Without effective execution, no business strategy can succeed. Unfortunately, most managers know far more about developing strategy than about executing it -- and overcoming the difficult political and organizational obstacles that stand in their way. In this book, leading consultant and Wharton professor Lawrence Hrebiniak offers the first comprehensive, disciplined process model for making strategy work in the real world. Drawing on his unsurpassed experience, Hrebiniak shows why execution is even more important than many senior executives realize, and sheds powerful new light on why businesses fail to deliver on even their most promising strategies. Next, he offers a systematic roadmap for execution that encompasses every key success factor: organizational structure, coordination, information sharing, incentives, controls, change management, culture, and the role of power and influence in your business. Making Strategy Work concludes with a start-to-finish case study showing how to use Hrebeniak's ideas to address one of today's most difficult business execution challenges: ensuring the success of a merger or acquisition.

Table of Contents:
Introduction. 1. Strategy Execution Is the Key.     Execution Is a Key to Success     Making Strategy Work Is More Difficult Than the Task of Strategy Making     Sound Execution Is Critical-A Focus on Making Strategy Work Pays Major Dividends     Managers Are Trained to Plan, Not Execute     Let the "Grunts" Handle Execution     Planning and Execution Are Interdependent     Execution Takes Longer Than Formulation     Execution Is a Process, Not an Action or Step     Execution Involves More People Than Strategy  Formulation Does     Additional Challenges and Obstacles to  Successful Execution     Wharton-Gartner Survey     Wharton Executive Education Survey     Panel Discussions     The Results: Opinions About Successful  Strategy Execution     Poor Execution Outcomes     Making Sense of the Data and Going Forward     The Execution Challenge     Having a Model or Guidelines for Execution     Strategy is the Primary Driver     Managing Change     The Power Structure     Coordination and Information Sharing     Clear Responsibility and Accountability     The Right Culture     Leadership     Controls, Feedback, and Adaptation     The Next Step: Developing a Logical Approach to Execution     Decisions  and Actions     Summary     Endnotes 2. Overview and Model: Making Strategy Work.     Common vs. Unique Execution Solutions     A Need for Action     A Model of Strategy Execution     Corporate Strategy     Corporate Structure     Need for Integration     Executing Business Strategy      "Demands" of Business Strategy     Integrating Strategy and Short-term Operating Objectives     Incentives and Controls     Incentives     Controls     Context of Execution Decisions     The Execution Context     Managing Change     Culture     The Organizational Power Structure     The Leadership Climate     Need for a Disciplined Approach     Summary     Endnotes 3. The Path to Successful Execution: Good Strategy Comes First.     Is the Impact of Strategy Overrated?     Issue #1: The Need for Sound Planning and a Clear, Focused Strategy     Corporate-Level Planning     AT&T: Bad Corporate Strategy?      Business Strategy     Issue #2: The Importance of Integrating Corporate and Business Strategies     The Role of the Business Is Unclear     Inappropriate Performance Metrics     Battles Over Resource Allocations     Assessments of Business Performance Create Additional Problems     The Strategy Review     Issue #3: The Need to Define and Communicate the Operational Components of Strategy     Integrating Strategic and Short-Term Objectives     Need for Measurable Objectives      Issue #4: Understanding the "Demands" of Strategy and Successful Execution     Low-Cost Producer     Differentiation Strategies     Developing the Right Capabilities     The Demands of Global Strategy     A Final Point     Summary     Endnotes 4. Organizational Structure and Execution.     The Challenge of Structural Choice     General Motors     Johnson & Johnson     Citibank and ABB     The Critical Structural Issues     Structural Issue #1: Measuring Costs and Benefits  of Structure     Structural Issue #2: Centralization vs. Decentralization     Structural Issue #3: The Strategy-Structure-Performance Relationship     Summary     Endnotes 5. Managing Integration: Effective Coordination and Information Sharing.     The Importance of Integration     Boeing     Royal Dutch/Shell Group     Dell Computers     Interdependence and Coordination Methods     Types of Interdependence     Coordination Processes and Methods     The GE "Work Out"     Facilitating Information Sharing, Knowledge Transfer,  and Communication     Creating, Using, and Sharing Knowledge     Methods, Tools, or Processes for Information Sharing     Informal Forces and Information Sharing     Additional Informal Factors Affecting Information Flow and Knowledge Transfer     Clarifying Responsibility and Accountability     Responsibility Plotting and Role Negotiation     Summary     Endnotes 6. Incentives and Controls: Supporting and Reinforcing Execution.     Role of Incentives and Controls     Incentives and Execution     A Basic Rule: Don't Demotivate People     Good Incentives     Reward the Right Things     Controls: Feedback, Learning, and Adaptation     The Control Process     Develop and Use Good Objectives     Reward the Doers, the Performers     Face the Brutal Facts Honestly     Reward Cooperation     Clarify Responsibility and Accountability     Controls Require Timely and Valid Information     Leadership, Controls, and Execution     The Strategy Review: Integrating Planning, Execution, and Control     Step 1: Strategy Formulation     Step 2: The Execution Plan     Step 3: Initiating the Control Process     Step 4: Cause-Effect Analysis and Organizational Learning     Step 5: Feedback and Change     Step 6: Follow Up and Continue the Process     Summary     Endnotes 7. Managing Change.     Managing Change: A Continuing Challenge     Steps in Managing Change     A Model of Change and Execution     Components of the Model     Relating Change to Execution Problems     Sequential Change     Complex Change     Other Factors Affecting Change     Summary     Endnotes 8. Managing Culture and Culture Change.     What Is Culture?     Culture is Important for Execution      Culture is Not Homogeneous      Culture Affects Performance     Organizational Performance Affects Culture      A Model of Culture and Cultural Change     The Top Line: The Effects of Culture     The Bottom Line: Changing Culture     Summary     Rule 1: The Reasons for Change Must Be Clear, Compelling, and Agreed Upon By Key Players     Rule 2: Focus on Changing Behavior-Not Directly on Changing Culture     Rule 3: Effective Communication is Vital to Culture Change     Rule 4: Adequate Effort Must Be Expanded to Reduce Resistance to Change     Rule 5: Beware of Excessive Speed     Endnotes 9. Power, Influence, and Execution.     A View of Power and Influence     Strategy and Environment     Problems or Dependencies     Organizational Structure     Uneven Resource Allocations     Internal Dependencies and Power     Using Power and Influence     Coming Full Circle: Conclusions About Power     Power and Execution     Define Power Bases and Relationships     Form Coalitions or Develop Joint Ventures  with Those in Power     Focus on Value-Added, Measurable Results     A Final Note on Power: The Downside     Summary     Endnotes 10. Summary and Application: Making Mergers and Acquisitions Work.     Making Merger and Acquisition Strategies Work     Why Focus on Mergers and Acquisitions?     Why Do So Many Mergers and Acquisitions Fail or Founder?     Using the Present Model and Approach to Execution     Corporate Strategy     Corporate Structure     Cultural Integration in M&A     Business Strategy and Short-Term Objectives     Business Structure/Integration     Incentives and Controls     Managing Change     Managing Culture and Culture Change     The Critical Role of Leadership     Summary     Endnotes Appendix. Index.