The fourth and final step in the First 100 Days is launching an Action Plan, which defines the imperatives and tactics necessary to execute the strategy (Step 2) within the 80/20 segmented structure outlined in Step 3. Like the three steps that precede it, Step 4 aims at progress (not perfection) toward delivering on the goal set in Step 1. Every day of the First 100 Days is dedicated to making sound, informed decisions and taking actions based on them. Action, however imperfect, injects the company strategy into the real world, where it not only can begin the needed turnaround but where it is also tested against reality so that in can be continuously improved.

A Business Plan is no more than an inert plan until it is put into action. Action is not an idea or a description. It is an event that requires doers who do specific things at specific times. A successful action plan seamlessly connects the Business Plan strategy to the life of the business  by assigning the who, what, and when that are instrumental in convert plan into action.

1. The who consists of those with direct leadership and operational responsibility for implementing each given aspect of the business plan. Clearly, assigning the who is critical because a plan is nothing but an abstraction until human beings act on it. The who aspect of the business plan has important implications for internal HR (promotions, transfers, relocations, etc.) as well as possible talent acquisition from outside the company.
2. Each what must be a clear definition of an action or set of actions and should include whatever resources are required to perform the action(s).
3. Each when must be specified with dates. This means that the business plan needs to embody realistic and realistically coordinated scheduling.

Within the First 100 Days, your Business Plan (Step 3, Build the Structure) is a work in progress but is far enough advanced to require an Action Plan to lay out its execution. Launched at the end of the First 100 Days, the Action Plan will be far from perfect but will define the key tactics and efforts required to execute as much of the Business Plan as has been completed by this time.

The secret to creating an effective Action Plan is blatantly obvious: Always think in terms of actions:

1. Recap the goal defined in the Business Plan  
   • This step reinforces the context for the actions to be defined. Goals are the desired endpoints of the strategy set out in the business plan. Goals are the products of strategy.
2. Recap the objectives defined in the business plan 
   • “Goals” and “objectives” are not synonyms. Goals are desired endpoints, whereas objectives are milestones and intermediate deliverables toward that endpoint. Goals are made up of objectives and are achieved when all those objectives are successfully attained. Defining objectives is necessarily more granular and specific than outlining goals.
3. Define and lay out the action steps (the “projects”) to achieve each goal set forth in the business plan 
   • Each action step (often called a “project”) is a set of related tasks (“action items”) that must be successfully executed to produce the deliverables. Together, these deliverables make up the companywide objectives and the financial goal set out in the business plan. It will not be possible to lay out all of these in the First 100 Days.
4. Identify and prioritize all necessary action items 
   • Action steps (“projects”) typically consist of a sequence of smaller tasks, which may be called “action items.” Breaking them out and prioritizing them provides a clear set of instructions for successfully completing each action step. Typically, action items should be performed in an optimal sequence. This requires identifying which action items depend on the completion of other action items. Identifying all such dependencies puts a when to the what. At the very least, the sequencing by dependencies increases efficiency and allows for coordination of effort among the team. In “Toyota Way” terms, this minimizes muda (waste). It is at Step 4 that laying out a graphical timeline of action steps and action items can be most helpful. The graphical representation of actions through time simplifies project management and promotes accountability in ways essential to Lean management. Again, it will not be possible to lay out all of these in the Action Plan as it exists in the First 100 Days.
5. Define roles and responsibilities 
   • Having defined, divided, and subdivided the work required to execute the Action Plan, the next step is to define the who. Step 5 in the Action Plan assigns ownership of each action step (“project”) and each action item that makes up the action step. Those assigned ownership for whole projects or individual action items must fully understand their roles and responsibilities. Step 5 is the place to define and assign these. Tasks should be assigned as far as possible in the Action Plan as it exists at the end of the First 100 Days. These roles and responsibilities will doubtless change somewhat during the three to five years to which the Business Plan applies.
6. Allocate resources 
   • Allocates management resources to the projects and action items that make up the action plan. Step 6 includes management personnel but goes beyond them to allocate additional human resources required for each action step (“project”) and action item. Other resources may include funding, equipment, physical plant, materials, advanced computing time, outside consultants, workspace, special certifications or licenses, and so on. Resource allocation must be made in the context of the entire business plan. Failing to do this results in suboptimization—inadequate or inefficient resource allocation—which is a major source of waste (muda). Get as far in this task as possible by the end of the First 100 Days, knowing that the allocation is subject to modification as realities of the moment may require.
7. Apply the SMART standard to objectives 
   • The action plan requires close monitoring and continuous feedback on performance. Do not rely on subjective assessments, gut feelings, and hunches in assessing progress toward goals. Back in 1911, Frederick Taylor stressed the importance of measuring what you monitor and using the resulting empirical data to find the best ways to run each production process. This was the cornerstone of his concept of Scientific Management. Today, this quantified, objective approach is often identified by the acronym “SMART”: Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic, and Time-related. All action steps and action items should embody these qualities, and their progress can be evaluated according to them. Evaluate each goal and deliverable in SMART terms, so that you can be assured of accurately evaluating progress toward your business goals.
8. Allocate time  
   • Each project requires time, and allocating it requires a timeline. Break down action steps into action items and provide reasonable (parallel where possible, sequential where necessary) deadlines for each.

The aim of the First 100 Days is to begin taking positive action to earn the right to grow.  In a turnaround, the sooner you start turning, the better. You cannot afford to wait for perfection. The Action Plan will inform sound decisions to drive the organization forward into the real world. The effects of the interaction between the strategy and its implementation in the real world must be monitored and the results fed back into the ongoing execution. Based on the resulting data, you can make changes to move the imperfect strategy closer to perfection.

Immediately engage a Do, Check, Act process to ensure adequate and accurate feedback to monitor the progress of the Action Plan and take corrective measures as needed:

Do: Execute the plan—implement the countermeasures—and collect data on results.

Check: Evaluate the results produced by implementing the countermeasures. Assess the execution of the plan. Your objective is to verify your hypothesis for the countermeasure and to evaluate the timeliness of realizing the benefit. Above all, learn from the result to improve the team’s problem-solving capabilities. What worked? What did not work? And why?

Act: Determine the next steps in the context of executing the business strategy or plan through continuous improvement. Based on the results—degree of improvement or degree of decline—decide what to do next. For successful countermeasures, disseminate them to other processes or areas. For current countermeasures that fail to produce change or create decline, continue collecting results and reevaluate the nature and status of the problem or issue.

As the Do-Check-Act process progresses, modify the Action Plan as necessary to better support the budget and the execution of the strategy. Review, edit, elaborate, and refine the complete enumeration of the risks and opportunities for the business.