Leading the Way

07

Implement

‘I always say, “I’m a carpenter, not an architect”,’ claims Jimmy Wales, who invented and runs Wikipedia. What matters to him is taking action, not just talking about it. ‘A big part of what made Wikipedia work is that I just sat down and started doing it, plugging away every day.’

Jimmy Wales is an exception. Nine times out of ten leaders fail to implement successfully the strategies they create. They habitually underestimate the challenge of turning their initiatives into action. First, they assume it’s harder to create a strategy than implement it. Second, they often delegate the job of implementation to others, consequently ...