EXECUTIONThe discipline of getting things done

By Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan

What is Execution

‘A systematic process of rigorously discussing the HOWs and WHATs, questioning, tenaciously following-through and ensuring accountability’

The Gap nobody knows• 70% of strategic failures are due to poor execution of leadership

• Fundamental problem: CEOs think of execution as the ‘tactical’ side of business and NOT as a discipline and part of the company’s strategy

• What a company’s leader wants to achieve & the ability of their organization to achieve it

Execution is a Discipline

Execution is the job of a business leader

Execution has to be in the culture

Execution requires constructive &

persistent probing

Building the 3 blocks of Execution

- Execution doesn’t happen by chance, but through integrating and operating: • BLOCK ONE : Leaders 7 essential behaviours

• BLOCK TWO : Creating Execution Culture

• BLOCK THREE : The Job No Leader should delegate- Having the right people at the right place

BUILDING BLOCK ONE : Leaders 7 essential behaviours

•Know your people and business:- If leader loses touch with day-to-day realities of business, wont have a feel for where the action is/ Ask tough questions to get to

the heart of the matter.- Employees will lose confidence, they will know more about the business than the leader- Get to know people and business involved ( micro level)

• Insist on Realism:- Some talk about strengths eliminate weaknesses- Don’t filter out bad news- address it- Leaders who value realism will be just as interested in analysing what’s going wrong + what’s done right

• Set clear goals and priorities:

• Follow Through:- Good leaders make people feel accountable by monitoring- Employees become reflective of the work they do

• Reward the Doers:- Performance should be rewarded and respected by the organisation

• Expand peoples capabilities via coaching:- Observe | Provide feedback | Ask questions – as 80% of the learning happens outside the classroom

• Know yourself:- Ability to be honest to yourself | Acceptance of reality Authenticity: Who you are on the outside should be who you are on the inside. People spot fakers.Self-Awareness: Know yourself , be comfortable in your own skinSelf-Mastery: When you know yourself you can master yourself, key to self-confidence. ( Ego in check, take responsibility for behaviour, embrace change etc.)Humility: Allows you to acknowledge mistakes, learn from them and over time create decision making process based on experience

BUILDING BLOCK TWO : Creating Execution Culture

•The Basic premise is simple: Culture change gets real when your aim is execution• You don’t need a lot of complex theory or employee surveys to use this approach. You just need to change peoples behaviour so that they produce results.

Tell People clearly the results you’re looking for

Discuss how to get those results as a key area of the coaching process

(Training)

Reward everyone who gets specified

results

If they come up short, you provide additional

coaching, withdraw rewards, give other jobs, or let them go.

When you do these things consistently, you create a culture of getting things done.

BUILDING BLOCK THREE : The Job No Leader should delegate- Having the right people at the right place

WHY THE RIGHT PEOPLE ARENT IN THE RIGHT JOBS?- Because Leaders don’t pay attention to people, but are too busy thinking

about how to make their companies bigger and better than competitors.•Lack of Knowledge- The leaders may not know enough about the leaders they’re appointing.•Lack of Courage- The leaders may not have the courage to discriminate strong and weak performers and take necessary actions.•The psychological comfort factor- The leaders may pick people with whom they’re comfortable (psychologically) rather than others who have better skills for the job.

- Ultimately, choosing the right people creates sustainable competitive advantage.- Dell out-competed Compaq, because Michael Dell took great pains to have the

right people at the right jobs – People who understood how to execute the business model superbly.

WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?- The kind that energise people- They’re decisive on tough Issues- Get things done though others- They Follow through

HOW TO GET RIGHT PEOPLE FOR THE RIGHT JOB?- Be persistent in checking references and getting to the heart of the matter

THE THREE CORE PROCESSES OF EXECUTION

• The People Process: Making the Link with Strategy and Operations

• The Strategy Process: Making the Link with People and Operations

• How to Conduct a Strategy Review

• The Operational Process: Making the Link with Strategy and People

People

StrategyOperations

• Key to success of the businessPeople

• Evaluates talent• Develops leadership• Builds pipeline for succession

Process

• Links strategy and operations• Develops leadership pipeline• Deals with nonperformers• Links HR to Business Results

Framework

• Integrity/honesty• Common approach and language• Frequent and open dialogue

Rules

Linking people to strategy and operations• Near, Medium and Long term plan• Right kind and number of people

Developing the leadership pipeline through continuous improvement, succession depth and reducing retention risk• Leadership Assessment• Continuous improvement• Succession depth and Retention risk analysis

Dealing with Non-Performers

Linking HR to Business results

Strategy

PeopleOperations

Strategic Plan Includes

• Action Plan – the “Hows”• Critical Issues• Business Environment• Market Opportunities & Threats• Competitive Advantage(s) & Disadvantage(s)

Questions

• Assumptions• Alternatives• Organizational Capabilities• Resources• Adaptability

Building Blocks of a Strategy•Moving Production•Continually Redesign•New organizational Structure

Who Builds the Plan?

Building the Strategic Plan•Clearly lays out “Where is it now and where it will be

going in the future”•Cost of the Strategic results and risk Involved•Flexibility for new opportunities or the plan fails•Analyze the Strengths and weaknesses of competitors•Building blocks

Questions for a Strategic Plan• Assessment of the external environment• How well do you understand the existing customers and markets?• What is the best way to grow the business, and what are the obstacles to

growth?• Who is the competitors?• Can the business execute the strategy?• What are the important milestone doe executing the plan?• Are the short term and long term balanced?• What are the critical issues?• How will the business make money on a sustainable basis?

• It must feature a solid debate with all of the key players present

• It should be a creative exercise and there must be clear accountability

• Avoid focusing too much on previous year’s strategic plan, bring new ideas to the table

• A good strategic plan has to be translatable into the operating plan

• Critical questions to ask…

How to Conduct a Strategic Review

How well versed is each

business unit team about the competition?

How strong is the

organizational capability to execute the strategy?

Are the linkages with people and operations

clear?

Are we choosing the right ideas?

Is the plan scattered or

sharply focused?

• Environmental Scanning/Monitoring• Porter’s Five Forces Model• SWOT Analysis

Innovate – the only sustainable competitive advantage is learning and doing faster than the competition.

Focus strategy is exploiting a particular market niche

Competencies/skills that a firm employs to transform inputs into outputs

Having people with the right technical background and mfg expertise

Strategy People

Operations

Many Strategic Plans and Operations spell out “WHAT” to Achieve Failing to Consider the “HOW”

Strategic Plan Specifies How the “Moving Parts” are Synchronized to Achieve Targets

Strategic Plan Objective: Product Launches; Marketing, Sales, Manufacturing, and Productivity Plans

Principle of Simultaneity: “Understanding the Whole Corporate Picture”

Budget Process: More Than a static Effort But More a Means to Synchronize the “Moving Parts” of the Business

System of Synchronization

Setting up the Budget Process

Assumptions

Building the Operating PlanThe Operation

Process Outcome and Review

• Execution is not tactical- it’s a discipline, a system, a set of behaviors and techniques that companies need to master in order to have a competitive advantage

• Leaders are the foundation for the discipline of execution- the center of conceiving and executing a strategy

• Three core processes of execution- critically linked, centered on people

• Putting an execution environment in place is hard- losing it is easy

“I could see that coming…”

Thank You!!By :Supriya Patwari Tannushree Marina Tanya O’Connor