The Unwritten Rules: The Six Skills You Need to Get Promoted to the Executive Level

Chapter 5. Factor 3: Managing Implementation

Strategic thinking and the ability to impart a vision are critical elements of an executive's skill set. However, never lose sight of the fact that the ability to go from strategy to implementation—to "operationalize the insight," as Ron Williams, the CEO of Aetna, says—remains a fundamental task for any executive. Your responsibility to execute your strategic priorities in a predictable way doesn't change as you move up the organization. What does change is how you manage the transition from strategy to execution. At lower levels in the company, you are likely to be centrally involved in seeing that work gets done in a high-quality and predictable manner. As you progress toward the executive ranks, ...