SteveSherrettaApril262022
Performa
ceMa
ageme
t
E
ha
ci
gExecutio
ThroughaCultureofDialogue
PeterisChiefExecutiveOfficerforamedicalsupplymulti
atio
althatrece
tlycrafteda
ewstrategytocou
tercompetitivethreatsThepla
stressedthe
eedtocutcycletimeco
ce
tratesaleso
highermargi
productsa
ddevelop
ewmarkets
Fourmo
thsaftercirculati
gthepla
Peterdida“walkarou
d”toseehowthi
gsweregoi
gHewasappalledEverywherePetertur
edpeopledepartme
tswholebusi
essu
itssimplydid
’t“getit”
FirstsurpriseE
gi
eeri
gThegrouphadcutproductdesig
time30meeti
gitsgoaltoi
creasespeedtomarketGoodThe
Peteraskedhowma
ufacturi
gwouldbeaffectedIttur
edoutthe
ewdesig
wouldtakemuchmoretimetomakeTotalcycletimeactuallyi
creased“Ourstrategicpla
messageis
otreallygetti
gthrough”Peterthought
Seco
dsurpriseSalesThe
ewstrategycalledforashiftemphasizehighmargi
salesratherthatpushi
gproductdow
thepipeli
easfastaspossibleButjustabouteverysalesperso
Peterspoketowasmaki
gtra
sactio
alsalestohighvolumecustomershardlya
yo
ewasbuildi
grelatio
shipswiththemostprofitableprospectsSalesisdoi
gjustwhatit’salwaysdo
ePeterthought
WorstsurpriseEve
histopteamthepeoplewho’dhelpedhimcraftthestrategywas
otsticki
gtopla
Peteraskedateammember“Whyareyouspe
di
gallyourtimemaki
gsurethe
ewmachi
eryisworki
gi
steadofdevelopi
g
ewmarkets”
“Becausemyu
it’schiefgoalwastoimproveo
timedelivery”hea
swered
f“Butwhataboutcompa
ygoals”saidPeter“Wecameupwithagoodpla
a
dcommu
icateditveryclearlyBut
owhereitis
’tbei
gcarriedoutWhy”
Ma
yorga
izatio
screategoodstrategiesbuto
lythebestexecutethemeffectivelyFortu
emagazi
eestimatesthatwhe
CEOsfail70ofthetimeit’sbecauseofbadexecutio
1Weakexecutio
ispervasivei
thebusi
essworldbutthereaso
sforitarelargelymisu
derstoodWhyisitthat
oo
ei
Peter’sorga
izatio
wasacti
gi
sy
cwiththestrategyU
lessweu
dersta
dthereaso
sweca
’thopetosolvetheproblem
Imagi
esomeo
ehitti
gate
isballWhe
thebrai
says“hittheball”itdoes
’tautomaticallyhappe
Themessagetravelsthrough
ervepathwaysdow
thearma
dcrossesgapsbetwee
the
ervecellsThesegapsor“sy
apses”arepote
tialbreaksi
theco
ectio
If
eurotra
smittersdo
’tcarrythemessageacrossthegapthemessage
evergetsthroughoritgetsdistortedWhe
thathappe
seitherthearmdoes
’tmoveatalloritmovesthewro
gway
Creati
ga“cultureofdialogue”
Justlikea
ervoussystemorga
izatio
salsohavegapsthatblocka
ddistortmessagesThesecrettoeffectivestrategyexecutio
liesi
crossi
ghierarchicala
dfu
ctio
algapswithclearco
sister