10.23.06
Focus & Execute
I generally don’t read business books when they are first published. I had a boss who would change strategies & objectives based on whichever book he had just completed. So I became bitter and cynical about the genre. I wait a few years to see which books stand the test of time.
Recently, I finished Lou Gerstner’s Why Can’t Elephants Dance? — his rendition of the IBM turnaround. Gerstner provided an overview of the process. Folks looking for gory details will be disappointed. Two themes emerged: 1) hire the right people for the job & get rid of the wrong people immediately and 2) focus & execute.
Focus & execute requires you to develop your strategy & objectives and then put forth maximum effort into enacting said strategy & objectives. F&E also says if that strategy or those objectives aren’t working, even after a good faith effort in execution, then change your strategy & objectives. No sense going down with the ship.
Next up on the reading list is Larry Bossidy’s Execution. We’ll see how he and Lou converge and diverge. On the main point, I suspect they converge: business is all about execution. You can have a great product or service, but if you can’t deliver it to the customer, what’s the point?
Posted by Samantha.
Robin said,
October 29, 2009 at 12:21 am
yes you will find Larry Bossidy’s Execution is from the same mould.
Execution is all about deivering on the strategy promise.
The staggering failure of leaders to deliver on the strategy promises has led implementation to becoming an integral part of strategy discussions, in the last few years. In my new book Beyond Strategy, John Wiley & Sons, I focus on what leaders must now do differently. Something needs to change and it starts with the leaders.
Implementation of strategy can‘t simply be delegated. The book is based on the latest thinking and divided into the areas of the Implementation Compass™, a framework for implementing strategy that identifies the eight global best practices of implementation. Each chapter ends with the actions leaders must take. It is succinct, action orientated, and packed with useful tips and case studies.
The book is a breakthrough in understanding leader’s responsibilities in strategy implementation.
Robin
International specialist in strategy implementation