As Thomas Edison said, “Genius is 1-percent inspiration and 99-percent perspiration.” Perspiration may be boring, but it gets you results.

I don’t know about you, but I have come across numerous senior executives who were are all fired up during the intellectual phase of a new quality initiative or strategy development. This phase includes designing and planning. People are brimming with ideas about what should be done.

However, when it comes to implementing the strategy or plan, and regularly reviewing its progress, the enthusiasm dissipates. I can still be surprised at how quickly senior executives become bored with the strategies and plans that they have developed. After the first month or two, some executives almost have to be dragged to the strategy meetings. They have little or no interest in reviewing how their own plan is being implemented.

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