Yesterday, I asked Drew Peterson, C.E.O. of Veracity Networks LLC, what his business wishes were. He replied, emphatically:
“There are no business wishes. Only business goals and objectives. We make them happen through thoughtful and dedicated execution of the business plan.”
He then brandished the company bible and secret weapon: the book Execution (The Discipline of Getting Things Done) by Larry Bossidy, Ram Charan and Charles Burck.
In the few minutes I spent with Drew, I felt his strong sense of uncompromising accountability and leadership.
I see clearly why a sharp and alert CEO would want to use Execution as the company bible. It can provide unparalleled value on two levels at once:
1. The principles and processes Execution conveys, when woven into the company strategy, can power it to go from business plan to concrete results.
2. One can extract powerful and inspiring quotes from Execution to inspire the business passion of the executive team on a daily basis. Passion can supercharge productivity.
Drew Peterson certainly inspired me to want to read Execution and apply its principles and processes. Already, from the first chapter, I am moved by the power of the quotes below. More to come soon!
“No company can deliver on its commitments or adapt to change unless all leaders practice the discipline of execution at all levels. Execution has to be a part of a company’s strategy and its goals. It is the missing link between aspirations and results. As such, it is the major job of the business leader. If you don’t know how to execute, the whole of your effort as a leader will always be less than the sum of its parts.”
“To understand execution, you have to keep three key points in mind:
1. Execution is a discipline, and integral to strategy.
2. Execution is the major job of the business leader.
3. Execution must be a core element of an organization’s culture.”
“Execution is a systematic process of rigorously discussing hows and whats, questioning, tenaciously following through, and ensuring accountability. It includes making assumptions about the business environment, assessing the organization’s capabilities, linking strategy to operations and the people who are going to implement the strategy, synchronizing those people and their various disciplines, and linking rewards to outcomes. It also includes mechanisms for changing assumptions as the environment changes and upgrading the company’s capabilities to meet the challenges of an ambitious strategy.”
