Six Disciplines® Execution Revolution: Solving the One Business Problem That Makes Solving All Other Problems Easier
by Gary Harpst
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Book Summary Information
Author: Gary HarpstEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-07-01
ISBN: 0981641105
Number of pages: 208
Publisher: Six Disciplines Publishing
Book Reviews of Six Disciplines® Execution Revolution: Solving the One Business Problem That Makes Solving All Other Problems Easier
Book Review: Creating and then sustaining an "organization for all seasons"
Summary: 5 Stars
Gary Harpst agrees with Thomas Edison: "Vision without execution is hallucination." In his previous book, Six Disciplines for Excellence, Harpst explains the importance of focusing on what's important (i.e. renewing mission, clarifying values, strengthening strategic position, and engaging others with a crystal clear vision as well as defining very few objectives and agreeing on what to stop); of setting goals that engage people (i.e. those that help people to remain focused on doing what must be done to achieve the organization's given objectives); of getting strategies, people, and processes as well as systems in proper alignment; of "working the plan" (i.e. investing in each moment help build the most preferred future for the organization...and make life and work more fulfilling for each individual); of innovating purposefully (e.g. brainstorming regularly as well as recognizing and rewarding the best ideas); and of stepping back (i.e. taking a close look at what's taking place, both internally and externally, and to make whatever mid-course corrections may be needed to ensure the organization is headed in the right direction).
In his latest book, Harpst asserts that "excellence is the enduring pursuit of balanced strategy and execution. Strategy requires choosing what promises to make to all stakeholders and a roadmap for delivering on those promises. Execution requires getting there, while overcoming unending surprises. Of the two, execution is far more difficult to achieve, but it is fruitless without sold strategy. Learning how to balance these two is the key to excellence. Excellence is a journey that never ends. It's an enduring pursuit that requires an enduring approach." In my opinion, the greatest value of this book is derived from the clarity, concision, and precision with which Harpst "nails the basics" in terms of how to formulate an appropriate strategy, with its primary objective to solve an organization's most serious problem because, "if you focus on solving the right problem, the solution of all other problems will be easier (not easy)." On occasion, "all the pieces fall together, creating a leapfrog opportunity to solve old problems." Whether or not what Harpst recommends is "a fundamentally new way" is for each reader to determine. I agree with him that everyone involved in a given organization, "top to bottom," should remain focused on achieving long-term goals with an appropriate strategy. Meanwhile, of course, sufficient revenue must be generated and there must also be effective development of leadership and management skills at all levels and in all areas. As a farmer once observed to Ralph Emerson, "Having a vision is wonderful but you still have to milk the cows and feed the pigs."
With all due respect to the worthy goals of producing more and better work in less time and at a lower cost, of productivity and efficiency, etc., Harpst stresses the importance of knowing and then doing what will add the greatest value to the stakeholders involved in the given enterprise. In this context, I am again reminded of what Peter Drucker said in 1963: "There is surely nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency what should not be done at all."
Decision-makers in all organizations (regardless of their size or nature) will find a wealth of practical advice in Harpst's latest book. As is his custom, after acknowledging what everyone agrees is the "what" of execution, he spends most of his time explaining the "how," guided and informed by all six of basic but absolutely essential disciplines. Harpst notes that "whatever issues an organization faces today, they will be different and bigger tomorrow. Planning and executing, while at the same time, managing the unknowns of the real world, is the biggest challenge in business. Overcoming this challenge is what we mean by solving the problem that will make solving all other problems easier. It builds an organization that is preparing for an ever increasing set of future challenges that are the natural result of overcoming today's challenges."
It should be noted that all of Harpst's observations and recommendations are based on a wealth of research that he and his associates have conducted for several years as well as on their central involvement with decision-makers in hundreds of different organizations that have substantially increased the speed, efficiency, and productivity of their performance by executing the six disciplines. Correctly, Harpst stresses that change efforts must be initiated and then sustained at all levels and in all areas throughout the given enterprise.
In this context, I am reminded of Sir Thomas More whom playwright Robert Bolt describes as a "man for all seasons." Gray Harpst believes (and I agree) that only an organization fully prepared for all "seasons" will be able to anticipate, then plan and execute solutions to problems that await in an uncertain future but also, meanwhile, manage "the unknowns of the real world" they face today.
More Six Disciplines® Execution Revolution: Solving the One Business Problem That Makes Solving All Other Problems Easier reviews:
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Summary of Six Disciplines® Execution Revolution: Solving the One Business Problem That Makes Solving All Other Problems Easier
With all of the pressures successful business leaders have today, none is more urgent or challenging than learning the ability to execute strategy.While larger businesses have the luxury of budgets and resources to meet this challenge, it's the small and midsized businesses that now have a tremendous opportunity to level the playing field, leapfrog the expensive, outdated approaches of the past, and attack the challenge of execution in a revolutionary way. The key insights are:
- Excellence is the enduring pursuit of balanced strategy and execution
- Planning and executing, while at the same time dealing with the inevitable surprises, is the biggest challenge in business
- Overcoming this challenge is what we mean by solving the one problem that makes all others easier
- Failing to solve the problem destines your organization to a reactive, fire-fighting future.
Based on breakthrough research, field testing and proven best-practices, the thought-leading vision described by Gary Harpst in Six Disciplines® Execution Revolution sets a new course for how small and midsized businesses can finally confront the never-ending challenge of executing strategy.
As a follow-up to the success of Six Disciplines for Excellence, Harpst's new book, Six Disciplines® Execution Revolution, details the elements of a complete strategy execution program, clarifies how it could only have happened now, and explains why such a program will soon become a mainstream requirement for your business.
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