If culture is a team’s operating system, execution is the application layer. But since not everyone thinks in software terms, let’s use a different analogy: cars.
• The car itself is operations.
• The fuel is culture.
• The engine is execution.
No engine, no movement. Simple.
Stephen Covey’s The Four Disciplines of Execution outlines four key disciplines:
1. Focus on the Wildly Important Goal (WIG)
2. Act on lead measures
3. Keep a compelling scoreboard
4. Create a culture of accountability
I’ve thought about this for years, and I’ve developed my own framework. Why? Because laws are unavoidable. Disciplines are optional.
The Four Laws of Execution
1. The Law of Focus
Ever been in a situation where there are too many priorities, so nothing becomes a priority? We overestimate our ability to multitask and underestimate the cost of context switching. The more you commit to, the less you accomplish. Period. As I wrote in The Opportunity Tax, success requires saying no to good ideas.
“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are.”
—Steve Jobs
Spreading yourself too thin kills execution. Clear priorities lead to faster decisions and better results because there’s a direct path to action.
2. The Law of Clarity
A former boss once told me:
Confusion at the top multiplies at the bottom.
If leadership isn’t clear about what’s happening and what needs to happen, the team will have even less of a clue. Ambiguous goals create scattered effort. People default to easy tasks instead of high-impact ones. That’s why execution requires lead measures, clear, trackable actions that drive outcomes. Simple plans execute better than complex ones. Simplicity is clarity.
3. The Law of Momentum
Starting is the hardest part, whether it’s a diet, a project, or writing. But once you get moving, momentum takes over. Momentum is built through small wins. Small wins stack into big wins. Big wins drive impactful change. Momentum also requires one critical habit: removing obstacles quickly. Nothing kills momentum like a roadblock. Identify and eliminate them fast.
4. The Law of Friction and Resistance
Execution never happens in a frictionless environment. Projects always take longer than expected. Plans always face friction and/or resistance. The more you plan for resistance, the fewer disruptions you’ll face. That means:
• Building in buffer time for dependencies
• Expecting the unexpected (Black Swan events happen, see: COVID)
• Creating contingency plans to help counter slowdowns
Most execution failures aren’t because of bad strategy. They’re because of internal friction, organizational roadblocks, inefficient processes, or outright resistance to change.
Execution Killers
I came across this parable that sums up execution failure:
This is the story of four people: Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody.
There was an important job to be done. Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.
Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.
Somebody got angry because it was Everybody’s job.
Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Somebody wouldn’t.
Everybody blamed Somebody because Nobody did what Anybody could have done.
Lesson: Don’t sit around waiting for things to get done. Own it. Drive accountability.
The “Circling Back” Phenomenon
Former Barstool CEO Erika Ayers Badan describes a common corporate stall tactic “Circling back” in the video below:
I shared this video on LinkedIn, adding:
If an initiative keeps getting kicked down the road, either there’s no buy-in or leadership hasn’t clearly communicated its value.
A friend, Matt Chavez, commented:
This is also a standard CIA undercover tactic to destabilize leadership: sandbag every valuable decision until the process falls apart. Applies to most corporations too.
Do I think execution failures are always sabotage? No. But the effects can be the same.
The Biggest Causes of Execution Failure
1. Context Switching
As I outlined in the Law of Focus, jumping between tasks kills productivity. If you’re constantly shifting priorities, you’re not making progress. Deep Work by Cal Newport highlights the solution: Block out hours for uninterrupted work to get into a flow state. If it takes locking away your phone or turning off the internet, do it.
2. Capability Gaps
Stress triggers fight, flight, or freeze responses. When someone lacks the skills for a task, they typically freeze. Execution stalls due to:
• Poor training
• Inadequate tools
• Lack of resources
• Wrong person for the job
If people aren’t executing, check for a skills gap first.
3. Misaligned Incentives
People do what they’re rewarded for, not what you say matters. If execution isn’t happening, ask:
• Are we rewarding the right behaviors?
• Are incentives aligned across teams?
• Avoid a culture of “order takers” and on the other end “enforcers” during partnerships.
True execution happens when incentives match actual priorities.
4. Poor Planning
The biggest corporate execution flaw? Underestimating time and dependencies.
• Best-case scenarios are a trap. Plan for the most likely or realistic scenario first.
• Always factor in buffer time.
• Don’t ignore past failures. but don’t dwell on them.
You can’t predict the future, but you can prepare for it. You also can’t live too much in the past, but you need to stay connected to both.
The Execution Formula
Execution is where value is created, or destroyed. The best strategy and most efficient operations mean nothing without flawless execution.
Great execution requires:
1. Absolute clarity about what matters
2. Sufficient capability to deliver
3. Unwavering commitment to results
4. Consistent focus on priorities
Execution isn’t just about working harder, it’s about working on the right things, in the right way, at the right time, with the right people.
Once you have a bias for action and master execution, everything else becomes possible.
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