Built to Beat Chaos

CHAPTER 11Get Results through Teamwork

Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds, for riches do not last forever….

Proverbs 27

In the previous chapter the focus was on building clear priorities and getting agreement from the team on how to move forward. This chapter will focus on working that plan and getting the right things done—executing against goals.

Former Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz supposedly said that “when everything is said and done, more gets said than done.” Everything we have discussed so far doesn't matter unless leaders get results. Or, as Jesus said, “You will know them by their fruit,” speaking about the reality of results.

We have to face the reality that the tactics for reaching our goals are always changing.

In this chapter, we will have to face the reality that the tactics for reaching our goals are always changing. That becomes clear about fifteen minutes into the day. The question all leaders face is how to get the right things done today, balancing the urgent and the important.

The following four best practices will help. Before moving ahead, remember that sequence matters. In this step, the prior work of setting vision, changing strategy, and selecting near‐term operating priorities is what sets up success at this stage.

Building on the importance of sequence, an‐other leadership principle related to sequence hides in plain sight in the creation story. Bringing order requires establishing some rhythms. In the creation ...