Quotable Quote

"Someone has said that the “p” is silent in the word luck. Investigation usually turns up the fact that the lucky fellow is the plucky fellow who has been burning the midnight oil and taking defeat after defeat with a smile" – James Hill

Book Smarts

Execution – The discipline of getting things done

By Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan

Reviewed by Christie Walker

This is a book of business theory with the focus on execution. What is execution? The book offers a number of definitions: 1) the gap between what a company’s leaders want to achieve and the ability of their organizations to deliver it. 2) Not simply tactics, but a system of getting things done through questioning, analysis and follow-through. 3) The way to link the three core processes of any business - the people process, the strategy, and the operating plan – together to get things done on time. While the book is written with larger corporations in mind, there is plenty of advice that is pertinent to the optical laboratory world. Take this quote, for example. If this sounds like your lab, then this book has information you need.

“When companies fail to deliver on their promises, the most frequent explanation is that the CEO’s strategy was wrong. But the strategy by itself is not often the cause. Strategies most often fail because they aren’t executed well. Things that are supposed to happen don’t happen. Either the organizations aren’t capable of making them happen or the leaders of the business misjudge the challenges their companies face in the business environment, or both… No worthwhile strategy can be planned without taking into account the organization’s ability to execute it.”

The three core processes are discussed in detail with concrete examples of what usually goes wrong and how to fix it. The authors also interject their own comments, in first person. Larry talks primarily from his experience as a senior executive at General Electric, AlliedSignal and Honeywell International, while Ram speaks from his thirty-five years of experience as an adviser to business leaders and boards of directors around the world.

While not for everyone, if you like books on business theory and can see the correlations between corporate run businesses and your business, there are gems of information in Execution worth digging for.

Be the first person to send a Letter to the Editor about this month’s issue of LabTalk and receive a free copy of Execution. Go to www.LabTalkOnline.com to send your letter.