Clear Accountability

• Creating action plans is one thing, making those plans happen is quite another. Establishing clear accountability for completing action plans is one way to help ensure that they will be accomplished. Identify who is responsible and avoid the tendency to assign accountability to a group or a department. Having a specific individual who is held responsible for achieving results establishes clear accountability and can improve communication and reporting. The late Ram Charan's book "Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done" supports the idea of establishing and communicating clear lines of authority to ensure the accomplishment of business action plans.
  
  

Measurable Metrics

• If action plans are not specific and measurable it can be difficult, if not impossible, to reach agreement on whether or not they have been accomplished. Compare, for instance, two personally-relevant action plans: "Lose weight" and "Lose 10 pounds over the next three months." Clearly the latter has more measurable metrics that can serve as the basis for determining whether or not the plan has been accomplished. Measurable metrics provide clear direction and a quantifiable standard by which success can be measured.
  
  

Communication and Follow-Up

• Developing action plans is just the starting point. Moving forward with those action plans and communicating progress is an important step to ensure that those responsible for helping to ensure success are engaged and involved in the process. It can be a good idea to establish regular (perhaps monthly) meetings for those who have been assigned accountability for specific actions to share results. Then, those results should be communicated broadly, so the entire organization is kept up-to-date on progress.
  
  

Execution

• In a survey of senior executives at 197 companies conducted by management consulting firm Marakon Associates and the Economist Intelligence Unit, respondents said their firms achieved only 63 percent of the expected results of their strategic plans. Those results are, unfortunately, all too common. Business action plans that work will have a clear owner who is committed to achieving success, measurable metrics that two individual observers could independently judge and ongoing communication and follow-through to ensure commitment and success.