KEY QUESTION: Are all processes running without drama and driving industry-leading profitability?
In the largest investment in an e-commerce company in Canadian history, Coastal.com, a Vancouver-based eyewear company, was purchased in 2014 by Essilor International, one of the world’s largest lens manufacturers, for CAD$430 million. Roger Hardy, Coastal.com’s founder and CEO, credits the disciplined execution of the Rockefeller Habits with these stellar results.
Case in point: Some German industrialists sat in on Coastal.com’s daily executive team huddle while the company’s leaders stood up and reported on their Critical Numbers. The executives discussed quickly their key opportunities, issues, highlights, problems, and threats. “They were blown away with our operational efficiencies and knowledge of the business,” Hardy noted.
Hardy’s team also introduced the Net Promoter System (NPS) to measure how likely customers were to recommend the business to others and to single out a few (from over 2 million) who indicated they were not raving fans, so the senior team could call them. These weekly conversations with customers, debriefed at the weekly huddle, gave Hardy and his leadership team the kind of gut feel for the market that drives ongoing improvements. One change, which we’ll share in “The Data” chapter, caused revenue to jump 60% in one market. More recently, Coastal.com tapped into the innovative ideas of its employees in its own Shark Tank type of competition. Implementing those ideas generated another 15% lift for Coastal.com’s revenue in 2013.
Coastal.com excels at execution precisely because it listens to customers and employees; has a meeting rhythm to discuss and implement quickly what’s being learned; and relies on a process for setting priorities based on all this input. This excellence in execution continues to wow customers, engage employees, and deliver stunning financial results for the shareholders.
At the end of this Introduction is the Rockefeller Habits Checklist™. Take a few minutes to go through it. Don’t worry if you don’t have many items checked. Neither did Hardy’s executives when they attended their first Rockefeller Habits workshop. “It gave me a blueprint on how to run a team in a successful way and is a key part of why we have achieved $200 million in sales while keeping everyone aligned and heading in the same direction,” says Hardy.
Hardy advises CEOs to review the Checklist every three months. “You’re not going to get it perfect every quarter,” he says. “It’s a work in progress. It forces you, though, to be objective and to realize there are blind spots. Like a pilot taking off, you don’t want to forget to lift the landing gear. It may be the things you take for granted that can hurt you the most. A Checklist is a good way of reminding you what’s missing.”
Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen, in their book Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck — Why Some Thrive Despite Them All, note: “Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice, and discipline.” We couldn’t agree more, and hope you’ll consciously choose to implement the 10 Rockefeller Habits detailed in this section.
This section is structured around the 10 Rockefeller Habits, divided into three disciplines (routines) fundamental to execution:
1. Priorities: Less is more in driving focus and alignment.
2. Data: Qualitative and quantitative feedback provides clarity and foresight.
3. Meeting Rhythm: Give yourself the time to make better/faster decisions.
The first chapter, The Priority, highlights Rockefeller Habits #1 and #2, emphasizing the importance of having a “healthy team” that is able to face the brutal facts and support the kind of constructive debate necessary to set a main priority that everyone can support. This chapter also reviews important routines centered around Rockefeller Habits #4, #7, and #8 that were covered in earlier chapters.
The second chapter, The Data, highlights Rockefeller Habits #5, #6, #9, and #10, and the importance of gathering both quantitative and qualitative data to properly fuel decision-making. It’s particularly critical for the senior leadership team and middle managers to engage in weekly conversations with customers and employees (and to shop competitors).
The third chapter, The Meeting Rhythm, highlights Rockefeller Habit #3 — the importance of setting a routine of daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual meetings to address the communication challenges that exist whenever you get a group of people together. These structured meetings also create the space and time for teams to debate and make the important decisions driving the scaling up of the organization.
Two one-page Execution tools will be covered in this section:
1. Rockefeller Habits Checklist™: 10 routines for driving relentless repeatability in your execution
2. Who, What, When (WWW): Quick summary of actions and accountabilities — the only “notes” you need to keep from a meeting of an hour or longer
A special thank-you to Kevin Lawrence, Gazelles International Certified Coach partner in Vancouver, for contributing to this “Execution” section and serving as an early collaborator on the book.
