The book that shows how to get the job done and deliver results . . . whether you're running an entire company or in your first management job
Execution is the discipline of getting things done, and according to CEO extraordinaire Larry Bossidy, it is the leader’s most important job. He explains that, in order to turn AlliedSignal around from a disconnected company with no productivity culture to one with a ninefold return for shareholders, he needed to create a discipline of execution. Together with Ram Charan, a Harvard professor and respected business author, he turns his ample experience into a plan that links people, strategy and operations.
According to the authors, execution is built on three basic blocks. The first block is composed of seven essential leadership behaviors. These are:

- Know your people and your business.
- Insist on realism.
- Set clear goals and priorities.
- Follow through.
- Reward the doers.
- Expand people’s capabilities.
- Know yourself.

The next building block of execution involves creating the framework for cultural change within an organization. A culture is a group of people who share the same values, beliefs, and norms of behavior. The authors write that values need to be reinforced by the people at the highest levels of the company. People’s beliefs are conditioned by training, experience, what they hear inside and outside about the company’s prospects, and their perceptions of what leaders are saying and doing. The authors explain that beliefs can only be changed when new evidence persuades them that they are false. Behaviors are beliefs turned into action, and are what deliver results.

A company’s competitive advantage depends on the behavioral norms of how people work together. To improve how people work together, and to change other behaviors, the authors write, rewards must be linked to performance. They write that a business’s culture defines what gets appreciated, respected and rewarded. The authors explain that if a company wants to create a culture of change, it must reward and promote people for execution.

The authors write that the third building block of execution is based on the job that no leader should delegate. This is the task of finding the right people and putting them in the right places. The authors explain that this depends on being systematic and consistent when interviewing applicants, appraising employees, and developing employees by providing useful feedback.

Once these three building blocks are in place, a solid foundation has been build on which core processes can be operated and managed efficiently. The authors write that the most important of these core processes is the people process. Since the people in an organization make judgments about markets, create strategies based on those judgments, and translate those strategies into operations, if the right people are not in place, the potential of a business will never be realized. The authors write that the key to finding the right people lies in whether individuals can handle the jobs of the future. Expertise in appraising and choosing the right people is developed through consistency of practice.

The next core process explored by the authors is the strategy process. This process is based on linking people with operations so customer preference can be won, sustainable competitive advantage can be created, and shareholders can get paid. According to the authors, a strategic plan should define a business’s direction and position the organization to move in that direction. The authors write that this plan must start with identifying and defining the critical issues behind the strategy, and linking this strategy to people will add realism to it. The authors devote a chapter of Execution to the details of conducting a strategic review.

The operations process makes the link between strategy and people. The authors explain that an operating plan provides the path on which people can take the business where it wants to go. This process breaks long-term output into short-term targets. To meet these targets, the authors add, people must make decisions and integrate them across the organization, putting reality behind the numbers. The authors write that the leader is primarily responsible for overseeing the seamless transition from strategy to operations, setting operational goals, and leading operating reviews that bring people together around the operating plan.

The authors of Execution get to the heart of a new theory of leadership and organization and provide crucial advice about how to improve the links between people, strategy and operations. By offering leaders ways with which they can improve individual processes, the authors create a detailed roadmap by which leaders can master the discipline of execution. Breaking down their ideas into succinct and vital components, and using relevant examples from years of experience, they reveal many facets of operational excellence that can be applied to any business to create a clearer path to improved performance. Copyright (c) 2002 Soundview Executive Book Summaries