Chapter 1 - The Gap Nobody Knows
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1.
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In the year 2001 alone, forty CEOs of the top two hundred companies on Fortune’s 500 list:
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  Were removed
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Had a party
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Led by example
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Executed masterfully
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2.
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Strategies most often fail because they aren’t executed well.
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3.
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Velocity is:
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The speed at which receivables are converted into cash
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The ratio of sales dollars to appropriated reserves
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The ratio of sales dollars to net assets deployed in the business
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The ratio of debt to revenue
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4.
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Building to order means producing a unit after the customers order is transmitted to the factory.
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5.
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Higher velocity reduces productivity and increases working capital.
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6.
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Execution is synonymous with tactics.
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7.
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Execution is the missing link between aspirations and results.
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Chapter 2 - The Execution Difference
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8.
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Every great leader has had an instinct for execution.
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9.
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An execution-savvy leader focuses on the cause of a problem not the outcome of a problem.
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10.
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A leader skilled in execution probes his organization to get a realistic assessment of its market risks.
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11.
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When a business is making major changes, the right people have to be in the critical jobs, and the core processes must be:
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Well documented
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Flexible enough to change when resistance is high
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Executed at the operating level
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Strong enough to ensure that resistance is dissolved and plans get executed
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Chapter 3 - Building Block One: The Leader’s Seven Essential Behaviors
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12.
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Which of the following is not considered essential behavior for a leader:
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Follow through
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Know yourself
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Think outside the box
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Set clear goals and priorities
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13.
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In companies that don’t execute, the leaders are usually out of touch with the day to day realities.
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14.
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Embracing realism means always taking a realistic view of your company and disregarding other companies.
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15.
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People in contemporary organizations need a smaller number of clear priorities to execute than those in an old-fashioned organization because:
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People in contemporary organizations are better prepared than those in traditional organizations
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Decision making is decentralized in the contemporary organization and people at many levels are making decisions and trade-offs.
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People in old fashioned organizations tended to work harder
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People in contemporary organizations have more stress placed upon them than those in traditional organizations
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16.
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A leader who says "I've got 10 priorities.":
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Needs an assistant
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Needs a course in time management
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Is an asset to the organization
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Doesn't know what he's talking about
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17.
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Along with having clear goals, a leader should strive for simplicity in general.
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18.
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The failure to follow through is widespread in business, and is a major cause of poor execution.
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19.
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A good leader ensures that the organization makes distinctions between those who achieve results and those who don’t, in terms of base pay, bonuses and stock options.
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20.
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The most effective way to coach is to:
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Observe a person in action and then provide specific useful feedback
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Offer as much training as possible
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Drill in the realities of a specific negative behavior until it is changed.
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Lead by example and withhold feedback to avoid creating a hostile situation
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21.
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Your aim in coaching an individual should be:
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To make it as painless as possible
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To ask the questions that bring out the realities and give people the help they need to correct problems
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To simulate group coaching styles
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To reward good behaviors and punish bad ones
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22.
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Emotional fortitude allows you to avoid points of view which differ from your own.
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23.
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Strength of character has no basis in great execution.
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Chapter 4 - Building Block Two: Creating the Framework for Cultural Change
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24.
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Most efforts at cultural change fail because:
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They don't invoke commitment
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They aren't embraced at the top
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They are not linked to improving the business's outcomes
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They are designed to fail
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25.
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Cultural change gets real when your aim is execution.
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26.
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The foundation of changing behavior is linking rewards to performance and making the linkages transparent.
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27.
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Culture is:
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How people act
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A trend that leaders perpetuate
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Unimportant in organizational success
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The sum of its shared values, beliefs, and norms of behavior
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28.
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Structure divides an organization into units designed to perform certain jobs, but it is social software that integrates the organization into a unified, synchronized whole.
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29.
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Leaders create a culture of indecisiveness and leaders can break it.
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30.
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You change the culture of a company by changing the behavior of its leaders.
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31.
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Robust dialogue:
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Creates havoc
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Defeats teamwork
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Fosters creativity
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Fosters trust
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Chapter 5 - Building Block Three: The Job No Leader Should Delegate – Having the Right People in the Right Place
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32.
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In the hiring process, it’s critical to hire people with whom you’re comfortable.
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33.
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An organization’s human beings are its most reliable resource for generating excellent results year after year.
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34.
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Consistently successful business leaders focus intensely and relentlessly on people selection.
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35.
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The following is not a valid reason for why the right people are not always in the right jobs:
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Lack of knowledge
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Lack of courage
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An abundance of candidates
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The psychological comfort factor
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36.
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Some leaders drain energy from people, other create it.
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37.
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It’s always better to hire the most highly conceptual strategic thinking candidate.
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38.
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Traditional interviews are extremely useful in spotting qualities of leaders who execute.
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39.
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Decisiveness is the ability to make difficult decisions swiftly and well, and act on them.
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40.
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How leaders meet their commitments is at least as important (or more important) as whether they meet them.
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41.
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Getting things done through others is a fundamental leadership skill.
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Chapter 6 - The People Process: Making the Link with Strategy and Operations
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42.
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The strategy process is more important then the people or operations processes.
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43.
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Meeting medium and long term milestones greatly depends on having a pipeline of promising and promotable leaders.
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44.
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The last building block of the people process is its linkage to strategic milestones.
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45.
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Linking people, strategy, and operations helps distill organizational challenges for the coming year.
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46.
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HR has to be integrated into business processes.
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Chapter 7 - The Strategy Process: Making the Link with People and operations
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47.
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A contemporary strategic plan must be an action plan that business leaders can rely on to reach their business objectives.
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48.
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A robust strategy is a compilation of numbers somewhat like an astrological forecast.
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49.
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When a business unit creates its strategy, it clearly lays out in specific terms the direction of the unit.
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50.
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An astonishing number of strategies fail because leaders don't make a realistic assessment of whether the organization can execute the plan.
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Chapter 8 - How to Conduct a Strategy Review
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51.
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The strategy review is not a good time for a leader to develop people.
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52.
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It’s critical that the strategy process be linked to the people and operations processes.
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53.
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A strategy review should be a creative exercise.
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54.
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It’s good form at the end of a strategy review to write a letter to each of the leaders to solidify and confirm the agreements you made.
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Chapter 9 - The Operations Process: Making the Link with Strategy and People
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55.
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The operating plan provides the path for the people who will get the business where it wants to go.
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56.
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In the operating plan, the leader is primarily responsible for overseeing the seamless transition from strategy to operations.
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57.
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A sound budget takes weeks or months to develop.
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58.
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The starting point of any budget is:
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An offsite meeting
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A robust dialog among all the relevant business leaders
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From the bottom up
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From the top down
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59.
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Synchronization is essential for excellence in execution and for energizing the corporation.
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60.
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Debate on assumptions is one of the most critical parts of any operating review.
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