Intention vs. execution

Execution in business and life is one of those areas that everyone knows is important, but often it’s not a core focus when making big life or business decisions, and I think it should be.
 
Often when we are making the big decisions, we look at what is on paper, which are the intentions, and we fail to focus on the execution. 

For example, when we are hiring a new manager, we look at their resume for educational background, previous experience etc. All can look glossy and shiny on paper, and we ask questions like ‘what are your goals?’ or ‘where would you like to be in 5 years?', but we often fail to ask the vital questions around how you execute, how you manage stressful situations, and how you deliver on what is expected of you.
 
Shouldn’t we be asking things like ‘Tell me about managing people in a busy cafe, the coffee machine has blown up, Mike calls in sick, you have a mountain of paperwork out the back and a sick baby at home’. What do you do? How do you manage your stress? How do you execute and get through the day? These are vital questions to see how someone performs under pressure.
 
I think that execution far outweighs a person’s educational and experiential background on paper. Anyone can talk a big game, but so many fail to execute. In time-critical industries such as hospitality or tourism, or any industry for that matter, execution is the key to success.
 
As a business owner, it’s all very well to do all the right things with your marketing, getting bums on seats or clients on your books, but if you can’t execute and deliver on everything that you’ve promised then you don’t have a viable business offering.
 
And too often people accept mediocre as the norm for how employees or business should perform. Too often it’s ok to be a good restaurant, have good staff, and a good customer experience, but not be exceptional.
 
We even teach kids at school that participation should be rewarded, and that being good is enough. But to survive in business, you need be great, and deliver each and every day, each and every service.
 
So as much as planning and taking the time to be strategic in your business is vitally important, I think the execution is critical for ongoing and consistent success in life, in business and in general.
 
Just my two cents.