Every business leader knows that execution is the hardest part of any business strategy.

As part of my role as the lead Consultant on the design, development, and delivery of leadership development learning journeys I often also provide Coaching services to executive clients and senior leaders who participate in our programs.

Last week I had a very interesting and dynamic session with one of my participants who is struggling with creating a collaboration-based work environment with his team that is focused on execution.  He shared with me a story of one of his direct reports who was consistently displaying dysfunctional behaviors and always making excuses for why things were poorly executed.  And unfortunately, after a while, other direct reports came to resent the poor effort and were openly wondering why there wasn’t more accountability.  Things came to a head when my “Coachee” confronted his direct report and in a very uncomfortable conversation finally said “What is with you?  Is your objective to get the job done, or is your objective to be a dysfunctional jerk?”

Developing and executing a strong value proposition that is understood by your employees and your customers is the hardest challenge every business leader faces.  All stakeholders in the business ecosystem such as suppliers, employees, partners, and customers will always have their own interpretation of the strategy and what it means to them.

I recently had the opportunity of listening to a fascinating presentation on business strategy led by a founder of one of the most successful electronics manufacturers in Asia.  This organization’s business model and strategic approach is simple; design, develop, and deliver as many different competitive forms products to existing competitors as possible and do it at a fraction of the cost of the branded market leader.  To date, they have more than 10,000 products in the market including Smartphones, controllers, battery packs, and even robot vacuum cleaners that clean apartments while their “owners” are at work.  Sounds like there is a vision that is understood and clear with great alignment, right?

This is an interesting week if you are both in business and are in the business of Talent Development.  The ATD 2018 conference is in full swing and I saw with my own eyes that San Diego is alive and thriving with a buzz and energy level I haven’t seen since the “dot.com” days of the late 1990s and early 2000’s. I had the chance to lead a session at the conference Sunday afternoon on Sales Trends to a robust group of professionals trying to figure out and understand what the future looks like and how are things like AI, VR,  AR, and immersive business simulations are going to impact the future of training.  I also had the chance to walk the exhibit hall and see a lot of brand new vendors in the industry.  But the most interesting observation was the excitement and conversations in the corridors of the convention center as people shared information, ideas, and curiosity.  It certainly feels to me almost everyone who is at ATD this week seems to have a quiet confidence that the strong global economy is going to support more spending and investments in talent development.