Making Strategy Work: Leading Effective Execution and Change (Hardcover)

The material is carefully organized within ten chapters whose subjects range from “Strategy Execution Is the Key” to “Summary and Application: Making Mergers and Acquisitions Work,” followed by an Appendix in which Hrebiniak provides a strategy execution survey conducted by The Wharton School of Pennsylvania and GartnerG2 in 2003. There are references to survey results throughout the book. For example, responses to a section on “Obstacles to Strategy Execution” (Table 1.1 on page 17). I also appreciate various reader-friendly devices which Hrebiniak employs such as graphic illustrations (e.g. Figure 8.1 on page 267 which depicts a model of culture and culture change) and checklists as well as a Summary of key points at the end of each chapter.

Here are three brief excerpts from Hrebiniak’s narrative:

“The operational aspects of strategic and short-term objectives means that these objectives are measurable. They are useful for strategy execution if they measure important results. Strategy m,ust be translated into metrics that are consistent with strategy and measurable. Only then can the results of execution be adequately assessed. Without these useful metrics, successful evaluation of execution results is not possible.” (Page 88)

“In essence, [GE’s] ‘Work Out’ was run as an example of decision-making characterized by reciprocal interdependence. The methods of achieving integration or coordination were consistent with this form of interdependence and no doubt contributed to its success. In addition to Welch’s philosophy and GE culture, the processes and methods of defining interdependence and coordination needs were important to ‘Work Out’’s contributions to problem definition and to making strategy work.” (page 157)

“To change culture, don’t focus directly on culture itself or the underlying defining aspects of culture: values, norms, and ‘credos.’ Don’t try to change attitudes, hoping for a change in behavior. Focus instead on behavior....The logic here is twofold:. First, it is virtually impossible to appeal to people top change their beliefs, values, or attitudes....Second, it is important to recall that culture both affects behavior and performance [begin italics] and [end italics] is affected and reinforced by behavior and performance....How does one change behavior and, ultimately, culture? The answer is by changing people, incentives, controls, and organizational structure, as Figure 8.1., suggests.” (page 272)

Credit Hrebiniak with writing an immensely thoughtful as well as practical book in which he explains with meticulous care how to formulate an appropriate strategy, then executive it effectively despite resistance which can sometimes be formidable, and thereby produce results which may otherwise be unachievable.

Decision-makers in larger organizations may derive greater value from Hrebiniak’s book because they have a wider and deeper range of possible applications of the processes, decisions, and actions he recommends. However, as I read this book, I realized that inappropriate strategies and/or poor execution of strategies may help to explain statistics which Michael Gerber cites in his E-Myth Mastery: "Of the 1 million U.S. small businesses started this year [2005], more than 80% of them will be out of business within 5 years and 96% will have closed their doors before their 10th birthday."

These are indeed chilling statistics. Therefore, I highly recommend Hrebiniak’s book to all decision-makers in all organizations, regardless of size or nature. Also to all students who are currently preparing themselves for a career in business.

Making Strategy Work is a good reminder that there are still organizations out there that have never picked a strategy that worked or implemented a workable strategy successfully. Yet these organizations are full of graduates of the most stellar business schools who know all the strategic management and planning lingo.

Professor Hrebiniak starts with the academic strategic lingo and clearly distills the key lessons of choosing and implementing strategies into bite-sized pieces for large organizations to implement.

It's not surprising that this book is filled with examples from the old AT&T and its remaining pieces, General Motors, Sears and other organizations known for their strategic problems. Mr. Hrebiniak has been there and done that in consulting for such organizations for many years, and describes their mind set well.

Naturally, if you are of more innovative and entrepreneurial orientation, you won't find this book nearly as interesting. But it's an important contribution to the literature that I'm surprised that someone didn't write long before now.

Well, they sort of did write this book before now. You can find pieces of this book in various books and articles . . . but Making Strategy Work is a convenient place to find all of those pieces in one place . . . for those who haven't developed and implemented a successful strategy before to get a sense of what they should be doing.