The 4 Disciplines of Execution

Strategy Blockers

Executives implement some strategies easily with a single order. They initiate such changes as designating investments, revising compensation or hiring additional staff simply by asking the appropriate managers to make it happen. However, more ambitious strategies require people to change their behavior, which is seldom easy. For example, if you ask your sales team to use new software when they already like what they’re using, you’ll hit resistance even if the new program is compatible. As Jim Stuart, an originator of the “4 Disciplines of Execution” (4DX), stated, “To achieve a goal you have never achieved before, you must start doing things you have never done before.” Resistance to change is a major hurdle in implementing a new strategy.

What else causes poor execution? Employees fail to implement strategy, first, because they often do not understand their organization’s goals. In one survey, most frontline people could not reiterate what their firm’s executives identified as its top three goals. In addition, employees said they rarely felt committed to a goal even when they knew what it was. Or, if they knew about the goal, they didn’t know how...