To go along with yesterday’s article and video on three dimensions for reviewing documents, here is a way of looking at programs and program plans.

You need to pay attention to head, heart, and hands.

• Heart: What is the overall intent of the program? Is it on target?
• Head: Do the plans make sense and hang together? Do they have a reasonable connection to the goal?
• Hands: Are the right people on board to execute, do they have what they need, and are the proper controls in place?

Some time ago I wrote about the importance of hands when you are looking at why something failed. Especially in the nonprofit world, there’s an aversion to clear feedback. But often, plans fail not becuase they were poorly developed or ill-intentioned — but because someone goofed in the execution. These episodes need to be looked at. Sometimes the answer for next time isn’t a “better plan,” but “tighter controls.”

These days, that can seem anachronistic and old-school. But, execution is often about the hands.