Loved this book. Again, had to read it for a class but man do all business leaders need to read it. Turn your goals into results people! Stop sitting around and waiting for someone under you to do it for you!

All along I've taken pride that I'm an "ideas guy". I am not an "implementer". This book made it abundantly clear that if there were an extra Beautitude in the bible it would be: "the implementers shall inherit the Earth".

It's not enough to be think strategically and fashion an exception strategic plan. A plan is only as good as it execution. So often leaders are changed out under the guise of having a poor strategy. When in actuality it was poor execution that doomed them to failure.

The book made the case for clearly aligning your People strategy, Strategic plan and Operational plan together. Through the skill of having the courage to practice the art of asking the right questions, a leader can keep those three aligned and moving in the right direction.

It's the leader's job first and foremost to ensure the overall plan is executed. This isn't something that can be delegated. The leader has to be the one holding people accountable for doing their job, while not intervening too much and doing their job for them. Leaders must be hands on.

There wasn't a section on "how to ask effective questions". This would be a wonderful next step as it can doom a leader who might be all about following up and accountability, but just might not know the right questions to ask.

Before reading this book I thought the key thing was having an "impact". In fact, that was my word for 2016. Reading this book literally slapped that thought out of my head and replaced it with "execution". You can't have an impact on anyone or anything if you can't execute.

The thing that hit me hardest about this book is that I saw myself in it. I can look back in my career and endeavors and see a string of poor execution. Areas where I failed to ask the right questions, failed to follow-up, failed to focus (follow one course until success). It was humbling to say the least.

I no longer think of myself as just an ideas guy. I am an executor - first and foremost. I am leaving a trail of results in my wake as proof that I have impacted the world in a positive way.

As a result of reading this book I am beginning to ask questions of how certain things will impact other things. What will be the ramifications if this is (or isn't done)? What is the effect of failure on this process? Who else is doing this better than we are?

This book will definitely be read/listened to once a month for the next six months. I'll even buy the hard cover for the library.

A few interesting and helpful suggestions, but for the most part it was a lot of verbiage without much actionable content. Geared for much larger organizations with a larger hierarchical structure of authority where one can push off the actual process of doing to many direct reports.

There were some good things to think about as far as open and honest feedback from reviews and assessment. There were also some good points on when to take coaching opportunities. Most of the book was about setting expectations and following through by holding people accountable. There is a lot of emphasis on scrutinizing the business plans of underlings and driving out the specific actions to see if they have actually thought about it or just made up numbers to meet their performance objectives. The authors assume that money is the primary motivator of employees. They also assume that most everyone who is not in management wants to be promoted into management. I did not really enjoy this book, it sort of made me edgy.

This was the first book I picked up for my academic leadership reading project, at the recommendation of my university president and others I've talked to. It presents a structured approach to ensuring that "grand plans" actually are turned into reality.

I thought the "building block" framework (seven essential behaviors for leaders, creating a framework for cultural change, and selecting the right people) to be the most relevant part of the book for the context of academic leadership. The "People Process" section and to some extent "Strategy Process" also seemed applicable, but the "Operations Process" felt less relevant and I mostly skimmed over it. (It reminded me that I really have no interest in business management!)

The aspect of the book that resonated the most for me is the theme of honest assessment and feedback, both of the people in the organization (how well are they doing their jobs, and where can they improve) and of the processes (what do we want to do, how will we get there, are we accomplishing what we said we would do, and if not, why not?) That atmosphere of candor and frank dialogue is definitely what I would strive for in any organization that I was in charge of.

Great reminder to taking action.

The book offers good perspectives on the topic of execution. However what Bossidy and Charan are really doing is that they are talking about the importance of decision making. It is the small daily decisions along with the occasional large ones that together constitute execution. While execution is a good management jargon there needs to be more emphasis on the ways decisions are made in organisations.

A rambling mess that seemed to have never crossed an editor's desk, this book read as though it was literally spoken into a tape recorder, transcribed and then published. As to its subject matter: I cannot think of one bromide the "authors" managed to leave out, particularly of the tautological sort. You hire good people by....hiring good people, you build good products by....building good products. Wow.

I finally tossed this sucker aside after about the 84,000th mention of Jack Welch, in such slobbering terms they'd make a St. Bernard blush.

So, a "WTF?" is not an inappropriate way to end this review. The authors have obviously done a great deal in the business world, done it quite well and should have a great deal of constructive, practical advice to offer. Well, it ain't in this book, gang. Sorry. Indeed, I'm borderline to calling this work an insult to anyone who picks it up, expecting something remotely resembling the blurbs on the back cover. I don't know what they were reading, but it could not possibly have been this mess.

principles of this book still apply even 15+ years after it was written... having said that, i would be curious to re-review the companies they site and see how (and if) they have continued to succeed.

A fantastic treatise for every business leader from division level through CEO to read and absorb. The three core processes—people, strategy and operations—are the heart and soul of business and the authors bring numerous case studies and business examples to the table for the reader. A must read for anyone aspiring to high level management and leadership in business today.

I think this is one of the most influential business books published in recent years. I think this book will be of great value to any decision-maker in any organization because the authors focus relentlessly on how some decision-makers get results and why most others don't. The basic principles of the book are simple: identify the best people, give them clear objectives, challenge them to improve and check up on them frequently.

A good business book that focuses on how to implement business actions versus theorize about them and ties people, strategy, and operations together. The biggest challenge for me as a reader is in how to distill the concepts and suggestions that seem to be intended for high-level, big business executives and apply them to my role as a mid-level, small business executive. More focus on this would have been helpful.