Execution

The Discipline of Getting Things Done

By: Larry Bossidy, Ram Charan

Narrated by: John Bedford Lloyd

The audio that shows how to get the job done and deliver results...whether you're running an entire company or in your first management job.

Larry Bossidy is one of the world's most acclaimed CEOs, with a track record for delivering results. Ram Charan is a legendary adviser to senior executives and boards of directors, a man with unparalleled insight into why some companies are successful and others are not. Together they've pooled their knowledge and experience into one guide on how to close the gap between results promised and results delivered.

The discipline of execution means understanding how to link together people, strategy, and operations, the three core processes of every business. Leading these processes is the real job of running a business, not formulating a "vision" and leaving the work of carrying it out to others. Bossidy and Charan show the importance of being deeply and passionately engaged in an organization and why robust dialogues about people, strategy, and operations result in a business based on intellectual honesty and realism.

The leader's most important job - selecting and appraising people - is one that should never be delegated. As a CEO, Larry Bossidy personally makes the calls to check references for key hires. Why? With the right people in the right jobs, there's a leadership gene pool that conceives and selects strategies that can be executed. People then work together to create a strategy building block by building block, a strategy in sync with the realities of the marketplace, the economy, and the competition. Once the right people and strategy are in place, they are then linked to an operating process that results in the implementation of specific programs and actions and that assigns accountability. This kind of effective operating process goes way beyond the typical budget exercise that looks into a rearview mirror to set its goals. It puts reality behind the numbers and is where the rubber meets the road.

©2002 Crown Business
(P)2002 Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A terrific book that will make smart managers rethink how business gets done within every level of their organization or department." (Publishers Weekly)
"A great practitioner and an insightful theorist join forces to write a compelling business story of 'how to get it done.'" (Jack Welch)

Great book for all.

Being new to the management ranks I found this book to provide guidelines that all managers should use. When talking with seasoned managers their comments were "this is all common sense." Yes, it is common sense, but it is about using your common sense to get projects done. That is what this book points out to the listener.

Execution, execution and execution

This is a great book. it is written in a language everyone will understand and it has some very usefull advice to leaders on all levels,in companys of all sizes. Some critics has commented that the book is too heavily inspired by GE?s Jack Welch and his thoughts and doings. I found that this book was the perfect supplement to Jack Welch?s selfbiografy Straight from the gut, because jack in his book only touches the issues in a superficial way. This book digs in a lot deeper. So buy Straight from the gut first and then Execution.

Not Good

The contents of the audiobook are superb, however, the narrators make it boring and after a couple of hours it is very difficult to keep focused due to the unpleasant voices and asian accent.

Great Book

Really good book on execution. Grab a pen and a notepad as you listen to it. Lots of great concepts and great structure.

Great book

If you know who Jack Welch is then reading how Larry Bossidy implemented and improved on that vision is a real treat.

The book every CEO must read!

I was so sad when the book was done I have just purchased almost all the books available for the authors on audible.
It will be so amazing to meet these people and learn from them! How lucky are the once reporting to them! They have such an advantage in live!

Worth listening to if you are in business

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Cuts to the heart of what business folks need to think about to be successful. Drones a bit though, so you have to be patient to get the value here.

Hard to get through the ego ego

This was a good book, though it was filled with a whole lot of cheese thumping. I get it you are a great CEO and/or consultant, but a little more actionable items and a lot less bragging would have made this much more useful.

What Are These Guys Talking About?

I found this book to be excellent. No, I am not a CEO of a fortune 500 company, but a pastor of a small rural church. We are not doing billion dollar deals, but people are people and the principles of execution found in this book work no matter what size your company or non-profit organization is. Sure, there were some chapters I suffered through; all the talk about Six Sigma was Greek to me; yet, I found the book so intriguing that I listened to it three times. If you are a professional who is struggling in getting things done, this is well worth the read. Take a chance, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Excecution is key

Very good book, agree with everything the authors had to say, The authors real world examples with the theory. A must read for every leader!!