Correct - is the intention, along with that is the actual movement that he is capable of becoming, over time, more and more fluid and opening his channels. It's not so much how well you perform the movements its the fact that you form the intention to do the movements. You can do the active excerises entirely via visualisation, no actual physical movement. The act of physically moving keeps you focused on the intention and allows you to more completely empty your mind. So even if the movements appear, to the observer, to be unco-ordinated, in the doers minds eye they will be aware of them selves performing them gracefully and fluidly, thus opening the energy channels. From that comes the real rewards of qigong.
The active exercises can be done standing, sitting or lying down and if necessary entirely in the minds eye. The powerful reason for actually physically doing it is to maintain the focus the mind tends to wander off by keeping the body in motion we know where we were up to in out intention. It may not be physically possible to perform all of the exercises (I still have my days when I have trouble with the 7 steps
I can explain why or not do them when I know they are going to give me trouble but I can modify and I know from experience the reward outweigh the wobbly active exercise.
For the record I found the seven steps the most benefical exercise and the first thing I focus on doing after a flight (after a shower). No jetlag. I've noticed by me its more my sense of balance that has been thown out of sync rather than my adjustment to the different time zones. 
Alex