Author: Liu Chunxiong Source: Teacher Liu's Forum (ID: liuchunxiong1964) Whenever a manager says execution is poor, I think: they are actually saying their own management and control are poor. 'Execution' is a mirror: if subordinates execute poorly, it reflects the manager's incompetence. In China, no management concept is more misunderstood than execution.
Aim the Gun Upward In my view, 'Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done' by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan is about managers, but it's a difficult book; few who read it grasp the principles. Most just take the word 'execution' and add their own assumptions. The book covers three elements of execution: strategic process, operational process, and people process. Which of these is about subordinates? They are purely management. The book actually explains how to ensure an organization's strategy is effectively implemented. Even when it discusses people, it's from a management perspective. Tracing the origin of execution, we must start with 'Execution', and its basic principle is 'aim the gun upward'. Poor execution is the manager's responsibility.
Aim the Gun Downward Chinese managers' favored concept of execution carries strong traces of agricultural civilization. Thus, three 'fake' execution books were pushed to prominence in China, such as 'A Message to Garcia', 'Self-Discipline', and 'No Excuses'. Except for 'A Message to Garcia', the other two may be outright forgeries. Even 'A Message to Garcia' was written in a time not closely related to industrial civilization. These books' biggest sales came from group purchases. These books are essentially opposed to 'Execution'. They are popular with managers because they aim the execution gun at subordinates. Poor execution is the subordinate's responsibility.
Execution: Don't Talk Agricultural Civilization First, clarify that the execution we discuss is not from the agricultural era, but from the industrial era. It's not just individual execution, but group execution, organized execution. This is a crucial premise. Without it, discussing 'A Message to Garcia'—a story from a special era—lacks universal significance. The business unit of agricultural civilization is the family; the business unit of industrial civilization is the enterprise. Agricultural management is more about individual management; industrial management is more about organizational management. Like our generation, born in agricultural civilization and raised in industrial civilization, we mix both mindsets, sometimes leading to confused thinking.
The Mirror Image of Execution is Control Modern management, according to Fayol, includes five functions: planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, and controlling. Among these, the most overlooked by Chinese is 'control'. Control, as the final and most important step, determines whether planned goals are achieved. Consider missile launches: one type is fire-and-forget, like the famous Scud missile, which has low accuracy because it lacks a control system; another type has a control system that adjusts the flight path based on feedback data to ensure the target is hit. The second missile can fly through the window opened by the first, not just because of precise design, but because of good control. Any deviation is immediately corrected via feedback. A key word here is 'feedback'. Feedback is crucial to control, and control is crucial to achieving goals. Chinese-style execution typically goes: 'Here's the task, go execute it.' If the goal isn't met, it's an execution problem. In the PDCA management cycle, this is a rigorous execution system.
Individual Execution or Systematic Execution? Individual execution and systematic execution follow different logic. If one subordinate has a problem, the responsibility may lie with that subordinate; if a group of subordinates has problems, the responsibility lies with the manager. One subordinate's performance is their achievement; a group's performance is the manager's achievement. For exceptionally capable individuals, you can delegate execution without feedback or control; for organizational execution, feedback and control are essential. Ordinary companies don't lack capable people; they have too few. They survive because of a few capable people, but they can't grow because they rely on only those few. For such people, you can say, 'Here's the task, go execute it.' Excellent companies, if they rely on capable people, will be disappointed. What makes excellent companies excellent is not having many talents, but 'enabling ordinary people to achieve extraordinary results'. How to achieve that? It's a leading execution system, a leading management and control system that can detect, correct, and remedy problems in time. Such a system is a viable 'execution system'. This is exactly what 'Execution' by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan means by 'execution'.
Aim the Gun Upward or Downward? The subject of execution is, of course, subordinates, but who is the main body of execution? If the main body is the manager, then it's 'aim the gun upward'. If execution is poor, managers must reflect. First, reflect on whether the manager has problems; second, reflect on whether the management system has problems, such as PDCA defects. If the main body is subordinates, then it's 'aim the gun downward'. That means eliminating employees, strengthening training, enhancing culture, etc. Of course, execution problems usually mean result problems. Result problems usually mean the whole system has problems, including both managers and the managed. It's not something that can be solved by aiming the gun up or down.
On Execution Training Execution problems are sometimes excuses for managers to shirk management incompetence. When managers talk about execution, they usually mean subordinates lack it. Since managers have needs, experts meet them. Thus, execution training has a market. Who is the training for? If it's for employees, the company is in danger. It's better to be sick than to take the wrong medicine. If the boss has a problem, but the employees take the medicine, can such a company be saved?
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