Overview: Tasks such as strategy, leadership development, and innovation are the more exciting aspects of leading a successful business; actually getting things done never seems to be quite as glamorous. Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan demonstrate in Execution that the ultimate difference between a company and its competitor is its ability to execute. Although failure in today’s business environment is often attributed to other problems, the real reason is the inability to get things done. Bossidy and Charan emphasize that the building blocks-- leaders with the right behaviors, a culture that rewards execution, and a reliable system for having the right people in the right jobs--need to be in place to manage the three core business processes of people, strategy, and operations. They then go on to provide methods and tools on exactly how to make sure that you and your employees are executing well.

Execution is one of the most essential and most overlooked quality of a great business. It is truly a trait that separates the winners from the losers. Execution is needed because it is the single step that determines whether your company is living in a dream or is capable of making that dream a reality. Being a company that can successfully execute its ideas will make you stand out and achieving this goal is not as hard as some may think. Like all things, there is a process that includes everything from making the necessary links, to putting the plan in full force, and much more. The book Execution tries to lay out for you in an easy-to-use process for your own goals. Here is a listing of the table of contents for you to get a better idea of what is inside:

1. Why execution is needed
2. The gap nobody knows
3. The execution difference
4. The leader’s Seven essential behaviors
5. Creating the framework for culture change
6. The job no leader should delegate
7. Having the right people in the right place
8. Making the link with strategy and operations
9. Make the link with people and operations
10. How to conduct a strategy review
11. Making the link with strategy and people

Reviews

“If you want to be a CEO—or if you are a CEO and want to keep your job—read Execution and put its principles to work.”
—Michael Dell, chairman and CEO, Dell Computer Corp.

“Good practical insight and advice on managing for results at firms of any size. Execution is key, and this book clearly explains what it means and how it brings together the critical elements of any organization—its people, strategies, and operations.”
—L. R. Raymond, chairman and CEO, Exxon Mobil

“The best-thought-out plans in the world aren’t worth the paper they’re written on if you can’t pull them off. And that’s what this book is all about. Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done is well written and gives sound, practical advice about how to make things happen. It is well worth the reading.”
—Ralph S. Larsen, chairman and CEO, Johnson & Johnson