Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done

by Larry Bossidy

Starting at the highest levels, Brown created new ways to drive accountability and collaboration. In the monthly “performance call,” for example, he, his COO, and his CFO began hosting Monday-morning conference calls of the company’s roughly top 150 leaders. These calls are essentially an ongoing operating review, in which the company’s performance for the previous month and the year to date is compared with the commitments people have made. The calls provide early warning of problems and instill a sense of urgency. People who fall short have to explain why, and what they are going to do about it. In the early days, when Brown was building the new culture of execution, the calls also served to reinforce the new standards of accountability. “The point I tried to make is that when you sign up for what used to be a budget item, you are committing for your team and each other,” he says. “The rest are depending on you. It added a layer of weight and responsibility that was missing before.”