The title is an old golf quip. Put another way, you can hit a 300-yard shot off the tee straight as an arrow down the fairway, but if you can't chip and putt the ball into the hole, the perfect drive is useless. This statement can hold true for redesign projects, as well. Too often, redesign projects begin with much fanfare and attention and produce very good recommendations, but they fail when it comes to implementation. The best recommendations are useless unless they are implemented. The following factors are a must if implementation is going to be successful.

Assign an accountable project manager. Too often, the employee with the most time on his or her hands is selected as the project manager. The project manager should be a respected member of the organization who can motivate employees to complete tasks and cut through red tape. Depending on the nature of the project, this may be a full-time job until implementation is complete. The project manager should have some type of incentive to complete the project on time and be held accountable if deadlines are missed.

Communicate the expectations of the project. Senior management needs to communicate the importance of the project and the idea that the project is not complete until implementation is successful. Lack of senior management involvement during implementation can send a message that the project is not that important.

Establish detailed project plans with completion dates. Many times, employees involved in a redesign project breathe a sigh of relief once the final report is submitted, happy that they can get back to their regular jobs. But the redesign is the easy part of the project—the implementation is what's hard (the devil is in the details!). Once the final report is approved, the fanfare and attention seem to ebb; when this happens, employees can fall into the "we'll-get-to-it-tomorrow" mode. And as we know, tomorrow never comes.

Most employees need to have detailed implementation plans established, so they can monitor and report the steps that are being taken and raise a flag when they hit a snag. Lack of detailed implementation plans and completion dates will more than likely cause this to happen. Employees should also know that their success or failure will be taken into account in performance reviews.

Establish a system of frequent reporting. Frequent reporting of implementation progress, because it ensures that employees are meeting the implementation schedule, is a strong motivator. It also gives employees a chance to report areas where they need help or to ask for resources required to stay on schedule.

Celebrate successes throughout the implementation phase. Celebration can take many forms: peer recognition, incentives, parties, dinners, you name it. The important thing is to recognize and honor success throughout the course of the project.

Conduct a postmortem once implementation is complete. Take a minute and review the results of the project. What are the lessons learned? Did we get what we planned for? What worked? What didn't work? If we had to do it over again, what would we do differently?

A company that adheres to the above guidelines will have a far better chance of arriving as well as it drives.