Rating: 
Summary: You can't really learn to execute from a book
Review: Bossidy and Charan's book has a simplicity in its advice that is a breath of fresh air after much of the new economy hype that has filled the bookshelves in the past few years. The book argues that the primary reason for much of the poor corporate performance we've seen in the past few years (outside of outright dishonest companies like Enron, WorldCom, and their ilk) has not been muddled strategy, lack of innovation, or an ever more rapidly changing marketplace but poor execution. Conversely, they argue that great execution has been one of the cornerstones for the great corporate success, such as General Electric. (Jack Welch looms large in the background here.) And good execution is a lot more commonsensical than you might think: it is merely insuring that corporate strategy is well-conceived and solidly grounded in the company's human and operational capacities. This is a difficult subject for a book, because there is no cookie-cutter methodology the authors could provide that could help you drill deeply into your own company's strategy, staffing, and operational plans and really root out the strengths and the weaknesses of them. Good execution, they argue, has its roots in asking good probing questions, questions that will be different in each situation. The authors include a number of general questions in each area to help begin this probing, but that's about as far as a book can take it. The bulk of the book, though is anecdotes illustrating how this has worked either well or poorly at other companies. If you're looking for clear-cut instructions, this is likely to be disappointing. What is most interesting about this book is how well it dovetails with Jim Collins' recent bestseller "Good to Great." Collins' book describes the general patterns to successful corporate change (or execution). Bossidy and Charan's book describes some of the nuts and bolts needed to follow that pattern, from styles of leadership, getting the right people in the right jobs, doing honest assessments of a company's capacity, and then working toward goals with great focus. If you enjoyed Collins' book, this book can help you figure out better how to make great execution happen in your own company.
Rating: 
Summary: A Powerful Message in Plain Language
Review: When a company gets in trouble and the leadership is shown to the door, who does the board of directors look for as a replacement? A leader with a proven track record to EXECUTE. Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan lay out the building blocks for assembling an execution-focused organization in plain language, and supplement their approach with numerous anecdotes. Most, if not all, of their "how NOT to manage" anecdotes had me shaking my head -- because almost all of us can personally relate them to our own corporate experiences (for example, when the leader sacrifices future performance to make his quarterly numbers or a senior management team agrees that actions need to be taken without assigning concrete actions and accountability). This book is a quick and engaging read, and the book is definitely grounded more in real corporate experiences than in academic theories. The wisdom gained from those corporate experiences returns propriety to the often hollow expression "people are our most important asset." Companies who follow the guidelines of "Execution" know that processes are useless without the right strategies, and strategies are useless without the right people engaged and accountable for executing them.
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Summary: Hyped in the press - but save yourself the time and money
Review: I read 4-5 books on management a month and this was by far the worst I've read in years. It's just flat out boring and goes on...and on....and on about stories which have little bearing on the points then made in reference. Larry feels he must tell us, this $20 billion company... this $50 billion company, this $25 billion company. Who cares what the market cap of the company is... management should not be any stronger (or weaker) based on the market cap of a company. Read every word up to page 94 and then had to start scanning for interesting parts because I couldn't take it any more. Not worth the time or money. Sorry Larry...
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Summary: Execution -- The Point When Tough Thinking Often Begins
Review: Many make the crucial mistake of thinking that creative thinking ends once a decision is made. As this book makes convincingly clear, creativity must continue unabated during the execution phase of any management process. When problems occur, as inevitably they do, and we must ask ourselves "Why Didn't I Think of That?" -- solutions must be found, and often those solutions must be far more creative than the original thinking that got you into the predicament where you now find yourself. Reading Larry Bossidy's new book, along with books such as "Why Didn't I Think of That? - Think the Unthinkable and Achieve Creative Greatness" will give you both the tools and inspiration needed to master the toughest problems you may encounter when executing your most important decisions.
Rating: 
Summary: Stop reading these books and get to work!
Review: The typical, though well written, common sense that any farmer or housewife knows. This type of book is,in my opinon, the glaring reason for the costly mistakes we see going on in business today.
Hire the right people for the job, duh,, would you hire a gardener to shampoo your rugs? Write follow up letters? Is that like sending a thank you card? "Thank you for doing your job, yeah, the one we pay you for, oh, if your work is not completed get right on it ok?" Here's my two cents,(about what my opinions worth),Know your business,,NOT what every other business is doing, have pride as a manager in your product, and your people. Question everything, including your CEO, if you are a CEO,and your entity is bleeding capitol, loosing market share, laying off talent, think; "am I doing my job?" If the plumer can't fix the leak in your bathroom, should he be paid? Do you want him to read a book ABOUT fixing your pipes? or do you want him to FIX the leak?
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Summary: A passion for action
Review: This book starts with a story of a CEO who has had everything in his favor - A fine strategy, an excellent team empowered to perform, a good market, the best consultants; yet the company fails to meet its goals, quarter after quarter. Shortly afterward the board fires this CEO. In reality 40 CEOs of top 200 Fortune 500 companies lost their jobs- not retired but fired by their boards in 2000 alone. The gap between aspirations and performance, between Companies that get the results against those who wish to reach there is what this book is about. To give us a detailed account of this reality, I doubt if we can ever have a better team than this. Welcome to Execution. This book is not just for CEOs but is a must read for all Managers who are accountable for results. The Organizational processes are classified as Strategic, People and Operational. The Strategic aspect deals with Economy, Markets, Competition and where the Organization would like to go from where it is. The Operational aspect deals with putting strategy into action; the how of reaching there with details on budgeting, reviews and course correction in the short run. The People process emerges as the core and most important element of the three. It is ultimately the people who are responsible to put Strategy into action. It is they who define the culture of the Organization and build its character. In fact it is recommended that the CEO should never delegate the responsibility to hire and apprise his A team. The CEOs main strength comes from the top 30 percent of the people. It is important that a strong culture for performance and rewards is nurtured to get Strategy into reality. Human Resources function should play a key role in assisting the CEO in this vital area. HR is not a staff function for hiring and compensating people, but it should integrate itself with he Operations and Strategic aspects to understand the quality of people required for the successful accomplishment of goals. Organizational mechanisms to identify high potential employees, constant appraisal and feed back and a plan to get the best out of these bright people is the foundation of the people process. Needless to say, Organizations run the risk of losing their best people to competition if such systems are not in place. In such a system it is also important to identify and remove obstacles for growth. Sometimes, over a period of time some people are elevated to their levels of incompetence and are occupying positions that are key to success of strategy. But unfortunately, while these executives have been successful in the past there is no guarantee of their reaching anywhere near the goals in future. They fail to understand markets, are not culturally tuned to performance driven environments and are a sure prescription for disaster. The people process should take the courage to clean up such patches and bring in the flexibility to hire the required talent from outside. The CEO's is not an ornamental position of meeting the press, analysts and consultants, but an integral part of running the business; day in and day out. It is through such deep involvement and setting personal example of getting things done that he or she can continue to preside over the engine of growth and wealth creation. This book is about achieving excellence in action. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: SUPERIOR!!!!!
Review: Execution is the missing link that makes a difference between success and failure. This book is a must read for any manager. The book starts with a good rationale about the importance of execution and give specific steps to implement this discipline.
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Summary: Come on Larry your a legend, you could have done better
Review: I found the book very interesting but anecdotal. I loved all the stories; of course the names were changed to protect the guilty.
I would have found the book more insightful if the methodology being proposed was laid out in a more academic manner. I don't think the book itself will become a management pocket guide.
It's definitely worth reading, and it's an easy read at that. The stories are riveting and wonderful.
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Summary: The only discipline that matters...
Review: The book was an excellent presentation of the most critical discipline required for an organization to succeed. We have observed the flawed business fundamentals of the dot coms, World Com's, Enron's, etc. Strategy is just strategy. Tactical is just tactical. And while both are important, execution is the most critical component. My only criticism of the book is that it did not go deep enough. The authors are respected business leaders, and I would have appreciated more detailed insight. They should consider Part II.
Rating:
Summary: Execution
Review: Not well executed. I do not agree with the assumption that only a COO can become a a very good CEO. The only credit that I can give them is that they have at least attempted to throw some light, though not indepth on the the topic "Execution".
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