Execution book club questions

1. 1.

   Bossidy argues that execution is a senior leader's job, not something that can be delegated. In your experience, where does execution accountability actually sit?

2. 2.

   The authors say the people process should come before strategy. What would change about how your organization makes decisions if it took that sequence seriously?

3. 3.

   Think of a strategy in your organization that failed or stalled. Was the failure in the strategy itself or in the execution? How do you know?

4. 4.

   Operating reviews as described here are fundamentally honest performance conversations. What makes that kind of honesty difficult in most organizations, and what would have to change to enable it?

5. 5.

   Bossidy is direct about confronting underperformance. What norms in your organization make that difficult, and are those norms serving the people involved?

6. 6.

   The book treats culture as something leaders create through behavior, not through declarations. What behaviors in your current context are shaping culture in ways that help or hurt execution?

7. 7.

   Charan and Bossidy argue that most strategies are too optimistic about organizational capability. How does your organization currently test whether its strategy is executable?

8. 8.

   The concept of follow-through seems simple but the authors treat it as rare. What prevents leaders from closing the loops they open?

9. 9.

   The book is largely about large industrial companies in the early 2000s. Which parts of the execution framework transfer to knowledge work, and which don't?

10. 10.

    If you were promoted tomorrow to run your current organization, what would be the first execution problem you'd tackle, and what would the first 90 days look like?

11. 11.

    The authors argue that leaders who avoid difficult conversations believe they're being kind. Is there a case where avoiding a difficult conversation is actually the right call?

12. 12.

    The book implies that most strategic plans fail because organizations overestimate their own capability. How do you honestly assess execution capability before committing to a plan?

How to run the discussion

• Pick six to eight, not all of them. An hour of real discussion covers fewer questions than anyone expects, and racing the list is what makes a book club feel like homework.
• Open with what people noticed, not what they concluded. Asking for a verdict first hardens opinions before anyone has heard each other.
• Let the disagreement run. The questions below that split a room are the ones worth the time; the ones everyone answers the same way can be skipped.
• Ask the quiet person a specific question. A direct, narrow question is far easier to answer than an open invitation to contribute.