Barriers to Effective Execution

"Execution is a specific set of behaviors and techniques that compnaies need to master in order to have competitive advantage."

Managers who execute well do so because they make a habit of doing the right things while guarding against forces that threaten the company's future. The following specific factors can interfere with a manager's ability to execute consistently:

Failure to practice purposeful abandonment.
Managers should regularly review products and people to make sure they are still fulfilling their original promise.

Excessive bureaucracy or management layers.
Few things can clog an organization like excessive, oppressive management layers. If decisions get bogged down, it could be because of too much red tape and/or too many stifling layer of management.

The absence of clearly defined values and an operating system to share learning and ideas.
The most effective organizations have shared values that define the company, and they conduct meetings, reviews, and training (i.e. the operating system) to help inculcate those values throughout the firm.

The wrong management structure.
"The right structure does not guarantee results," Drucker wrote in Managing for Results. "But the wrong structure aborts results...Above all, structure has to be such that it highlights the results that are truly meaningful."

No clear strategy or one not communicated throughout the organization.
Unless there is a clear strategy that everyone in the firm can communicate, people will not understand how their accomplishments contribute to the organization as a whole.

An insular culture that focuses on the wrong things and reward the wrong behavior.
A culture that does not encourage its people to focus on customers, the marketplace, and the "right" results will eventually falter.

ACTION POINT: Recognize and remove any of the above barriers to effective execution.