Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done

by Larry Bossidy

When I appoint a new business manager, I call her into the office to discuss three issues. 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.”

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.

People practicing this methodology look for deviations from desired tolerances. When they find them, they move quickly to correct the problem.

Leaders who execute look for deviations from desired managerial tolerances—the gap between the desired and actual outcome in everything from profit margins to the selection of people for promotion.

“Are the right people in charge of getting it done,” she may ask, “and is their accountability clear?

Whose collaboration will be required, and how will they be motivated to collaborate?

Will the reward system motivate them to a com...

involved all the people responsible for the strategic plan’s outcome—including the key production people—in shaping the plan.

They would have set goals based on the organization’s capability for delivering results.

Organizational capability includes having the right people...

set milestones for the progress of the plan, with strict accountability for the people in charge.

But the innovator’s dilemma itself has an execution solution that isn’t generally recognized. If you’re really executing, and you have the resources, you are listening to tomorrow’s customers as well as today’s and planning for their needs.

Second, in the mad rush to grow revenues, Lucent set out in too many directions at once.

The discipline of execution is based on a set of building blocks that every leader must use to design, install, and operate effectively the three core processes rigorously and consistently.

Building Block One: The Leader’s Seven Essential Behaviors

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.

Making a personal connection has nothing to do with style. You don’t have to be charismatic or a salesperson. I don’t care what your personality is. But you need to show up with an open mind and a positive demeanor. Be informal, and have a sense of humor. A business review should take the form of a Socratic dialogue, not an interrogation. 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.

INSIST ON REALISM

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

SET CLEAR GOALS AND PRIORITIES

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

people in contemporary organizations need a small number of clear priorities to execute well.

Along with having clear goals, you should strive for simplicity in general.

FOLLOW THROUGH

Clear, simple goals don’t mean much if nobody takes them seriously. The failure to follow through is widespread in business, and a major cause of poor execution.

REWARD THE DOERS

If you want people to produce specific results, you reward them accordingly.

EXPAND PEOPLE’S CAPABILITIES THROUGH COACHING

Coaching is the single most important part of expanding others’ capabilities.

The most effective way to coach is to observe a person in action and then provide specific useful feedback. The feedback should point out examples of behavior and performance that are good or that need to be changed.

SELF-AWARENESS: Know thyself—it’s

Nowhere is self-awareness more important than in an execution culture, which taps every part of the brain and emotional makeup.

SELF-MASTERY: When you know yourself, you can master yourself. You can keep your ego in check, take responsibility for your behavior, adapt to change, embrace new ideas, and adhere to your standards of integrity and honesty under all conditions.

Self-mastery is the key to true self-confidence.

HUMILITY: The more you can contain your ego, the more realistic you are about your problems.

First you tell people clearly what results you’re looking for. Then you discuss how to get those results, as a key element of the coaching process. Then you reward people for producing the results. If they come up short, you provide additional coaching, withdraw rewards, give them other jobs, or let them go. When you do these things, you create a culture of getting things done.

“If we want to change the culture, what should be our next question?” One member of

OPERATIONALIZING CULTURE

We don’t think ourselves into a new way of acting, we act ourselves into a new way of thinking.

LINKING REWARDS TO PERFORMANCE The foundation of changing behavior is linking rewards to performance and making the linkages transparent.

THE SOCIAL SOFTWARE OF EXECUTION

A key component of software is what we call Social Operating Mechanisms.

The Social Operating System is the constant. More than anything else, it provides the consistent framework that’s needed to create common ways of thinking, behaving, and doing.

When people speak candidly, they express their real opinions, not those that will please the power players or maintain harmony. Indeed, harmony—sought by many leaders who wish to offend no one—can be the enemy of truth.

Informality is critical to candor. It was one of Jack Welch’s bywords. Formality suppresses dialogue; informality encourages it.

Dialogue alters the psychology of a group. It can either expand a group’s capacity or shrink it. It can be energizing or energy-draining. It can create self-confidence and optimism, or it can produce pessimism. It can create unity, or it can create bitter factions.

“The culture of a company is the behavior of its leaders. Leaders get the behavior they exhibit and tolerate.

We’re not talking about inspiring people through rhetoric. Too many leaders think they can create energy by giving pep talks, or painting an uplifting picture of where the business can be in a few years if everybody just does their best.

In part, Nardelli won them over and energized them with his personal style of leadership. Deeply involved in all aspects of his business, he is curious and tireless—the personification of engagement. He never finishes a conversation without summarizing the actions to be taken.