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July 13, 2007

There's the Thinking, and Then There's the Doing

Jeffrey Pfeffer, a professor of Organizational Behavior at Stanford Business School, has moved up to first place in my list of favorite quotes. Strategy is a topic that is often misunderstood and misrepresented. In radio advertising, strategy is often completely overlooked.

In his recent interview with Guy Kawasaki, this "academic" has managed to not only succinctly define what "strategy" is, but also put strategy in a plainspokenly-described, prioritized context with other business activities.

"Doing the right thing is important, which is where strategy comes in. But doing that thing well--execution--is what sets companies apart. After all, every football play is designed to go for a huge gain. The reason it doesn't is because of execution--people drop balls, miss blocks, go to the wrong place, and so forth. So, success depends on execution--on the ability to get things done."

Strategy is doing the right thing.

Execution of "the right thing" is what sets companies apart and makes them successful.

If you're running a business, as many of our clients are, I can recommend Guy's interview with Dr. Pfeffer as worthy of your time. And, if Dr. Pfeffer's new book, What Were They Thinking: Unconventional Views About Management, is written with this kind of direct communication style, it's likely also worth checking out.

Posted by Brett Astor at 11:28 AM | Permalink