August 2004

"Recommended Reading" is a monthly column for business owners who share the philosophy of building a business that contributes to the Owner’s Spiritual Objective and the Company’s Strategic Vision.

 This month we are recommending
Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan

Execution, says Bossidy and Charan,  is "the missing link between aspirations and results". Execution is the business leader's most important job.

While failure in today's business environment is often attributed to other causes, Bossidy and Charan argue that the biggest obstacle to success is the absence of execution. They point out that without execution, breakthrough thinking on managing change breaks down, and they emphasize the fact that execution is a discipline to learn, not merely the tactical side of business. Supporting this with stories of the "execution difference" being won (EDS) and lost (Xerox and Lucent), the authors describe the building blocks--leaders with the right behaviors, a culture that rewards execution, and a reliable system for having the right people in the right jobs. With these in place, execution can occur for the three core business processes of people, strategy, and operations.

The Authors are clearly professing the holistic approach of systematizing your business. There is no “try” here, it’s “do”. Structure and substance, the heart of the successful business, are simply the systems with the right people.

The book is available at Amazon and your local bookstore.