Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done

by Larry Bossidy

Execution is what gives you an edge in detecting new realities in the external environment as well as risks that are being introduced, perhaps inadvertantly, to your own operations.

The three processes—people, strategy, and operations— remain the building blocks and heart of good execution. But as the economic, political, and business environments change, the ways in which they are carried out also change.

every strategy needs to take into account the ever-changing environment for global business.

One way to ensure that you have the right people in the right jobs in this rapidly shifting environment is by writing job descriptions for the kind of people you need in each job as it will exist tomorrow, then match those descriptions against the talents and abilities of the peole holding those jobs today.

To execute well there must be accountability, clear goals, accurate methods to measure performance, and the right rewards for people who perform.

Knowing your people is just as important as knowing your business in these perilous times.

But knowing your people is not enough. They need to know you.

knowing your people and listening to their concerns.

Articulating the right goals is the first step.

Once the risks are recognized and analyzed, consider a hedging strategy or limiting your participation in an area in which the risks are great.

Knowledge without courage isn’t effective.

Even in tough times you can find ways to provide education and training as an investment in the company’s future.

Be particularly cautious about losing your ability to listen.

Above all, you need to be able to recognize when you’re part of the problem.

There are several characteristics that will differentiate good leaders going forward. They will have a commanding knowledge of the world around them. They will never stop learning. They will be extremely flexible and quick to adapt to changing conditions. But perhaps most important of all, they will lead in a positive and uplifting way that gives confidence to those who follow.

Are our products positioned optimally in the marketplace? Can we identify how we’re going to turn the plan into specific results for growth and productivity? Are we staffed with the right kinds of people to execute the plan? If not, what are we going to do about it? How do we make sure the operating plan has sufficiently specific programs to deliver the outcomes to which we’ve committed?

Most often today the difference between a company and its competitor is the ability to execute.

Here is the fundamental problem: people think of execution as the tactical side of business, something leaders delegate while they focus on the perceived “bigger” issues. This idea is completely wrong. Execution is not just tactics—it is a discipline and a system. It has to be built into a company’s strategy, its goals, and its culture. And the leader of the organization must be deeply engaged in it.

But their failure to understand and practice execution negates the value of almost all they learn and preach. Such leaders are building houses without foundations.

Execution is a specific set of behaviors and techniques that companies need to master in order to have competitive advantage. It is a discipline of its own. In big companies and small ones, it is the critical discipline for success now.

Execution paces everything.

Execution-oriented companies change faster than others because they’re closer to the situation.

Leading for execution is not rocket science. It’s very straightforward stuff. The main requirement is that you as a leader have to be deeply and passionately engaged in your organization and honest about its realities with others and yourself.

It recognizes that meaningful change comes only with execution.

No company can deliver on its commitments or adapt well to change unless all leaders practice the discipline of execution at all levels.

As such, it is a major—indeed, the major—job of a business leader. If you don’t know how to execute, the whole of your effort as a leader will always be less than the sum of its parts.

To understand execution, you have to keep three key points in mind: Execution is a discipline, and integral to strategy. Execution is the major job of the business leader. Execution must be a core element of an organization’s culture.

Execution is a systematic process of rigorously discussing hows and whats, questioning, tenaciously following through, and ensuring accountability. It includes making assumptions about the business environment, assessing the organization’s capabilities, linking strategy to operations and the people who are going to implement the strategy, synchronizing those people and their various disciplines, and linking rewards to outcomes. It also includes mechanisms for changing assumptions as the environment changes and upgrading the company’s capabilities to meet the challenges of an ambitious strategy.

In its most fundamental sense, execution is a systematic way of exposing reality and acting on it. Most companies don’t face reality very well. As we shall see, that’s the basic reason they can’t execute.

The heart of execution lies in the three core processes: the people process, the strategy process, and the operations process.

You need robust dialogue to surface the realities of the business. You need accountability for results—discussed openly and agreed to by those responsible—to get things done and reward the best performers. You need follow-through to ensure the plans are on track.

The leader must be in charge of getting things done by running the three core processes—picking other leaders, setting the strategic direction, and conducting operations. These actions are the substance of execution, and leaders cannot delegate them regardless of the size of the organization.

First, she is to behave with the highest integrity. This is an issue where there are no second chances—breach the rule, and you’re out. Second, she must know that the customer comes first. And finally I say, “You’ve got to understand the three processes, for people, strategy, and operations, and you’ve got to manage these three processes. The more intensity and focus you put on them, the better you make this place. If you don’t understand that, you’ve got no chance of succeeding here.”

These leaders energize everyone by the example they set.

Leadership without the discipline of execution is incomplete and ineffective. Without the ability to execute, all other attributes of leadership become hollow.

Especially when a business is making major changes, the right people have to be in the critical jobs, and the core processes must be strong enough to ensure that resistance is dissolved and plans get executed. Both of these building blocks were missing.

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.

Being present allows you, as a leader, to connect personally with your people, and personal connections help you build your intuitive feel for the business as well as for the people running the business. They also help to personalize the mission you’re asking people to perform.

We know of no great leaders, whether in business, politics, the military, religion, or any other field, who didn’t have these personal connections.

All you’ve got to prove is that you care for the people who are working for you. Whatever your respective personalities are, that’s the personal connection.

The personal connection is especially critical when a leader starts something new.

Realism is the heart of execution, but many organizations are full of people who are trying to avoid or shade reality.

How do you make realism a priority? You start by being realistic yourself. Then you make sure realism is the goal of all dialogues in the organization.

Leaders who execute focus on a very few clear priorities that everyone can grasp.

Otherwise people think they’re involved in socialism. That isn’t what you want when you strive for a culture of execution. You have to make it clear to everybody that rewards and respect are based on performance.

The skill of the coach is the art of questioning.

The same principles apply to coaching an individual privately. Whatever your style—whether it’s gentle or blunt—your aim is to ask the questions that bring out the realities and give people the help they need to correct problems.

Keep in mind that 80 percent of learning takes place outside the classroom. Every leader and supervisor needs to be a teacher; classroom learning should be about giving them the tools they need.

A solid, long-term leader has an ethical frame of reference that gives her the power and energy to carry out even the most difficult assignment. She never wavers from what she thinks is right. This characteristic is beyond honesty or beyond integrity, beyond treating people with dignity. It’s a business leadership ethic.

we have pinpointed four core qualities that make up emotional fortitude: