_Image: Chris McChesney, Global Practice Leader of Execution for FranklinCovey_

FranklinCovey's Four Disciplines of Execution $4DX$ model is widely respected. 4DX has lifted productivity at: Marriott International, ANZ Bank, ConvaTec, Harley Davidson, Shaw Industries $a carpet-making subsidiary of Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway, Inc.$, Ritz Carlton, Bolinda audio books, Dell, NSW Transport, Lockheed Martin, Downer, and Pfizer. Given some of the most successful companies in the world have applied 4DX in their strategy execution planning, it's time we took a closer look.

_'The 4 Disciplines of Execution $4DX$  Achieving Your Wildly Important Goals'_ is written by Chris McChesney, Global Practice Leader of Execution for FranklinCovey. Growth Faculty has interviewed Chris McChesney for our book club, and Chris has led a masterclass on the fundamentals of 4DX.

What is The Four Disciplines of Execution (4DX)

Making goals is not the same as reaching goals. Execution is the answer, but execution is almost always the problem. Leadership training institute Franklin Covey says a breakdown in execution occurs in **4 ways:**

Why is execution important?

1. Managers and work teams dont know the goal.

2. Managers and teams dont know what to do to achieve the goal.

3. They dont keep score.

You can see how easy it might be to fall short on executing on goals. If any of these sound familiar to you and your team, read on.

4. They are not held accountable.

Franklin Covey's solution lies in the framework "The 4 Disciplines $4DX$". In a nutshell, the 4DX framwork is:

1. Focus on the **Wildly Important.**
  2. Act on the **Lead Measures** $the actions - not the result$.
  3. Keep a Compelling **Scoreboard.**
  4. Create a Cadence of **Accountability**.

And, if this sounds like too much jargon, we explain it in plain language with examples below.

The4DX framework for increased productivity

To make understanding the 4DX framework simple, let's use a plain-English example of a team being tasked with making **more sales calls.** You the leader want it to be your [Wildly Important Goal](https://www.thegrowthfaculty.com/blog/Achieveyourwildlyimportantgoals) to lift productivity and revenue. Perhaps you got to this point because:

* cash flow is dire,
  * the sales team are not meeting targets,
  * a rising feeling of panic is setting in.

So, as leader, you clap your hands, and announce at the morning meeting: _Okay, I want the sales team to_**_make a lot more sales calls_**_this week._ You use your most encouraging voice. In bright green marker, you write " _Focus this week: More sales calls"_ on the office whiteboard.

Okay, that might make you feel like you're executing on goals, but you've just made a **badly-formatted commitment**.

Intention vs Execution

Why, then, is this make a lot more sales calls a badly-formatted commitment to really move the needle on productivity? ****

Well, a quote $wrongly attributed to Winston Churchill$ provides the answer.

_However beautiful the_**_strategy,_**_you should occasionally_**_measure the results_**_,_ Churchill never said.

In other words, you need to put some numbers in there.

Measuringresults is key to execution

_What's the bet this runner has a numerical commitment? "I will run 2 kms x 7 days a week'._

I will make 20 phone calls and send 10 emails to my qualified leads every day this week is an example of a **well-formatted commitment.**

And, its a nice example of one discipline from _The 4 Disciplines of Execution $4DX$._ Chris McChesney, a charismatic keynote speaker, explained to one of our[ masterclasses](https://www.thegrowthfaculty.com/?promoCode=Blog#liveevents) that a **$20+10$ x 5 goal passes the test** because it is:

*  **Specific** $what, when, how$
  * Has an ability to **influence the scoreboard** $your goal$
  * Is **timely** $the impact of the activity can be seen in the near future$

But hang on, influence a scoreboard? Whos keeping score here?

A well-formatted commitment is numerical

For the four disciplines of executions to work, you need to keep score of results. A scoreboard can be anything the team wishes it to be, as long as it is visible to the team, and can be altered to reflect progress towards a goal. ****

* Think **stickers on a chart** $and a gold one at the end of each month$. 
  * Think crosses on a whiteboard $and pizzas for the office once the goal's reached$.
  * Or an app.

McChesney says to achieve results, you require a scoreboard

People tend to play differently when they are keeping score. Imagine for a moment two teams kicking a ball around in the park. The minute you mark out goals and announce that youll keep score, the individuals and the teams motivation soars\! Business teams are no different. Humans love making progress, and it brings meaning to day-to-day work.

Why does 4DX require us to keep score?

Remember, the 4 Disciplines are:

1. Focus on the **Wildly Important** $your WIG or Wildly Important Goal$
  2. Act on the **Lead Measures** $the actions - not the result$.
  3. Keep a Compelling **Scoreboard**.
  4. Create a Cadence of **Accountability**.

Recapping the 4DX framework

So let's look at the lead and lag measures of the 4DX framework. The specified actions you take $20 calls and 10 emails every day$ are **Lead Measures** . They must be actions that move the needle towards your goal.

In other words, they are actions that have an impact on your **Wildly Important Goal $WIG$**.

Counting the sales made as _a result of_ those calls is called a **Lag Measure**. The Lag Measure,here in this example, might also be revenue, number of new contacts added to the database, number of referrals.

Lead measures and Lag measures

You must act on and keep a score of lead measures **** to make any skerrick of a difference.

In other words, you could measure product sales **** but that in itself wont move the needle. $A Lag Measure is the result of your actions or Lead Measures$.

Acting on the Lead Measures,however, will certainly start to make a difference.

Putting it all together

Go back over this article and swap out 'making sales calls' with your most valuable actions that will move the needle towards your own Wildly Important Goal. It could be **sending samples** , **emailing past clients** , **submitting tenders** , or **responding to social media** and **filming content etc.**

Action you can take NOW:

See what youre doing? Youre defining actions that will move that scoreboard. Instead of "making calls", youre **committing to making** 20 minutes of calling prospects every day or similar. Instead of **"find ways to reduce costs"** , you're committing to "45 minutes a day of sweeping our systems and processes to find **unnecessary expenses."**

Mark your efforts and keep that "scoreboard" close and visible.

_Acting on your Lead Measures_ is one of the **4DX keys to success** for some of the worlds most robust and profitable companies, and you can implement it in your business.

Defining actions that will move the scoreboard

Nobody sets out to fail. We all start every day determined we'll get to the important stuff. But oddly, the importance of a task is not the best motivator.

Unlike urgency, which puts a rocket under us. In the moment, it's hard not to jump to the latest email, solve the latest crisis, get our fingers on the shiny new project $a personal favourite of mine$.

This is where we need to bring in the discipline so often mentioned in all the [best quotes by Jim Collins](https://www.thegrowthfaculty.com/blog/bestleadershipquotesJimCollins).

The 4DX method is not easy, but it could stop you saying "we achieved nothing this week."

Again.

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