Execution - The Discipline of Getting Things Done
I know I am completely behind the times. This book came out in 2002 and I have been meaning to read it since then. I just finished Chapter 3 last night and am really impressed already. The writing is not academic. I always run from business books that are too academic, because the author/publisher clearly does not understand their customer, so how well can they understand business? I love the stories and examples. It brings the points to life and gives them context. This book is not a panacea. Read this and your company will live long and prosper. But it does make you think. If outcomes are not as you expected. Why? Perhaps the concepts in this book can help. Perhaps it's something else. At least it's something other than saying, "Woe is me. It's the customer's fault for not buying what I have to sell. So, all I can do is lie here and wait for the inevitable."
This book exposes the underbelly of why companies do not succeed. Many have great strategy. In fact, every strategy they come up with every 12 months are great strategies. So why are they changing their strategy so often? Is it because the market forces them to? In some cases, yes, but most cases, no. The strategy should take into account minor market fluctuations. It's not everyday that something as devastating and pivotal as 9/11 occurs. So why are strategies always changing? I think it's because they don't work. The results aren't there. So the strategy is to blaim.
Chapter 1 introduces the gap nobody knows, or rather no one can articulate. It starts out with a story of a CEO who gets a great group of folks together. They "did the benchmarking, got the metrics...agreed with the plan." The plan and market were good, but a year later they missed the goal. What happened? Or rather didn't? Apparently, the discipline of execution.
This book exposes the underbelly of why companies do not succeed. Many have great strategy. In fact, every strategy they come up with every 12 months are great strategies. So why are they changing their strategy so often? Is it because the market forces them to? In some cases, yes, but most cases, no. The strategy should take into account minor market fluctuations. It's not everyday that something as devastating and pivotal as 9/11 occurs. So why are strategies always changing? I think it's because they don't work. The results aren't there. So the strategy is to blaim.
Chapter 1 introduces the gap nobody knows, or rather no one can articulate. It starts out with a story of a CEO who gets a great group of folks together. They "did the benchmarking, got the metrics...agreed with the plan." The plan and market were good, but a year later they missed the goal. What happened? Or rather didn't? Apparently, the discipline of execution.