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For more than 30 years, Indiana native Larry Smith, 64, has practiced the art of getting things done. Whether teaching public management at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government (where he begins class by writing on the board, "Knowing it ain't the same as doing it -- old Hoosier saying"); acting as counselor to Secretaries of Defense Les Aspin and William J. Perry (who presented him with the Distinguished Public Service Medal, the Department of Defense's highest civilian honor); advising nonprofit organizations on moving their ideas into the public light; or working as a coach to high-tech senior managers, Smith has mastered the difficult art of translating ideas into action. A case in point: In the early 1980s, Smith's skills in thinking and doing triggered military reform in Congress, a movement that examined many of the fundamentals of national defense and, in doing so, reshaped the way in which U.S. defense capabilities were delivered.

We asked Smith what it takes to move from idea to action. Here, he discusses six reasons why organizations often fail to execute their ideas -- and six solutions to change that.

The problem: No actionable proposition. Time and again, says Smith, companies fail to think of great ideas as "actionable propositions" -- that is, as things that can actually be done. "Often, managers don't stop to ask what result they're trying to produce," Smith says. "It's not clear, for example, what market segment they're going after or what product they're really offering. I once heard a quote that speaks to this point: 'The first thing we forget is what we're really trying to do.' " Often, says Smith, the problem goes beyond forgetting what you want or how to get it. "Typically," he says, "we don't know what result we want in the first place -- let alone how we are going to achieve it." The solution: Start by defining a concrete desired result, and then work backward. Map out the entire execution process, from conception to delivery, and then put an experienced operator in charge of each step. Be especially clear in defining the relationships between operators.

The problem: No alignment. Even actionable ideas will fail if they don't match up with your company's other goals, says Smith. Today, many companies find themselves facing conflicting interests: dominating a fast-growing e-market versus hitting Wall Street-influenced profit targets. To have a chance of achieving both of those goals, every idea must fit within a company's already-expressed intentions. "It's a variation on an old Henny Youngman joke," says Smith. " 'How do you like your new idea?' 'Well, compared with what?' " The solution: "You have to stress-test your idea," Smith counsels. "Your map of how to execute a new idea should expose any problems that the idea might cause for other business goals or practices." You can then adjust your goals to support the new idea, time the idea differently -- or drop the idea altogether.

The problem: Missing pieces. Even well-thought-out, actionable ideas will be stalled if your organization lacks critical elements, such as the domain knowledge necessary to apply a new technology. Companies routinely underestimate what it takes to execute a new idea. "With a truly new offering to an unfamiliar market segment, everything from engineering to the way that you make deals can be different," Smith says. The solution: Inventory all "dependencies," or pieces necessary to execute your idea. Then determine what you lack and -- if the idea is still feasible -- build it, buy it, or hire it. The key is to have not just available resources but also "disciplined self-analysis." Says Smith: "You need to be able to step back, see what you need, and then admit it if you don't have something."