I listened to Execution on an exhaustive number of audio CDs. I read this book after the Halo Effect and I was immediately drawn to seeing this book with skepticism. Charan is an business writer that uses observation to find "truths". But like the Halo Effect warns, it is hard to isolate the variables in this equation and easy to draw false conclusions. For instance, Charan is fond of the Company A vs Company B comparison. Did Company A really do better because their leader understood how to pinpoint external change?

Here are the 8 Know Hows

1. Positioning and Repositioning - finding a central idea for business that meets customer demans and that makes money.
2. Pinpointing External Change - detecting patterns in a complex world to put the business on the offensive.
3. Leading the Social System - getting the right people together with the right behaviors and the right information to make better, faster decisions and achieve business results.
4. Judging People - Calibrating people based on their actions, decisions, and behaviors and matching them to the non-negotiables of the job.
5. Molding a Team - Getting highly competent, high-ego leaders to coordinate seamlessly.
6. Setting Goals - Determining the set of goals that balances what the business can become with what it can realistically achieve.
7. Setting Laser Sharp Priorities - Defining the path and aligning resources, actions, and energy to accomplish the goals.
8. Dealing with Forces Beyond the Market - Anticipating and responding to societal pressures you don't control but that can affect your business.

• Ambition
• Drive and Tenacity
• Self-confidence
• Pyschological Openness
• Realism
• Appetite for Learning

• A wide range of altitudes
• A broad cognitive bandwidth
• Ability to reframe

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