Execution IS The Strategy by Laura Stack

In July I read “Execution IS The Strategy” by Laura Stack as part of my 12 Books Group. The title sales the concept really well. As the speed of business has increased over the years new challenges have emerged. After the C-level executives work out a new strategy and begin to push it out to the team the environment is already changing. Often by the time the various teams begin to implement and make changes the strategy is already outdated. Laura Stack makes the argument that the key strategy that is allowing business to flourish in that type of environment is execution itself.

The majority of the book is dedicated to helping individuals, leaders, and organizations identify where their execution is weak and how to address it. As the diagram suggest, the book is divided into 4 core parts (which create the acronym L-E-A-D) with 3 sub sections to each of those 4 parts. To get the most out of the reading experience the author suggests, and I wholly agree that the reader should first take the “execution quotient” assessment provided for free on the website. This helps you identify which parts of this book are going to be most important to your learning process. I read the whole book regardless, paying extra close attention to those sections that I identified as my weaknesses in execution.

The book is full of great insights and ideas of how to remove the barriers that slow and stop execution. I found a lot of value in the sections about Training and Coaching. Understanding how to best create an environment of mentors for example was really helpful.

I also felt like the section about communication was very helpful. As companies grow larger I think we lose the skills of listening and communicating well with our people and our teams. Laura addresses well how that hinders execution and gives several great ideas of how to take down that barrier to success.

Check out this book and I think you will be impressed with the insights and the lessons you can glean from Laura's years of coaching and productivity excellence.