The 4 Disciplines of Execution

introduction

from the book

“There are two principle things a leader can influence when it comes to producing results: your strategy (or plan) and your ability to execute that strategy.

Stop for a moment and ask yourself this question: Which of these do leaders struggle with more? Is it creating a strategy, or executing the strategy? Every time we post this question to leaders anywhere in the world, their answer is immediate: ‘Execution!’

Now, ask yourself a second question: If you have an MBA or have taken business classes, what did you study more—execution or strategy?

When we ask leaders this question, the response, once again, is immediate, ‘Strategy!’ It’s perhaps not surprising that the area with which leaders struggle most is also the one in which they have the least education.

After working with thousands of leaders and teams in every kind of industry, and in schools and government agencies worldwide, this is what we have learned: once you’ve decided what to do, your biggest challenge is in getting people to execute it at the level of excellence you need. …

The book you are reading represents the most actionable and impactful insights from all that we’ve learned. In it, you will discover a set of disciplines that have been embraced by thousands of leaders and hundreds of thousands of front-line workers, enabling them to produce extraordinary results.”

I’ve planned to read this book since Cal Newport referenced it in Deep Work. I finally did so in preparation to teach Productivity 101. It’s fantastic.