You've got the bright ideas and the smart people, and the market is

just ready for you. But why hasn't your business taken off as you
predicted? Maybe the problem is in your . What does it
really take to get a business going? You need the right people
combined with realistic strategies to create effective operating
procedures. Let Larry Bossidy and RamCharan tell you how.
Abusiness leader's most important job is the execution of plans, the
detail work, making sure that the staff is getting results. This is the
sort of responsibility that cannot be delegated. It is the leader's
primary duty to see that every member of the team is carrying out
his part of the big plan to ensure the whole company's success.
There are no excuses for failure: the market will be tough.
What spells the difference between successes and failures is the
ability toexecute plans.
Too often, too much intellectualizing and philosophy occurs at the
planning level. The leaders are busy with their dreams and plans
for success but there is little focus on implementation, thus the
promised result is not delivered. The emphasis on execution as
an integral part of the business process has not received enough
attention in terms of accumulated knowledge and literature.
execution
always
Execution
Author:
Publisher:
Date of Publication:
ISBN:
Number of Pages:
Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan
Crown Publishing Group
2002
278 pages
0609610570
About the Author
The Big Idea
Larry Bossidy
Larry Bossidy
Execution: The Discipline of Getting
Things Done
Ram Charan
draws upon his years of
experience in various companies such as
and
Upon his second retirement, Mr. Bossidy
co- wr ot e t he best - sel l i ng book,
, an international best-seller
with more than 550,000 copies sold. His
m a n a g e m e n t p h i l o s o p h y i s
straightforward: I am convinced that
nothing we do is more important than
hiring and developing people. At the end of
the day you bet on people, not on
strategies.
is coauthor of the landmark
article "Why CEOs Fail" and an
adviser on corporate governance, CEO
succession, and strategy implementation.
He was named as Best Teacher by
Northwestern's Kellogg School and as a
top-rated executive educator by
. He is author of ,
coauthor of
, and a frequent contributor to
(6/2000).
General Electric, Allied Sigma
Honeywell.
Fortune
Business
Week Boards at Work
Every Business Is a Growth
Business
Harvard Business Review.
Published by BusinessSummaries, Building 3005 Unit 258, 4440 NW 73rd Ave, Miami, Florida 33166
2003 BusinessSummaries All rights reserved. No part of this summary may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, photocopying, or otherwise, without prior notice of
BusinessSummaries.com
The Discipline of Getting Things Done
David Brandt
Sometimes even good companies fail with catastrophic results, despite stellar
qualities. The problemis usually not the strategy or the person in charge; it is the
between strategy and execution.
1. : Execution is fundamental to strategy and must
shape it. It is the process of taking into account all factors that can affect your
end result. Too often plans are static, made by rote and taken for granted.
Plans and processes need to be carefully thought out and performed given
current and possible future realities.
2. : Execution requires a
comprehensive understanding of a business, its people and its environment.
Leaders should be intimately and intensely involved with their people and
operations; in other words, is the key here. Dialogue
must be at the core: be candid and reality-based, ask questions and find
realistic solutions.
3. : Execution has to be embedded in the
rewards system and in the norms of behavior. Look for deviations from
desired managerial tolerances. Execution only works as a widespread
collective effort, not on an individual basis.
People assume that the statement of an idea instantly produces results. Or they
announce the idea and expect other people to spell it out and do what needs to be
done. Results can only be obtained when you specify in detail how to arrive at
desired outcomes through persistent probing in the right direction. We are geared to
think that leaders are supposed to find new ways of thinking, new strategies, new
ideas. But the work of bringing these abstract thoughts to fruition is usually delegated
tosomeone else.
1. . A leader must be in touch with the
day-to-day realities of the business. Get to know your organization down to
the smallest unit. Get to know the supervisor and her team, how they
produce results for the organization and their level of awareness regarding
the situation elsewhere in the company.
Work towards a climate of open, honest dialogue on all levels, up and down
gap
active involvement
Execution is a discipline
Execution is the Job of the Business Leader
Execution Has to Be in the Culture
KnowYour People and Your Business
[ 2 ]
Execution by Larry Cassidy and Ram Charan
Part One: Why Execution is Needed
The Gap Nobody Knows
Execution Comes of Age
Why People Dont Get It
Part Two: The Building Blocks of Execution
Building Block One: The Leaders Seven Essential Behaviors
the hierarchy and across various departments. The best ideas and the
earliest warning bells can reach you if your ears are open to all. Use dialogue
as a tool for educating and guiding your subordinates and showing sincere
organizational support from the top level of the administration. Use this
personal connection to make new ideas work, and explain theories,
concepts, purposes and implementation. Help the staff accept the new
directions the company wishes totake.
2. . Identify your weaknesses, and don't mince your words. Be
aware of your organization's capabilities and shortcomings. Try to look at the
situation from all sides, especially from the points of view of the consumer
and of the competitor.
3. . Focus on very specific, defined priorities to
maximize the resources you have at hand. Simplify. Choose which goals are
important and manageable for you, and work on those.
4. . Make sure the plans you make are carried out and check on
all subordinates to whom responsibilities have been delegated. Provide
incentives for those who provide exemplary results and deliver ultimatums
tothose who don't meet their requirements.
5. . Reward your top performers. They will reward you in the
future with more good work.
6. . Don't just give orders;
teach your staff how to get things done. Observe your people in action then
provide feedback. Compliment and encourage good behavior, note the bad
and makes suggestions for improvement. Help others find a better way of
doing their job for your company by asking them questions that lead to the
answer. They figure out ways to improve by themselves, and the lesson is
more easily absorbed. This applies not only to business practices and
decisions but personal attitudes and behavior as well, especially those that
affect co-workers and work results.
Provide opportunities for learning to those who will benefit the most from
them, especially those who might be promoted to key positions later on.
These opportunities might be different projects that will hone their talents,
short courses, or even additional responsibilities.
7. . Do you have the strength and the courage to do what's
necessary? If you hesitate to act, you bring risk to the whole organization. If
you are determined and resolute, others will follow your example. All of this
requires emotional fortitude, which is comprised of authenticity, self-
awareness, self-mastery and humility.
You can't just institute changes for the sake of shaking things up at your company.
Your changes must be geared towards getting results. Be specific: what sort of
behavior is acceptable in your company? What's acceptable? Change must begin
at the top-level, to set an example down the line. Don't just expect it to happen either.
Reward successful implementation of your plans toinstigate change.
Insist on Realism
Set Clear Goals and Priorities
FollowThrough
Reward the Doers
Expand People's Capabilities Through Coaching
Know Yourself
un
[ 3 ]
Building Block Two: Creating the Framework for Cultural Change
Execution by Larry Cassidy and Ram Charan
OperationalizingCulture
LinkingRewards toPerformance
TheSocial Software of Execution
TheImportance of Robust Dialogue
The problem is usually not the organization's values but in its practice on all levels.
Identify the beliefs and attitudes that influence behavior, particularly those that are
detrimental tothe company's and other employees' growth.
Make obvious the fact that certain actions will be rewarded and that negative
behavior gets you nowhere. Use a rating and rewards systemto encourage not only
positive behavior, but also to encourage the half-hearted to push harder. Use this
system to convince those who are already results-oriented to improve their
performance.
To ensure your employees know what you want of them, reiterate what goals you
have set for themand make sure that they agree to deliver on mutually agreed-upon
terms. Offer different financial and non-financial rewards for different results and
provide different motivations. In the end, your employees' ultimate goal should be
quality work that benefits the whole unit and the whole organization, not just the
compensation for good work done.
Sometimes the problem isn't people heading in the wrong directions. Sometimes,
the problem is people aren't going anywhere: inaction. People are constrained by
formality, lack of trust and hesitation. You're going to need to work on your company's
then. Social software refers to the factors outside organized rules,
structure and norms, such as values, beliefs and motivation. An organization's social
software is defined in concrete terms by its social operating mechanisms, which refer
toany opportunity for dialogue within the organization.
Social operating mechanisms create new relationships and communication lines,
creating links where there normally are none, fostering transparency and
knowledge-sharing. These provide opportunities for business leaders to put into
practice the beliefs and behaviors that should be the norm, thus setting an example
for the whole company. Social operating mechanisms can be used to make changes
in behaviors. Use these opportunities to observe various units in your company, to
followup on previously agreed-upon plans of action, to update and evaluate, to plan
ahead, and toreinforce the good and weed out the bad.
Only through the incorporation of social operating mechanisms into the
organization's routine can desirable behaviors be integrated into the collective
consciousness. Ensure that these mechanisms occur at given frequencies, to
reiterate the value of each occurrence, to include the repetitions into the work
timetable and toconstantly remind people of the desired behaviors and beliefs.
Robust dialogue is necessary for gathering information, processing it and putting it to
good use. Robust dialogue is characterized by candor, informality and closure. Its
purpose is to see multiple viewpoints, see the pros and cons of each opinion and to
choose the most practical, sensible option. Robust dialogue encourages all people
involved tospeak their minds and togear their thinking towards solutions and results.
social software
[ 4 ]
Execution by Larry Cassidy and Ram Charan
Leaders Get theBehavior TheyExhibit andTolerate
WhytheRight PeopleAren't intheRight Jobs
What Kindof PeopleareYouLookingFor?
You get what you give. Aleader shows his people what sort of behavior he should get
from them by giving them that behavior. Thus, you can change the culture of a
company by changing the behavior of its leaders. The business leader must be a
constant presence in the lives of those whose behavior he wishes to influence. The
more she gets involved, the better the whole team works and produces results.
Executing cultural change depends first and foremost on having the right people.
Hiring the right people is as important as planning ahead; you need people who are
not only capable, but also full of potential for growth as your business expands. Take
time to focus on your staff, because in effect your business is in hands. Take time
to develop your staff's leadership capabilities so that they can bring results to
plans and visions. Assess individual capabilities and determine if you can further
develop your employee through training, coaching and exposure, or if he's better off
elsewhere. If you can properly develop your people, you should be able to fill top
administrative posts from within. Hire a talented person and will hire a talented
person.
1. . Sometimes, the people in HR don't really know their
people's specific qualities or a job's requirements. Job requirements must
specify the level of personal experience and professional know-how
necessary, and match all these with what a candidate has tooffer.
2. . If someone screws up, fire themif they're beyond help. You
will save your company the trouble and the employee will be relieved of a
duty he can't perform.
3. . Some leaders hire or promote people for the
wrong reasons like friendship, personal loyalty or personality compatibility.
This poses a great threat to the whole company because the decision was
not based on acquiring the skills and traits necessary for the job.
4. . If you don't sincerely care about your
company and your people, you won't do much - if at all - to fix a problemthat
you knowis there.
While vision, philosophy and intellect are always important, it is still more important to
find determination and resolution, someone who's a doer, a winner with drive and
strong decision-making skills. Your people should:
Energize people
Be decisive on tough issues
Get things done through others
Follow through
their
your
she
Lack of Knowledge
Lack of Courage
Psychological Comfort Factor
Lack of Personal Commitment

[ 5 ]
Building Block Three: The Job No Leader Should Delegate - Having the Right People
in the Right Jobs
Execution by Larry Cassidy and Ram Charan
HowtoGet theRight PeopleintheRight Jobs
TheUnvarnishedTruth
During an interview, examine not only the list of your candidate's achievements but
also the manner in which those achievements were made. Call references to find out
his track record. Probe deeply so that you can get the unadulterated truth. Knowhow
to listen for eagerness and determination to get things done. Most importantly, don't
leave this job to the HRdepartment. These are the people in whose hands the fate of
your business lies and this is a critical process which needs your personal attention.
When evaluating people, should go both ways. Inasmuch as you
should know the truth about a person's strengths and weaknesses, it is your
responsibility to discuss these things with the employee concerned, to find solutions
and tohelp himhelp himself.
The people process does three things:
1. It evaluates people accurately and in an in-depth manner.
2. It provides a framework for identifying and developing the leadership talent
the organizations will need toexecute its strategies down the road.
3. It fills the leadership pipeline that is the basis of a strong succession plan.
Your people should be able to grow along with the company and the work. Evaluate
people not only for their capability to produce results today, but for their potential to
take on other responsibilities tomorrow. Sometimes strategy requires replacing an
excellent performer with someone who can foster further growth for the company.
Constant and accurate evaluation processes that examine not only a person's
professional capabilities but also his capacity to be a leader and a team player can
keep the wrong person frombeing assigned a key role in the first place.
The people process framework is based on the following business blocks:
1. Linkage to the strategic plan and its near-, medium- and long-termmilestones
and the operating plan target, including specific financial targets
2. Developing the leadership pipeline through continuous improvement,
succession depth, and reducing retention risk
3. Deciding what todo about non-performers
4. Transforming the mission and operations of HR
Break your strategy down into manageable near-, medium- and long-term goals.
transparency
[ 6 ]
Part Three: The Three Core Processes of Execution
The People Process: Making the Link with Strategy and Operations
Building Block One: Linking People to Strategy and Operations
Execution by Larry Cassidy and Ram Charan
Determine kinds of skills you need for the upcoming goals and start laying the
foundations early. Then design an action plan for each step of your big plan.
Meeting your goals depends on the quality of the people you have. Assess today
those who can be leaders in the future with the following aids:
: Examine behavior vis--vis
performance.
: It captures key performance
highlights and determines what further development the person needs. This
helps provide the foundations for succession, creating early on tomorrow's
division presidents and vice-presidents, even CEOs.
: What is a
person's marketability and potential for upward mobility? What risks will the
business face if she leaves, fails, is promoted, or retires? Succession depth
ensures that you have capable, qualified people who will fill the position as
well as the domino effect of related promotions. Retain your valuable staff
by offering incentives, opening the possibility of upward mobility, and
incorporating themin the company's future plans.
How does the people process work at Honeywell International? Larry Bossidy's
efforts at getting Honeywell back on track as the company's CEO are held in high
regard and the Management Resource Reviews (MRRs) are no small part of this
success. The MRRs evaluate people in their current jobs, their potential for transfer
or promotion, the people who can succeed themand what to do about those who fall
short. Leaders have to prepare their reports for the MRRs beforehand, to be
discussed at the meeting. The review will even discuss all the factors that may be
affecting a person's performance, including his superior's behavior and efforts at
developing him.
The reports are required to be descriptive, detailed, honest and thorough and must
have been discussed with the person under review. The report is discussed by a
committee, which will determine a person's potential, behavior, capability, etc. The
group dynamic ensures fairness and freedomfrombias.
Non-performers are people who aren't meeting their established goals. This does
not mean that they're unqualified or incapable. It just means they aren't performing at
the level required for your company's success. Sometimes you just need to coach a
person to get them better acquainted with a job. Sometimes they just need to be
transferred to another division or responsibility that's better suited to their
capabilities. Other times there's no choice but to let him go. However, do so in a
manner that allows the person tokeep his dignity.

The Leadership Assessment Summary

The Continuous Improvement Summary
Succession Depth, and Reducing Retention Risk Analysis
Talent Reviewat Honeywell
[ 7 ]
Building Block Two: Developing the Leadership Pipeline Through Continuous
Improvement, Succession Depth and Reducing Retention Risk
Building Block Three: Dealing with Non-Performers
Execution by Larry Cassidy and Ram Charan
The role of the HR department in a company is different now. The HR function must
set out to fill the positions that are and will be important as projects and plans
progress over the upcoming months - even years. Use the HRdivision to keep track
of your company's top people across the whole organization, to see who can be
groomed, or even promoted already, for key positions. HRshould not only be able to
assess people in their current jobs but also the people below them - if one person is
tobe promoted, someone should be adequately qualified tofill the upcoming void.
Examine all your strategies and determine the sorts of skills you need for these
plans. If you can't develop the right people in time, determine if you need to hire from
outside. Identify which jobs are critical, and which ones critical down the line.
Are they filled with the right people? Monitor also the top positions in the company
and spell out criteria for filling them. If there is a sudden vacancy, is there someone
you haven't considered who might be more than qualified? If you know your people
and their capabilities, filling the vacancy should be a small problem, especially if
you've done your job in developing themfor leadership.
Strategy simply means an action plan designed to meet business objectives, but can
your organization do what is necessary? And can your leaders determine how to
reach those objectives?
Even brilliant strategies are bound to fail if not grounded in realities - regarding the
competition, the capabilities of the company's own people, the market, the product
offerings. When creating strategies, consider not only the current realities of all
relevant factors, but also unexpected - if unlikely - turns of events. There must
always be backup plans, or at least people who can quickly think up alternative plans
to make the best of a botched situation. Adaptability to change should always be a
consideration: constantly review your plan to see if it is being executed properly, if
current and future steps are still feasible, and if the people in charge are still getting
results.
Determine the key concepts actions and base your strategy on these. Keeping these
in mind will also make it easy to decide on alternatives if necessary, as well as finding
the right people for special parts of your strategy.
Corporate level strategy determines the business it wants to be in and the
general arena of play. It analyzes the various businesses in the company
and determines whether the mix is still profitable. It also integrates strategies
built at business unit level towork in unison toward a common goal.
Business unit strategy lays out in specific terms the direction of the unit, plans
around costs, resources, risks and newpossibilities, works within the context
of the whole organization's scheme, and studies the competition.
will be
TheStrategy Process: MakingtheLinkwithPeopleandOperations
TheImportance of Hows
TheBuildingBlocks of Strategy
TheDifference BetweenBusiness Unit Strategy andCorporate Level Strategy

[ 8 ]
Building Block Four: Linking HR to Business Results
Execution by Larry Cassidy and Ram Charan
BuildingtheStrategic Plan
HowtoConduct a Strategy Review
MakingtheLinkwithStrategy andPeople
HowtoBuilda Budget inThree Days
SoundAssumptions: TheKey toSettingRealistic Goals

Who Builds the Plan? - The strategic plan should be authored by the people
who will execute it, the business leaders who live with the realities of the field
and the organization's capabilities. More often than, not this is a team
instead of an individual. But that's even better: the group dynamic can iron
out flaws in a plan and be a sounding board for each idea.
Questions for the Strategic Plan Are your expectations realistic? Howis your
company doing in the market and what will your strategy do to change this?
Who are your competitors and what are their strengths and weaknesses?
Howdid the current top companies reach their success? Can your business
at its current state and your rate of development execute your strategy? Is
your projected growth sustainable? How dose the proposed strategy affect
the end user, the consumer?
What is the Assessment of the External Environment? Examine all factors
that will have bearing on your business in any way. Monitor trends and
events in politics, economy, society, etc., and act swiftly but carefully on
potential pitfalls.
The review should be a creative exercise: discuss how previous strategies were
executed, but don't dwell too long on the past. Use them as a springboard for new
strategies. These questions can help determine the feasibility of a strategy:
Howwell-versed is each business unit teamabout the competition?
Howstrong is the organizational capability toexecute the strategy?
Is the plan scattered or sharply focused?
Are the linkages with people and operations clear?
The operating plan specifies how the various moving parts of the business will be
synchronized to achieve the targets. The budget should be based on the operations,
not vice-versa. Translate your strategy into manageable steps.
Discuss the whole corporate picture. Determine each business unit's action plans
and how this fits into the tentative budget. Bring together all the units' action plans
and proposed budgets to see if they amount to a realistic whole. Fine tune this over
and over by reviewing the action plan and the budget until you come up with the most
feasible plan.
To make a plan based on your experiences today, you will necessarily make some
assumptions about the market, your product's chances against the competition, etc.
Debate with a team about these assumptions. What realities do you face today?
Howcould this change over the course of the next fewmonths or years? Reviewthe
[ 9 ]
Execution by Larry Cassidy and Ram Charan
assumptions upon which proposals are made and weigh their feasibilities. Examine
all possibilities of factors affecting your business.
1. : Keep your targets realistic. Base themon track records and
histories.
2. : Study the possible outcomes that
might leave the company most vulnerable and base your contingency plan
on that. Inother words, plan for the worst.
3. : Communicate agreed-
upon goals to the people concerned after the meeting, to reiterate your
expectations and what they promised todeliver.
Think carefully: what does your business want to achieve? Think of this vis--vis
what your company is to achieve. Watch how the operations affect your
company, especially for the need to reallocate resources. Conduct quarterly reviews
to see if you're still on track, who's keeping you there, and if you should even be there
in the first place.
BuildingtheOperatingPlan
Outcomes of theOperationsProcess
Set the targets
Develop action and contingency plans
Get agreement and closure from all participants
likely
[10 ]
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Execution by Larry Cassidy and Ram Charan