2. Many people think the ”No Excuses” philosophy is
a macho accusative call to work hard, be tough
and Front up
‘No Excuses’ it is in fact about removing the barriers to being successful through
‘Aggregation of Marginal Gains ’ to the whole environment ....... it is about removing
the basis of excuses one by one until there is no reason that why we cant succeed. If
we do not succeed at this point we have to look in the mirror and ask ourselves what
more can we do..
3. How does ‘No Excuses’ philosphy work
• It starts with articulating a clear vision of what you are trying to achieve. This vision should
be Clear, Limited, Achievable and Definite allowing all team members to make important
decisions simply by referencing ‘the vision’.
• The prevailing mindset should be we will make ‘our’ deliverables successfully , on time and
delight ‘our’ customer by meeting their expectations.
• An understanding of the factors and variables which affect your ability to achieve it.
• Establish an empowered ‘No Blame’ culture and train staff to be assertive. Saying ‘No’
positively is an essential part of being successful.
• Establish leadership throughout the spine of the organisation the more leaders the better
and great leaders devolve power and decision making to the lowest level.
• Breaking down your target achievement into discrete components which will impact your
ability to execute successfully
• A plan to remove all the first layer of distractions which stop the team from applying
themselves from delivering
• An incremental plan to remove other layers allowing the team to focus on the core activity
• Individual, unit and team development plans to increase performance capability and
communication
4. Aggregation of marginal gains – Team Deliveries
Area Actions Impact result
Staff Focus Complete benefits package, including competitive
salary and bonus , Sports and social club, team
activities, spot bonuses, Supportive fun work place
Reduces staff churn and external distractions builds
team engagement because staff dont worry about
the hygene factors. Allows team to focus 100%
20% + increase in
perforemance and zero
staff turnover
Staff Performance Interesting/challenging work, achievable targets
stretching as the team grows.
Increased productivity and longer hours worked for
positive reasons and freely given.
10-20 % increase in hours
worked on the project
without loss of morale
Work Environment Supportive Fun workplace, good equipment,
relaxation room, quirky design, minimal rules and
open informative management team. No Dramas, No
finger pointing and a positive vocabulary.
Bonds the team together ,Increases the amount of
time spent at work and reduces the amount of
stress on the team. People work for each other.
10-20 % increase in hours
worked on the project
without loss of morale
Success Recognise the achievement of incremental wins,
management should enable the team to succeed.
Reinforces belief in the process and confidence in
the team increasing expected deliveryt capability
5-15% increase in
confidence to stretch goals
Predctable
outcomes
Team set realistic targets and dates for delivery which
they believe in. Development Management defend
from feature creep and project change.
Team use analytics and real metrics to measure
progress and increased belief that the team are
stakeholders in the project
Increase in predictability
of deliverables
Personal
Development
Every team member trained to the next level up,
personal development program for each team
member including leadership and assertiveness.
When people need to step up they are ready,
people feel invested in , softskills improve
communication and bonding
10% extra projects,
greater flexibility and
increased team value
Ability to say ‘NO’ Every team member learns how to say ‘No’ positively.
I cant do that however in the timescale we can do ....
People are empowered and therefore more
committed to delivering excellence.
10-30% increase in the
quality of final deliverable
Total gain in performance and capability 65% -105%
6. The Four Finger rule is always true
Time
Quality
Resources
Features
• There are interdependent 4
factors which can be changed
in any deliverable
• Changing any one of them
requires changes in the others
to compensate
• Reducing Time to deliver
requires an increase in
Resources or a reduction in
Features or Quality
