Amp It Up

5Put Execution Ahead of Strategy

Great Execution Is Rarer than Great Strategy

There are tons of articles and books on the topic of business strategy but relatively few on execution. That strikes me as remarkable because in practice it's hard to separate strategy from execution. When a business is struggling, how do you know if the problem was caused by a flawed strategy or poor execution? If you don't know how to execute, every strategy will fail, even the most promising ones. As one of my former bosses observed: “No strategy is better than its execution.”

Still, most people prefer to discuss strategy rather than execution. Perhaps that's because they see the former as a more high‐minded, intellectually stimulating subject, while they see the latter as boring and pedestrian, simply a matter of getting your hands dirty, working hard, and checking action items off to‐do lists. This is especially true in Silicon Valley, where strategic narratives are much treasured, widely discussed, and frequently rehashed.

But those folks actually have it backward. Strategy can't really be mastered until you know how to execute well. That's why execution must be your first priority as a leader. Worrying about your organization's strategy before your team is good at executing is pointless. Execution is hard, and great execution is scarce—which makes it another great source of competitive advantage.

In technology, and other sectors as well, we are overflowing with capital and interesting ideas. ...