I enjoyed this book as it was exactly what I needed right now. There wasn't anything terribly new -- much of it is just adding new language and a twist to some of the same old ideas. But I liked the spin on the old ideas. And the authors seem to adore Jack Welch. So, now I am inspired to read a book on Jack Welch.

I did not like this book. It relies too much on anecdotal examples of past successes to argue that the processes leading to those successes were correct. Based on my understanding of Nassim Taleb's books, I see this differently. The connection between processes and outcomes is not as straightforward, especially in the complex business world. When looking back, it’s easy to cherry-pick actions that seem effective for selected results rather than analyzing all actions across companies in a thorough, quantitative way to determine what works best.

This book falls short compared to Good Strategy Bad Strategy (While that book also uses anecdotal examples, it provided useful frameworks that made it more practical and insightful). I also did not appreciate this book’s heavy reliance on examples from Jack Welch. I disliked his biography, and how he ran General Electric has faced significant criticism in recent years.

Some of the book’s recommendations, like identifying “high-potential” people, feel outdated and flawed. Nine Lies About Work explains why this belief is misleading.

I agree with the book’s main premise: strategies and ideas alone are not enough—you need strong execution. This aligns with the common startup saying that "ideas are a dime a dozen."

I appreciated the book’s emphasis on doing background checks before hiring and understanding organizational competencies before determining if a strategy can succeed. This point reminded me of the 3C framework: customers, company, and competitors.

Overall, this book had a 1 out of 5 impact on me.

3 Building Blocks of Execution

#A – The leaders 7 essential behavior
1.tKnow your people and business
a.tMaster the art of questioning and take questions – you intuitively know the culture and how well the managers normally communicates w/ the workforce.
b.tBuild personal connection – absent that personal connection, you are just a name.
c.tConduct business reviews – show up as a way of your appreciation and a reward for their extensive preparation. It’s not an interrogation, but take the form of a Socratic dialogue.
2.tInsist on realism
a.tAsk the question of ‘what’ and ‘how’ instead of simply ask ‘what’
b.tAlways understand where you are comparing it with other companies
3.tSet clear goals and priorities – less is more, laser focused on the top 3 priorities.
4.tFollow through – have the review process to ensure feedback and progress.
5.tReward doers – enforce accountability and promote execution.
6.tExpand people’s capabilities via coaching – master the art of questioning, asking incisive questions forces people to think, to discover, to search.
7.tKnow yourself – build emotional fortitude – comes from self-discovery and self-mastery.
a.tAuthenticity – walk your talk, be real.
b.tSelf-awareness – Know your strength and your weakness. Put mechanisms in place to help you disciplined and overcome your weakness.
c.tSelf-mastery – keep your ego in check (don’t think you are better than others)
d.tHumility – the ability to contain your ego.

The ultimate learning comes from paying attention to experience. As you gain experience in self-assessment, your insights get converted into improvements that expand your personal capacity. It requires tenacity, persistence, and daily engagement.

#B – Creating the Framework for Cultural Change
tThe hardware of a computer is useless without the right software. Similaryly, in an organization the hardware (strategy and structure) is inert without the software (beliefs and behaviors).
tReward – You should reward not just strong achievements on numbers but also the desirable behaviors that people actually adopt.
tRigor cadence (rhythm) of the business – strategy planning, operating plan, business reviews…
Robust dialogue – effective meetings, plannings, reviews, the difference is in the quality of the dialogue, starts from the top.

#C—Having the right people in the right place
1.tInterview – a person who doesn’t interview well may be the best choice for the job. You need to probe deeply, have structured interview to frame your questions which focus on details (not just high-level strategy or philosophy), how to set priorities, qualities, decision making process, energy level…
2.tAppraisal – focus on the ‘how’ as well as ‘what’. The ‘how’ unvarnish the truth.
3.tCandid dialogue – practice, such that you have enough confidence to give areas for improvements.

3 Core Processes of Execution

#A The People Process
1.tPeople Evaluation – Who are the people who are going to execute that strategy, and can they do it? Deciding what to do about nonperformers.
2.tPeople Development – detertime the organization’s talent over time and planning people development actions that will meet near-, medium-, and long-term milestones.
3.tLeadership Pipeline / Strong succession plan – developing leadership pipeline thru continuous improvement, succession depth, and reducing retention risk.

#B The Strategy Process

#C The Operation Process

It's been awhile since I read this but I remember it being helpful at the stage of my career where I was shifting into more strictly management responsibilities.

Execution: The discipline of Getting Things Done: Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan


Central Truths:

1.tExecution is a systematic process of rigorously discussing hows and whats, questioning, tenaciously following through, and ensuring accountability.
2.t No company can deliver on its commitments or adapt well to change unless all leaders practice the discipline of execution at all levels.
3.tYou need robust dialogue to surface the realities of the business.
4.tHow people talk to each other absolutely determines how well the organization will function.
5.tOrganizations don’t execute unless the right people, individually and collectively, focus on the right details at the right time.
6.tPeople imitate their leaders.
7.tLeadership without execution is incomplete and ineffective.
8.tLeader must show up. You cannot be detached and removed and absent.
9.tGood people liked to be quizzed – when you probe, you can learn things and your people learn things. Everyone gains from the dialogue.
10.tRealism is at the heart of execution; don’t try to avoid or shade reality.
11.tRewards and respect are based upon performance.
12.tCoaching is the single most important part of expanding others’ capabilities.
13.tWhen leader discusses business and organizational issues in a group setting, everybody learns.
14.tBest learning comes from working on real business problems; ask people to work on 3 or 4 issues facing company – form teams to work on those issues.
15.tEvery leader and supervisor needs to be a teacher.
16.tLeader must have emotional fortitude to be able to be honest with yourself; deal honestly with business and organizational realities; or give people forth right assessments.
17.tEmotional fortitude comes from self discovery and self mastery. It is the foundation of people skills.
18.tPutting people in the right jobs requires emotional fortitude.
19.tFour qualities that make up emotional fortitude include authenticity, self-awareness, self-mastery, and humility.
20.tWe don’t think ourselves into a new way of acting; we act ourselves into a new way of thinking.
21.tA business’s culture defines what gets appreciated and respected and ultimately, rewarded. It tells people what in the organization is valued and recognized.
22.tYou cannot have an execution culture without robust dialogue; one that brings reality to the surface through openness, candor, and informality.
23.tGood motto: truth over harmony. Harmony can be the enemy of truth.
24.tFormality suppresses dialogue; informality encourages it. It invites questions, encourages spontaneity and critical thinking.
25.tThe culture of a company is the behavior of its leaders. Leaders get the behavior they exhibit and tolerate.
26.tThe more you get involved and the better you hash the issues out on the table, the better decisions you will make in terms of their resolution.
27.tIn successful businesses, leaders focus intensely and relentlessly on people selection.
28.tLeaders must be personally committed to the people process and deeply engaged in it.
29.tWhen the right people are not in the right jobs, the problem is visible and transparent.
30.tLeaders need to commit as much as 40% of their time and energy (emotional) to selecting, appraising, and developing people.
31.tDoers energize people; they are decisive on tough issues, get things done through others and follow through as second nature.
32.tGetting things done through others: fundamental leadership skill: if you cannot do it, you are not leading.
33.tWhen the wrong people get rewarded, the whole organization loses.
34.tMechanical evaluations miss how candidates performed in meeting their commitments. Meeting them the wrong way can do enormous damage to an organization.
35.tNowhere is candid dialogue more important than in the people process. Must be able to speak forthrightly in evaluating others, if not, evaluation is worthless.
36.tThe people process is more important than either the strategy or operations processes.
37.tRobust people process: evaluates individuals accurately and in depth; provides framework for identifying/developing leadership talent; and fills the leadership pipeline.
38.tTraditional people process; backward looking, focused on evaluating the jobs people are doing today. More important to determine if individuals can handle the jobs of tomorrow.
39.tMeeting strategic milestones greatly depends on having a pipeline of promising and promotable leaders. Strong leadership pipeline based on good information.
40.tHR person must be well trained in the craft: how to teach people, develop them, make them interested in staying with company, and know what’s important for building momentum and morale in an organization.

Application:

1.tA leader just does not sign off on a plan. She wants an explanation and she should drill down until the answers are clear.
2.tThe knowhow of execution: involve all people responsible for the strategic plan’s outcome; ask staff about the hows of execution; set milestones for the progress of the plan with strict accountability for the people in charge; and have contingency plans to deal with unexpected.
3.tSeven essential behaviors of leaders: know your people and your business; insist on realism; set clear goals and priorities; follow through; reward the doers; expand people’s capabilities; and know yourself.
4.tWork on the personal connection everyday and every way you can. Show up with an open mind and a positive demeanor, be informal and have sense of humor.
5.tFocus on a very few clear priorities that everyone can grasp. Strive for simplicity in general. Speak simply and directly.
6.tAsk people to work on 3 or 4 issues facing company: form teams to work on these issues.
7.tNeed to make judgments about which people have the potential to get something useful out of a course and what specific things you are trying to use education to accomplish.
8.tGain experience in self-assessment.
9.tCultural change must change people’s behavior. Must change the beliefs and behavior of people in ways that are directly linked to bottom – line results.
10.tDo not reward individuals for just strong achievement on numbers but also on the desirable behaviors that people actually adopt.
11.tIncrease population of A-players: those who are tops in both behavior and performance.
12.tSearch for people with an enormous drive for winning.
13.tNever finish a meeting without clarifying what the follow-through will be; who will do it; when and how they will do it; what resources they will use; and how and when the next review will take place and with whom.
14.tPersonally check references. Focus on candidate’s energy, implementation, and accomplishments. Find out about their past/present, accomplishments, how they think, and what drives their ambitions.
15.tLook closely at how the people under review met their commitments.
16.tWhen identifying high-potential and promotable people, avoid two dangers: organizational inertia (keeping people in the same jobs for too long); and moving people up too quickly.

There were some good/useful nuggets, but it was a little more business-focused than I anticipated.

The premise of the book is incredibly strong. It came as a surprise at first to consider that the missing link in the chain of growth for many companies is the ability to execute. Anyone in any type of leadership or management role should read this book. It outlines the exact practices and principles using real life examples of companies we can relate to.

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. Take aways for me: 1. Follow up to make sure there is follow through, 2. The importance of having the right people in the right jobs, 3. A thorough review process, feedback, critique and coaching, 4. Emotional fortitude in dealing with people (this includes self-mastery and humility), 5. Bringing large scale strategies down to the action items level (and again, follow up being key to success). This book forced me to look inward and evaluate where I fall short. Rather lengthy for the content, I believe it could be condensed.

This is a decent book about implementation and follow through in corporate strategy. The format is the now standard in the genre "buddy system" of teaming a high profile CEO with a consultant/academic to tamp down the bombast and increase the detail and logic flow. Here Bossidy is the exec and Charan is the consultant (who was also at the Kellogg School). Th material is fairly rich and the style is relatively readable - remember the genre!

Brilliant !

A bit lengthy written with two main messages:

1. As a CEO or a leader at the top level management, it is wrong to only focus on the planning or big pictures. The 'modern'
style of managing is to also make sure how to get the things done. Do not blame the staffs if execution goes wrong.

2. To do point 1 above, make sure you hire good people that are entitled to get things done. To do so, you have to use all channels of reference checking, contact people that know your candidates closely.

Very inspiring, but could have been written in a much more concise way.

This book is a completely over-rated book. In short I had lot more expectations from this book and what I got was far less.

Bossidy has earned the right to write on this topic, but the story lacks any sense of instructive meat. Many of the examples are what we normally know and lacks punch in it. Reading 250+ pages was painful. The initial 80-100 pages were kind of decent but then it started to drag on and towards the end I kind of felt - When does this END?

You will find in the book various examples from different organisations illustrating the point of view of authors, sometime pompous about themselves.

Examples such as Know your people, details of the business, expand peoples capability, identifying clear goals - things that already a person in middle-management knows. My expectations were a bit more into HOW rather than the superficial explanations.

There are some good examples from this book no doubt such as Reward the 'doers,' but avoid excessive emphasis on short-term results, Insist on realism are worth mentioning.

On the whole, for a first time manager this is a good book but for those who have been doing this for quiet some time - its a sleep inducing one.