The 4 Disciplines of Execution

The 4 Disciplines of Execution – Chris McChesney

Most leaders know that executing a strategy is often harder than creating one. The urgent demands of day-to-day work, which the authors call the whirlwind, constantly pull attention away from the most important goals. In The 4 Disciplines of Execution: Achieving Your Wildly Important Goals, Chris McChesney, Sean Covey and Jim Huling of FranklinCovey present a proven methodology for overcoming this challenge.

Based on years of research and work with organizations around the world, the book introduces four disciplines that help teams achieve their most important goals amid the whirlwind. The first is to focus on the wildly important, narrowing attention to a small number of critical goals. The second is to act on lead measures, the activities that predict and influence results, rather than only tracking lagging outcomes. The third is to keep a compelling scoreboard, so that everyone can see at a glance whether they are winning. The fourth is to create a cadence of accountability, through regular, brief meetings in which team members commit to specific actions and report on progress.

The authors explain each discipline in detail and provide a step-by-step guide for installing the system in teams and across entire organizations, including common pitfalls and how to avoid them. Case studies from companies, schools and public organizations show the disciplines in action.

Clear, practical and actionable, The 4 Disciplines of Execution is a valuable resource for leaders, managers and teams who want to turn strategy into results.