Discipline Wins: How Leading Measures Drive Performance

When I was going through Royal Marines training, the Physical Training Instructors had a mantra: “Give 100%, trust the process.” There was no talk of passing the Commando Course.

No discussion about the final test or what it would feel like to wear the green beret.  Just relentless focus on the next hill sprint, the next camp circuit, the next repetition. They had no interest in promises or intentions.

They were only interested in one thing: what you actually did. And if you did the work—consistently, with full effort—they would take care of the rest.  They would get you fit enough to pass.

That experience taught me something fundamental about performance: in many circumstances, outcomes are a by-product of process.

As a CEO—especially in a high-pressure, private equity-backed environment—it’s easy to become obsessed with the scoreboard: revenue, EBITDA, market share, exit multiples.
But the scoreboard doesn’t move because you stare at it. It moves because of the inputs—what your people actually do, day in and day out.

That’s where leading measures and process goals come in.

The Problem with Outcome Fixation

Most businesses set goals based on outcomes. “We want to grow revenue by 30%.” “We want to be number one in our market.” “We want to increase NPS by 20 points.”

There’s nothing wrong with those aspirations. But none of them are directly controllable.

They’re what the Four Disciplines of Execution (4DX) call lagging indicators—metrics that measure success after the fact.

Leading indicators, by contrast, are the things you can control in the moment. They are the measurable, observable behaviours that cause the results you want.

If you want more revenue, focus on the number of high-quality sales conversations your team is having.

If you want better customer satisfaction, focus on the speed and quality of issue resolution.

And if you want to build a high-performance culture, focus on the discipline of executing the right behaviours consistently.

Elite Sport: The British Cycling Revolution

When Dave Brailsford took over British Cycling in 2002, they had won a single gold medal in 76 years. His philosophy? Focus on what he called the “aggregation of marginal gains.”

Rather than obsess over medals or titles, Brailsford and his team broke performance down into dozens—hundreds—of controllable inputs: sleep quality, nutrition, tyre pressure, hand-washing technique, even the type of pillow each cyclist used. Every single detail was treated as a process that could be measured, improved, and repeated.

The results were extraordinary. Between 2008 and 2012, British cyclists won 16 Olympic gold medals and dominated the Tour de France.

Outcome? Transformed.

Cause? Relentless discipline around process.

Military Operations: Mission Command

The military doesn’t leave performance to chance. While the outcome of a mission is important, success in the armed forces hinges on how teams behave under pressure—especially when the plan goes out the window.

One of the foundational principles of modern military doctrine is Mission Command—a philosophy that gives leaders clear intent (the outcome) but empowers individuals with the freedom to decide how to achieve it.

This only works when there are well-drilled, reliable processes in place. When the Royal Marines conduct operations, there’s a huge focus on rehearsals, battle drills, communication protocols, and contingency planning.

These are process goals—clear, repeatable actions that, when done well, give teams the adaptability and competence to deliver under extreme conditions.

The same applies to business. You want your teams to deliver, even when the plan changes? Then give them clarity on the goal—but coach, measure and reward them based on the process.

Business Success: The Four Disciplines of Execution

The 4DX model popularised the concept of focusing on Wildly Important Goals (WIGs)—but more critically, it shows that to execute consistently, organisations must obsess over the right lead measures.

For example, in a business trying to increase customer retention, a lag measure might be the percentage of customers renewing their contracts. But the lead measures could be weekly customer check-ins, proactive service reviews, or issue resolution time. These are things teams can influence directly.

One portfolio company I worked with wanted to increase their new business pipeline by 40%. The sales team was full of good intentions but short on activity.

We introduced a lead measure: each salesperson had to generate ten new conversations a week. Not emails. Conversations. That one process goal changed everything.

Within six weeks, the pipeline had more than doubled—not because they were trying harder, but because they were finally executing the right activity.

Why Process Goals Matter to CEOs

For CEOs of PE-backed businesses, the temptation to fixate on quarterly numbers is understandable. That’s the rhythm the board sets.  But sustainable performance doesn’t come from chasing numbers. It comes from installing the right habits—across the business—that generate those numbers.

Here’s what elite performers in every domain understand:

• You don’t rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.
• You can’t control outcomes, but you can control behaviours.
• Process is what builds capability. Capability is what delivers performance.

Ask yourself:

• Are your people clear on the few key behaviours that will make the biggest difference?
• Are those behaviours being tracked, measured, and coached?
• And are you modelling the same discipline yourself?

Bringing It All Together

The Royal Marines taught me that if you focus on the process—on what’s in your control—you will get the outcome. Elite sport has shown us the same. So has military operations. So has business.

The challenge for leaders is not setting big goals. That’s easy. The challenge is getting your teams to focus on what matters most, consistently.

That means knowing your lead measures, setting clear process goals, and building a culture that values execution over intent.

If you’re serious about delivering results, stop fixating on them.

Start leading the process.