Execution (The Discipline of Getting Things Done) Summary:

Execution is not just tactics it is a discipline and a system built into a

companies strategy, its goals and its culture.

Execution is a specific set of behaviors and techniques that need to be

mastered in order to have a competitive advantage.

Execution is the job of the business leaders

The leaders are primarily responsible for overseeing the seamless transition
from strategy to operations, setting operational goals, and leading operating
reviews that bring people together around the operating plan.

The leaders seven essential behaviors

Execution is the job of the business leaders and the seven behaviors below
are what distinguish the true leaders from the micro-manager. Not all of the
seven behaviors apply equally to every activity. However, these principles can
all apply to how you personally achieve results for you or your customers,
regardless of the size of your team.

Get Things Done Through Others. Getting things done through others is a
fundamental leadership skill. Indeed, if you cant do it, youre not leading.

Create a discipline of execution by developing a plan that links people,

strategy and operations.

Execution is built on three basic building blocks.

The first building block of execution is composed of seven essential

leadership behaviors. These are:

1. Know your people and your business.

This is one area where managers have an advantage over the CEO of a large
company. "Leaders have to live their business", Chances are that you already
do! But do you really know everyone who is involved with your business? Can
you see things from their point of view, or do you leave them hanging while
you put out fires elsewhere?

2. Insist on realism.

Insist on realism: realism is the heart of execution; it is all about asking the
hard questions -- and it must start with the leader. What issues are you
avoiding It'
s best to confront them sooner rather than later.

An effective Leader is Decisive on Tough Issues

Execution Summary page 1 of 5

Decisiveness is the ability to make difficult decisions swiftly and well, and act
on them. Organizations are filled with people who dance around decisions
without ever making them. Some leaders simply do not have the emotional
fortitude to confront the tough ones. When they dont, everybody in the
business knows they are wavering, procrastinating, and avoiding reality.

3. Set clear goals and priorities.

Set clear goals and priorities: "Leaders who execute focus on a very few clear
priorities that everyone can grasp",. Do your priorities change daily or
according to the current operations crisis, or does everyone involved have the
same crystal-clear directives in mind?

4. Follow through.

Follow through: Once clear goals and priorities are in place, they don't mean
much if they don'
t translate into results. How many of them were met? Did you
confuse your staff, vendors, or customers with conflicting goals, or too many
half-baked change programs?

5. Reward the doers.

Reward the doers: "If you want people to produce specific results, you reward
them accordingly", Find creative ways to convey the message that at your
company, rewards and respect are based on performance.

6. Expand people's capabilities.

Expand people' s capabilities through coaching. You have a great deal of

knowledge and experience that you' ve gathered along the way. Too often,
leaders keep their hard-earned expertise to themselves, at considerable cost
to their companies. What are you doing to share your wisdom?

7. Know yourself.

Know yourself: Emotional fortitude -- keeping yourself emotionally in check

and containing your ego -- is absolutely critical to execution. The four qualities
that make up emotional fortitude are authenticity, self-awareness, self-
mastery, and humility. Good leaders develop these qualities through coaching
from others, and by paying attention to experience. In which of these areas
can you develop your emotional fortitude?

The Second building block of execution involves creating the framework

for cultural change within an organization.

A culture is a group of people who share the same values, beliefs, and norms
of behavior. Values need to be reinforced by the people at the highest levels
of the company.

Execution Summary page 2 of 5

People's beliefs are conditioned by training, experience, what they hear inside
and outside about the company' s prospects, and their perceptions of what
leaders are saying and doing.

Beliefs can only be changed when new evidence persuades them that they
are false.

Behaviors are beliefs turned into action, and are what deliver results.

A company' s competitive advantage depends on the behavioral norms of how

people work together. To improve how people work together, and to change
other behaviors, rewards must be linked to performance.

A business'
s culture defines what gets appreciated, respected and rewarded.

If a company wants to create a culture of change, it must reward and promote

people for execution.

The approach to changing employee beliefs and behavior is simple,

measurable, and applies to businesses of any size:

Tell people clearly what results you'

re looking for.
Discuss how to get those results (a key element of the coaching
process).
Reward people for producing the results.

Another important component of lasting change is the example set personally

by a company' s leader. "Leaders get the behavior they exhibit and tolerate
"And having the right people in the right jobs is a job no leader should
delegate."

The third building block of execution is based on the job that no leader
should delegate. This is the task of finding the right people and putting them in
the right places.

This depends on being systematic and consistent when interviewing

applicants, appraising employees, and developing employees by providing
useful feedback.

Once these three building blocks are in place, a solid foundation has been
built on which core processes can be operated and managed efficiently.

Execution Summary page 3 of 5

Three Core Processes:

Once a business leader exhibits the right behavior, has the right people in the
right jobs, and has created a culture that rewards execution, the foundation is
in place for managing the three core processes of any company:

The most important of these core processes is the people process.

Since the people in an organization make judgments about markets, create

strategies based on those judgments, and translate those strategies into
operations, if the right people are not in place, the potential of a business will
never be realized.

The key to finding the right people lies in whether individuals can handle the
jobs of the future. Expertise in appraising and choosing the right people is
developed through consistency of practice.

How closely is your team linked to strategy and operations? What' s your
pipeline for developing leadership within the company? How do you deal with
non-performers? These are all key to your bottom line. A good leader
confronts these questions head-on.

The next core process is the strategy process.

This process is based on linking people with operations so customer

preference can be won, sustainable competitive advantage can be created,
and shareholders can get paid.

A strategic plan should define a business'

s direction and position the
organization to move in that direction.

This plan must start with identifying and defining the critical issues behind the
strategy, and linking this strategy to people will add realism to it. This the
heart of conducting a strategic review.

A realistic and executable strategy must be closely tied to the people process
-- are the right people in place to execute the strategy? -- as well as the
operations process. How does your current operations process support your
strategy, and how must it change? How does this compare to your
competitors'strategy and operations processes?

The operations process makes the link between strategy and people.

An operating plan provides the path on which people can take the business
where it wants to go. This process breaks long-term output into short-term
targets.

To meet these targets, people must make decisions and integrate them
across the organization, putting reality behind the numbers.

Execution Summary page 4 of 5

The operations process: In companies that execute, a robust operating
process links strategy and people to results. Synchronization -- common
assumptions at all levels of the operations process -- will help keep priorities
and resources in line. Leaders offer execution-based advice for budgets,
reviews, contingency plans, and building a comprehensive operations plan.
The leaders, they state, are primarily responsible for overseeing the seamless
transition from strategy to operations, setting operational goals, and leading
operating reviews that bring people together around the operating plan.

Its all about Creating a sustainable culture for getting things done

Speaking of the three core processes, "These are the guts of the business.
The biggest single difference between businesses that execute and those that
don't is the rigor and intensity with which the leaders take ownership of these
processes".

Execution Summary page 5 of 5