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When I think about true integrity, I think of Martin Luther King Junior. He emerged as the primary voice of the Civil Rights Movement 65 years ago.

In 1955, Martin Luther King Junior was just 26 years old when Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama to make room for white riders. Parks and King were launched into the spotlight. Outraged, King led the fight for equality in Montgomery, mobilizing the African American community. In the following days, 40,000 bus riders organized carpools and walked to work to protest the city’s law supporting segregation on public transportation.

Exactly 381 days later, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that Montgomery’s law violated the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The pressure of thousands and the leadership of one ignited a revolution.

I so admire the work of Martin Luther King Jr. His story and leadership are evidence that one individual can make an incredible difference. When he started, he didn’t have an army of people behind him. He mobilized communities and created the movement. He knew what he stood for, he was clear about his principles, and he was willing to sacrifice everything for them. That’s integrity. Better yet, that’s the power of the human spirit.

Standing up for what you believe in

While we all understand the legacy and integrity of Martin Luther King Jr., it’s important that we also recognize and actively uphold our own integrity and values within ourselves. We all have it in us to make a positive impact when we stand up for what we believe is right, even when that decision is hard.

Very early in my career, I was a manager for a healthcare company at a time when the industry was in transition.  It was a great company—they treated me very well, I was frequently rewarded and I had learned a lot.  However, one day, I realized my integrity was being challenged. The company was rolling out a new program for managed healthcare. While the company positioned this new offer to be a win for the consumer, I wasn’t so sure. It felt to me it was more focused on managing costs than managing patients.  So, I had a decision to make. 

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” I didn’t feel right championing the program because I felt it wasn’t right for the customer. I couldn’t support an idea I didn’t believe in. So, I left the company. That was one of the first times I understood just how sacred my personal integrity was to me.

The work our product and engineering teams have done to create a world of inclusive and accessible technology is something I’m incredibly proud of. As Microsoft’s Accessibility team says, “There are no limits to what people can achieve when technology reflects the diversity of everyone. Our products and services are designed for people of all abilities.”

If you’re not already familiar with some of the incredible tools, technologies, and capabilities product teams have created, you can explore them here!

The power of praise and 3 claps

In addition to the awesome experiences at the flagship store, there was something else I witnessed that filled me with inspiration. Every morning, just before opening, the NYC Flagship team gathers for a rally. They stand in a big circle and team members lead a discussion on each event scheduled in the store that day—gaming sessions, community events, and customer groups coming in. It’s a chance to get everyone on the same page and excited about the diverse community they would be hosting.

Then, to wrap-up the meeting, there was a “praise session” where team members could give shout-outs for something great they saw happen at the store the day before. After each recognition, the whole team would give three-claps in appreciation. I loved this! It was super energizing!

Eventually, the rally would end with a special recognition. A team member from the previous day was singled-out as the Most Valuable Player for going above and beyond. I remember being filled with pride for these people I hadn’t even met. There was so much positive energy from creating an inclusive and empowering team moment for every person on the team!

Getting off the ground: executing your plan

So, what are the steps necessary to execute on your plan? For me there are four, straight-forward components:

• Get Aligned – Everyone has to be rowing in the same direction. Create clarity by defining a strategy, principles and an execution plan with a clearly defined outcome. What does success look like? Get people excited about the vision and help them buy-in. Always build the execution plan TOGETHER.
• Socialize the Plan – Talk about the strategy with everyone—to the point where you can’t think of someone you haven’t Debate it and collect feedback throughout the process. That’s when good ideas become terrific ideas. Getting input from people who will question the plan’s success, will push the team to do better and keep things on track.  Don’t forget: socialization is iterative – not a one-and-done thing. 
• Create Clear Roles & Responsibilities – How are you going to bring the vision to life? Who’s doing what to get there? One of the keys to proper execution is matching responsibilities to capabilities. Great project managers know their team’s individual skill sets and play to those strengths.
• Check as you Go – Are you on the right path?  Execution requires ongoing project management. When you lay out the roadmap to success, build check-ins and milestones, build in go/no-go checkpoints to measure if you’re on track. 

If the project has taken you on a path different from your execution plan, analyze and be prepared to shift and even to restart if it has gone off track from the objective or something in the business case has significantly shifted.

Avoiding the crash and burn

Many things can derail a good execution plan. In my experience, complexity is the number one cause for crash and burn.

I remember when I was running the licensing team at Microsoft and we were coming up on our first set of renewals. Our first pass at an execution plan revolved around “12 steps to renew.”  TWELVE STEPS! We determined that was way too many and boiled it down to THREE:

• Connect with your customer at least 12 months prior in advance to their renewal.
• Set up a meeting with the partner to create a T-12 customer engagement plan. 
• Prepare the renewal proposal consistent with the customer’s conditions of success plan.

Once we did that, renewals took off. Simplicity is nearly always key. Which makes sense because our brains can really only handle three or four steps at a time.

In order to drive execution, you need a simple motion that is continuous, functional, and repeatable. We tend to over-complicate things. But when you boil things down to a 1-2-3 process, you’ll drive real success.

Delivering results and executing is critical.  As I’ve said before, we work in a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately kind of world. Whether you’re working on a small project or a big game-changing idea, stay focused—with clarity and vision—and you will execute your goals.

Have a great week everyone!

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