Strategy That Works ─ How Winning Companies Close the Strategy-to-Execution GAP

In a recent survey of executives, two-thirds of the respondents said they didn’t think their organization could execute the company’s defined strategy. Why is the strategy-execution gap so pervasive? And what can executives do to close it?

In Strategy that Works, Paul Leinwand and Cesare Mainardi share their latest research into how the best companies in the world connect strategy to execution.

Having the right capabilities in place is essential; but subsequent research by the authors’ firm, Strategy&, shows that capabilities alone don’t close the gap between what companies aspire to do and what they can actually accomplish. The authors identify, in all, five fundamental principles for connecting strategy and execution, and show how the best companies in the world use these principles to out-execute and out-compete their opponents. They:
Commit to winning by what they do best, instead of chasing multiple opportunities
Focus on and build only those capabilities, instead of benchmarking against competitors
Prune what doesn’t matter to invest more in what does
Leverage the culture they have instead of reengineering it
Shape demand instead of constantly reacting to market changes
Based on in-depth interviews inside companies that are known for their flawless execution and for redefining the competition in their industries, this book provides executives with the path for connecting strategy to execution.

Paul Leinwand is a partner at Strategy& in their Chicago office. Cesare Mainardi is the CEO of Strategy&.