I had to blow the dust off the book. It is among those that have been on my library shelves for years. I bought it when I was leading a broadcast ministry and knew I needed help. Our ministry was great. The people were great. But in the back of my mind was the question: “How do we sustain this for the months and years ahead?”

The book is called Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done by Bossidy and Charan. Written over twenty years ago, many of the illustrations are dated. The principles put forth by the authors, though, are solid even today.

Most of us know of good companies and good ministries that just don’t seem to get off the ground. Like a passenger airplane, zipping down the runway is no good if the plane doesn’t actually take off. Let’s look at a few things from the experiences detailed in this book.

  • You as a leader must be deeply and passionately engaged in your organization and honest about its realities with others and yourself.
  • Having a strategy isn’t enough. It needs to be executed well for success to come.
  • Unless you translate big thoughts into concrete steps for action, they’re pointless.

Fred Smith is quoted as saying if you don’t write your ideas down, they are just dreams.

  • An organization can execute only if the leader’s heart and soul are immersed in the company. The word “passion” comes to mind again. Not just passion for the job, but passion to see the organization flourish. In our Christian context, the leader needs passion for others.
  • Leading for execution is not micromanaging. It’s about active involvement…doing the things leaders should be doing in the first place.
  • Organizations don’t execute unless the right people, individually and collectively, focus on the right details at the right time.
  • The culture of a company is the behavior of its leaders.

That last point is critical in our ministries and organizations. We have all seen ministries that have lost their effectiveness and credibility because of the leader and his or her behavior. And we have seen ministries flourish and exceed expectations due to a leader who is filled with passion, energy, and an executable plan.

Of course, in our Christian organizations, we must remember whom we serve. Our passion is to please the Lord in everything we do.

Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.

Proverbs 16:3 NLT

It is not enough to have good ideas. Not even good enough to have great people. The leader must have a plan that can take the organization forward…and upward…to God’s high calling.

God’s best…