Book Summary of Execution : The Discipline of Getting Things Done
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The book 'Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done' by Lawrence Bossidy and Ram Charan highlights the critical importance of execution in achieving business success, arguing that many failures stem from poor execution rather than flawed strategies. It emphasizes that execution must be ingrained in a company's culture, supported by strong leadership behaviors and a clear framework that connects people, strategy, and operations. The authors outline essential practices for leaders, including setting realistic goals, understanding team dynamics, and fostering a culture that promotes robust dialogue and accountability.
Book Summary of Execution : The Discipline of Getting Things Done
- 1. The book titled Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done by Lawrence Bossidy and Ram Charan is an examination of what it takes for companies to succeed through strategies, processes, leadership and ultimately, execution. It is this which sets successful companies apart from those that fail. It was reported that nearly 25% of the fortune 500 CEO’s failed to execute the Business Strategy. This book is an ideal read of any leader looking to amplify their team’s execution and results. Execution : The Discipline of Getting Things Done byLawrence Bossidy & Ram Charan Book Summary by Chandra Kopparapu About the Authors: Ram Charan is a renowned author of various business and leadership book. He has consulted for companies such as GE, KLM, Bank of America, Praxair and Jaypee Associates. He runs his business management consulting company under the name Charan Associates in Dallas, TX. Records show the company was established in 1981 and incorporated in Texas. Current estimates show this company has an annual revenue of $500,000 to $1 million and employs a staff of approximately 1 to 4.Charan sits on the board for Austin Industries, SSA & Company (formerly Six Sigma Academy), and TE Connectivity. American born Lawrence Bossidy graduated college with a degree in economics took on a job in finance at General Electric. Bossidy stayed with the company for the next 34 years and eventually became the CEO from 1979-1981. He was part of the company for some of their most significant years and saw them double their assets. Bossidy went on to be chairman and CEO of AlliedSignal Corporation and determined to help people learn he wrote this book in 2002.
- 2. This book has three main parts: 1. Why Execution is Needed will cover the concept of execution as a discipline and how execution must be at the core of a companies culture. 2. The Building Blocks of Execution will cover leader behaviors and creating a framework for cultural change. 3. Three Core Processes of Execution will cover the people process, the strategy process, and the operations process. Summary
- 3. • The author explains that when a company appears to be failing or breaking down the blame is often placed on the CEO. It’s assumed that the strategy the CEO had in place was wrong and is to blame. However, the author stresses that often the strategy itself wasn’t wrong, but it wasn’t executed effectively. And this is where things start to fall apart. To be successful, you need more than just an excellent strategy, you also need excellent execution. ”Without execution, the breakthrough thinking breaks down, learning adds no value, people don’t meet their stretch goals, and the revolution stops dead in its tracks. What you get is a change for the worse, because failure drains the energy from your organization. Repeated failure destroys it.” Leading and Execution: • The author identifies execution as ‘the missing link between aspirations and results’. He believes that if you can learn how to connect the two, then success will follow. It’s important to note that execution is a discipline and needs to be practiced by company leaders at all levels. It’s not just a single component but it needs to be part of all strategies and goals. Without this, companies will fail to deliver. • It’s so important that a business leader knows how to execute well. You can be a leader full of ideas and aspirations but without the ability to execute well, these ideas will amount to nothing. • The author identifies three key points to consider when thinking about execution: Execution is a discipline, it’s a critical component of the strategy. The business leader is responsible for encouraging and promoting execution. Execution needs to be at the core of an organization's culture. Why Execution is Needed ?
- 4. ”Tactics are central to execution, but execution is not tactics. Execution is fundamental to strategy and has to shape it. No worthwhile strategy can be planned without taking into account the organization's ability to execute it.” • The author explains that you should think of execution as a process. Always be asking how and what, ask questions and remain accountable. Part of executing means that you need to be in a position to understand the business environment and the organizations capabilities. You need to be able to make assumptions and forecasts. • Execution requires the ability to link strategy + operations + people who are going to execute the strategy. If these links aren’t clear and synchronized then the execution won’t be streamlined or effective. Therefore, The author explains that there are three processes that are critical to effective execution: the people process, the strategy process, and the operations process. Discipline
- 5. • Bossidy, like many other authors, stressed the importance of culture within a business. The author explains that execution needs to be a core part of this culture, it needs to be the norm and something that all employees understand. A leader who executes is someone who is constantly analyzing the gap between the actual results and the desired results of any strategic plan. By learning from this gap they can take their knowledge onto the next project and make significant improvements. • Although The author has pointed out that execution is the responsibility of senior leaders, it doesn’t mean that everyone in any organization should practice the skills. By learning the skills of execution at any level, you will be making strides in advancing your career and eventually reaching that senior leadership role. • It’s the combination of people as individuals and as a collective that aid execution. If you can get everyone moving in the same direction and at the same time then successful execution is much more likely. The author explains that any leader that lacks the discipline of execution, isn’t really a leader at all. They must strive to be rigorous and consistent with their actions and encourage all team members to practice the discipline of execution. Culture ”Leading for execution is not about micromanaging, or being “hands-on,” or disempowering people. Rather, it’s about active involvement—doing the things leaders should be doing in the first place.”
- 6. 1.The first essential behavior a leader needs it to know the people and the business. It’s so important that a leader is in touch with who they work with and the current business climate. 2.Realism is the second behavior that a leader needs. Rather than avoiding the truth a great leader needs to embrace the truth. And if this means identifying and acknowledging weaknesses then be as real as possible. 3.Leaders need to be setting goals and priorities. It’s a good idea to focus on a few key goals that the entire team can focus on. Don’t overcomplicate things with too many goals or priorities. 4.Being someone that always follows through is important for a leader, it means that people will believe what you say and take you seriously. Never be someone who has a lot to say but never puts anything into action. 5.The fifth behavior a leader must have is the ability to reward people. In doing so you encourage your team to work hard and achieve results. Consider bonuses, pay rises or stocks. 6.Pass on knowledge, always be expanding other peoples capabilities. Someone that you work with may be the leader one day so it’s important to share as much knowledge as possible. 7.Leaders need to be strong characters who know themselves well. Accepting and acknowledging your own weaknesses and working to improve these is a great trait for a leader. It’s important that leaders are self-aware, have humility and are authentic. Building Block 1: 7 Essential Behaviors of a Leader
- 7. • The author explains that companies often focus on changing their strategy and structures. But they fail to work on the people, the beliefs, and behaviors of those that they work with. He emphasizes that cultural change is just as important as strategy and structure. • Author identifies that companies who make an effort to change their culture often fail because they don’t find the direct link between culture and business outcomes. When the changes are so disconnected, they are not likely to succeed. A business needs to understand the deep connections between company culture and business outcomes. • To change business culture, one need to set up processes – social operating mechanisms. These will change the beliefs and behavior of people in ways that are directly linked to bottom-line results. • By changing people’s behaviors, you are having a direct impact on the results they produce. So it’s important to ensure that the behavioral changes you encourage, promote a positive outcome. The first step is to clearly identify and communicate what results you are after. Then have a discussion about how those results are going to be reached. And finally, you reward people when the goals are reached. In the scenario where you and your team do not reach the end goal adequately, assess what happened and ask how can you learn for next time. It’s all about creating a culture of getting things done. ”You cannot have an execution culture without robust dialogue. One that brings reality to the surface through openness, candor, and informality. Robust dialogue makes an organization effective in gathering information, understanding the information, and reshaping it to produce decisions. It fosters creativity—most innovations and inventions are incubated through robust dialogue. Ultimately, it creates a more competitive advantage and shareholder value.” Building Block 2: Cultural Change
- 8. • The author explains that there is one job that no leader should ever delegate, and that’s ensuring that the right people are in the right job. It’s absolutely critical that leaders fully understand the importance of having the right people in the right roles. After all, it’s the people that are responsible for generating the results and outcomes. These are the people that make decisions every day and take actions towards either success or failure. • The author explains that consistently successful businesses always have a leader who is dedicated to selecting the perfect people for the perfect roles. This isn’t a task that can be rushed or overlooked. It takes time and dedication when selecting the right employees but it is always going to be worth it. • ”When you interview, you have to create a full picture of the person in your mind based on things you can learn by probing them. Then you need to find out about their past and present accomplishments, how they think, and what drives their ambitions.” Building Block 3: The job no leader should delegate
- 9. The Three Core Processes of Execution This process is all about connecting the people to the strategy and operations. People are at the core of any business, they are the ones that make decisions and create strategies. It’s absolutely critical that the right people understand how to translate the strategy into an operational reality. The author explains that by having an effective people process you will achieve three different things: • You’ll be able to evaluate the people you work with. • A framework will be provided to identify and develop leadership. • You’ll establish a leadership pipeline. It’s important to create the links between the people and the strategy and operations. Establishing this link will encourage people to remain focused and motivated and will keep everyone accountable. The author believes that a strategic plan needs to be essentially an action plan. This plan needs to be clear and easily understood. Business leaders need to be able to understand what needs to be done in order to reach their goals. In order to establish an effective action plan, you first need to define and understand the critical issue. All good strategies have a critical issue that is the driving force behind it. The author explains that once the plan has been established, you should develop it further by asking the following questions: • How good are the assumptions upon which the plan hinges? • What are the pluses and minuses of the alternatives? • Do you have the organizational capability to execute the plan? • What do you need to do in the near and medium terms to make the plan work in the long run? • Can you adapt the plan to rapid changes in the business environment? Bossidy’s operations process is all about linking the strategy to the people. As we’ve discussed, the strategy is designed to identify where the business is headed and how it’s getting there. The people process defines who is going to help the business get there. The final piece of the puzzle is the operation process, designed to define the road ahead, the path the people can follow. ”It breaks long-term output into short-term targets. Meeting those here-and-now targets forces decisions to be made and integrated across the organization, both initially and in response to changes in business conditions. It puts reality behind the numbers.” The Operations Process The People Process The Strategy Process
- 10. • Setting realistic goals is the first step, and in order to do that, you need to make sound assumptions. The author identifies this as a critical step and encourages you to spend time debating the assumptions. Once you’ve come to a clear conclusion, you can then move on to set realistic goals. • The next step in the process is the building of the operations plan. You begin by setting targets. Followed by developing the action plans, short-term and long-term objectives. Also, spend time developing contingency plans. • Finally, everyone needs to agree on the plan and ensure that it’s clear and straightforward. • The author encourages everyone to have follow-up measures in place to ensure that everyone is staying on track and working on the right steps and the right time. Keep accountability going throughout the process. ”Quarterly reviews help keep plans up to date and reinforce synchronization. They also give a leader a good idea about which people are on top of their businesses, which ones aren’t, and what the latter need to do.” Defining the Operations Process
- 11. Thank you