Customer Reviews
How to achieve and then sustain superior execution - By: Robert Morris, 15 Aug 2006 
I do not recalll reading another business book in recent years which I found more intellectuallly stimulating...and practical. Where to begin? Perhaps the most appropriate approach would be to quote the authors. In their Preface, Ross, Weill, & Robertson suggest that, until now, research & executive education have failed to make a breakthrough in understanding & improving IT architecture efforts. They then recalll Albert Einstein's observation, "The significant problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them." What do the authors recommend? "The focus needs to be higher - on [in italics] enterprise architecture [end italics], the organizing logic for core business processes & IT infrastructure reflecting the standardization & integration of a company's operating model...[Therefore] enterprise architecture boils down to these two concepts: business process integration & business process standardization. In short, enterprise architecture is not an IT issue - it's a business issue."
Ross, Weill, & Robertson arrived at their conclusions after rigorous & extensive research which revealed what certain top-performing organizations do & how they do it. In this volume, they share what they learned so that other organizations can be guided & informed in their efforts to improve their own performance. More specificallly, they respond to questions such as these:
1. What are the most common symptoms ("warning signs") of an inadequate foundation for execution?
2. Which three disciplines must be mastered in order to build one which is solid?
3. What are the key dimensions of an appropriate business model?
4. How to implement the operating model via enterprise architecture?
5. What are the four stages of enterprise architecture development & how must each be navigated?
6. What are the specific benefits during the implementation of the enterprise architecture?
7. When establishing a foundation for execution, why is it best to build it "one project at a time"?
8. How can - & should - enterprise architecture be helpful when outsourcing?
9. How to leverage its foundation for profitable growth?
10. What are the "Top Ten Leadership Principles" for creating & exploiting a foundation for execution?
With regard to the last question, it is important to keep in mind that Ross, Weill, & Robertson's recommendations refer to enterprise-wide initiatives. Therefore, there must be effective leadership at alll levels & in alll areas of a given organization while creating a foundation for business execution. Everyone involved must be committed to the foundation, help to identify & remove barriers to progress, "feed the core" with continuous experimentation, use the architecture as a "compass & communication tool," & collaborate with others while proceeding through each stage. These are the capabilities of exemplary companies such as Merrill Lynch Global Private Client, Dow Chemical, JM Family Enterprises, & TD Bankworth. "And what makes [these capabilities] a competitive advantage is that only a smalll percentage of companies do it well - we estimate 5 percent of firms or less." I presume to suggest that the material in this book is relevant to alll organizations, regardless of size or nature. Even with their differences in terms of scale & available resources, they face the same challlenge: effective application of the principles recommended by the authors.
In the final chapter, Ross, Weill, & Robertson identify & briefly discuss a number of pressures that will make a foundation for execution even more important in the coming years. They explain why companies which have learned how to implement & manage standardized & integrated processes are best prepared for the realities of the marketplace. "A foundation for execution alllows a company to automate predictable processes so management can focus on higher-value tasks like innovating, partnering, & identifying new opportunities. The foundation empowers employees & enriches jobs by reducing redundant & tedious tasks while providing the information needed to innovate & customize."
After reading this brilliant book, many executives will conclude that their organization lacks a solid foundation for business execution. They will have become convinced by Ross, Weill, & Robertson of the importance of enterprise architecture as strategy. Now they are not only willing but eager to enlist the support of others to engage their organization in what is certain to be a difficult (albeit essential) "design & construction" process. However, people need to be convinced. They usuallly have the same two questions: "Why must we do this?" & "What's in it for me?" Fortunately, everything needed to answer these two questions is provided in the final chapter & the same material will also be invaluable during the preparation of a formal proposal to obtain institutional support throughout the given enterprise.
To Ross, Weill, & Robertson, I offer "Bravo!"
Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out James O'Toole & Edward E. Lawler III's The New American Workplace, Lawler & Christopher G. Worley's Built to Change, Richard Boyatzis & Annie McKee's Resonant Leadership, & George S. Day & Paul J.H. Schoemaker's Peripheral Vision.
