none of us really wants, right?
Now, let’s transfer this concept to leadership.
Ideas are a dime a dozen (well, with inflation, maybe a dollar!) and it’s the leader who is able to build a team and motivate the troops to consistently execute with excellence who will move the ball down the field.
The potential ideas which are generated need to have hands and feet, not just brains. To do this we need to overcome the paralysis of analysis and the fear of what people will think, or the stark and real fear of abject failure. We have to build a culture of consistent execution of our best ideas and not analyze them to death, thinking of all the potential reasons why this or that won’t work, thereby relegating the ideas to the grave yard with all of the other dead–on-arrival ideas.
In his excellent book “Execution” (there is a Book Note on my website) Larry Bossidy says:
“What you want is a leadership gene pool that can conceive and shape executable strategies and convert them into operating plans and specific point of accountability. No strategy delivers results unless it’s converted into specific actions. Strategies most often fail because they aren’t executed well. Unless you translate big thoughts into concrete steps for action, they’re pointless.
“We need to understand that:
• Execution is a discipline, and integral to strategy
• Execution is the major job of the leader
• Execution must be a core element of an organization’s culture.”
I believe that success in any endeavor (personally or professionally) will be built on the back of “Flexible Intentionality.”
What do you think and what have you experienced in this regard? Love to hear from YOU!
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