The Culture of Execution….Episode #3

Reference my last two posts, another example of how the lack of execution culture can harm or even shut down an organization as mentioned in the book is:

At Lucent and in 1996 they hired a new CEO – Richard McGinn- and they had high hopes that he will deliver good results. He promised investors great growth in revenues and earnings. Lucent focused on telecommunication equipment market from consumer telephones to network switching.  And with Bell Labs they had an R&D resource no one else in the market could compete with.

The new CEO though could not get things done.  

1- Lucent structure was bulky and unmanageable.  

2- The financial system used was inadequate.  They could not get information about profit by customer or product line and hence they could not make appropriate decisions based on figures.

3- McGinn failed to confront and replace executives and managers who did not perform well and did not act up to the standards.  As a result Lucent missed the best emerging market opportunities.

4- Lucent spent a fortune installing SAP but did not change the way they execute their business processes and hence they did not benefit from it at all.

5- Some Lucent engineers were trying to convince senior management to let them develop fiber optic products.  But senior management did not agree because their main biggest customers were not interested.  

Because of all the above Lucent was near bankruptcy.  

I will comment on each of the points above, and in the same order, to highlight the importance of getting things done and having the culture of execution.

1- Hiring should be done wisely.  It is not appropriate to hire before you know exactly what the new comers will do and have a detailed job description. 

2- Without accurate and relevant figures you cannot take any decisions.  And if you do they will definitely be wrong decisions.

3- Having the right people in the right place is the key to success.  Anyone who does not perform up to the standards should be fired and replaced immediately or else problems will keep growing until they become unmanageable.

4- Needles to say of course that to start using a new system you have to define new business processes and you have to accept and adopt the needed changes.  Otherwise it will be money thrown down the drain.

5- It is good to have an eye on your biggest customers and focus on their needs.  But along with that you have to have an eye on the future and do whatever is needed to grasp emerging opportunities.

My next and last post related to this subject will be to summarize the three main building blocks of execution as stated in the book……

Stay tuned……

Reference my last two posts, another example of how the lack of execution culture can harm or even shut down an organization as mentioned in the book is:

At Lucent and in 1996 they hired a new CEO – Richard McGinn- and they had high hopes that he will deliver good results. He promised investors great growth in revenues and earnings. Lucent focused on telecommunication equipment market from consumer telephones to network switching.  And with Bell Labs they had an R&D resource no one else in the market could compete with.

The new CEO though could not get things done.  

1. Lucent structure was bulky and unmanageable.  
2. The financial system used was inadequate.  They could not get information about profit by customer or product line and hence they could not make appropriate decisions based on figures.
3. McGinn failed to confront and replace executives and managers who did not perform well and did not act up to the standards.  As a result Lucent missed the best emerging market opportunities.
4. Lucent spent a fortune installing SAP but did not change the way they execute their business processes and hence they did not benefit from it at all.
5. Some Lucent engineers were trying to convince senior management to let them develop fiber optic products.  But senior management did not agree because their main biggest customers were not interested.  

Because of all the above Lucent was near bankruptcy.  

I will comment on each of the points above, and in the same order, to highlight the importance of getting things done and having the culture of execution.

1. Hiring should be done wisely.  It is not appropriate to hire before you know exactly what the new comers will do and have a detailed job description. 
2. Without accurate and relevant figures you cannot take any decisions.  And if you do they will definitely be wrong decisions.
3. Having the right people in the right place is the key to success.  Anyone who does not perform up to the standards should be fired and replaced immediately or else problems will keep growing until they become unmanageable.
4. Needles to say of course that to start using a new system you have to define new business processes and you have to accept and adopt the needed changes.  Otherwise it will be money thrown down the drain.
5. It is good to have an eye on your biggest customers and focus on their needs.  But along with that you have to have an eye on the future and do whatever is needed to grasp emerging opportunities.

 

My next and last post related to this subject will be to summarize the three main building blocks of execution as stated in the book.

Stay tuned……