Book Review - Execution #2

Discovery Shoppe Book Club comes up with two thought-provoking book reviews per month. These reviews give a good summary of our current read and also serve as a guide to potential readers. Read through for the second half of Execution.

Execution: Chapters 6-9

My “not-so-brief” review of chapters 6-9 of our book for April, Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan follows the review of chapters 1-5.

We read this masterpiece on executing optimally to essentially learn how to do what we have to do. I would sum every piece of the puzzle that needs to come together in execution from knowing what needs to be done to knowing how to get it done, and understanding in detail who has to do what, when what has to get done, and the non-negotiable impact of what you want to do.

At each stage of execution, the key thing is to keep our eyes on the price and consciously tailor every decision and tactic towards achieving that in whichever area, most especially, business.

These decisions and tactics are what Larry and Ram carefully grouped into what they called the three core processes of execution:

- The people process

- The strategy process

- The operations process

Chapter 6 ushers the reader to the people process; the primary piece that holds together the vision of any establishment - and creates the link between that and the other two processes.

Chapter 7 does justice to the strategy process and likewise connects the strategy process to the operations and people processes.

Finally (but not quite), the reader takes a dive into chapter 8 which explains “operations” - the final process that glues all the groundwork together - and links that to the people and strategy processes.

Chapter 9 is a heartwarming and instructive manual for a new leader. The letter is in fact a must-read for every person in a new role.

A lot is to be learnt from the three core processes. In the book, one major problem of the traditional people process is the mistake of evaluating the jobs people are doing now for the jobs of tomorrow. Larry teaches that it is far more important to answer these questions of tomorrow:

• Can my people grow?

• Can they be managed?

• What successes have they made in the past?

• What did they do to achieve those feats?

• What could they have done differently/ better or not?

• What needs to be worked on?

Pages 214 to 269 provide detailed analysis, framework and examples that can help guide people selection at a firm. After you have gotten the right people at the right positions you want to check in with a strategy. 

Strategy defines a business’s direction and positions it to move in that direction. To avoid failure, it is important to understand the underlying connections between people and operations. These connections are then fused in to make for a realistic action call (strategy). A lot of questions would arise from the strategic plan and answers should be provided for those questions.

“How, when, who, why and how”, are the backbones of execution. Everyone must be ready and involved. In participation, there is synergy and these collaborations from different capable minds ensure that accurate information is given to create and implement a plan.

There are so many examples, use cases, quotes and action pointers in this insightful book. It is odd that anyone should take execution lightly. It is a discipline and must be learnt to achieve success or at the very least, lead others to it (which in itself is achieving). 

Rated 7/10

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- Charity

Discovery Shoppe Book Club

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