Marketing Information

/ Articles / Business Nuggets / It¹s Not What You Say...It¹s W...

---

It¹s Not What You Say...It¹s What You Do by Robert Morris

It¹s Not What You Say...It¹s What You Do
Laurence Haughton
Currency/Doubleday

Previously, Haughton co-authored with Jason Jennings a book which I admire very much, It's Not the Big That Eat the Small...It's the Fast That Eat the Slow, in which he and Jennings explain how to use speed to achieve and then sustain a decisive competitive advantage in business. In this volume, Haughton focuses on the importance of follow-through which he asserts (and I agree) often determines success or failure in a competitive marketplace, whatever its nature and extent may be. He insists that what makes or breaks an organization is NOT the result of finding (or not finding) the perfect strategy; rather, contrary to conventional wisdom, success or failure is determined by the nature and extent of follow-through at every and all levels of an organization. Haughton¹s conclusions and assertions are based on extensive research (his and others,¹ duly cited) to explain disfunctions common to most organizations. Haughton provides in the first three chapters several specific, practical suggestions as (1) to ³how to turn vague, general, or conflicting expectations into clear, specific, and coordinated targets -- even if you¹re the manager stuck in the middle between headquarters, and customers,² (2) ³how to quickly connect the dots between what people say and what they really want, without them telling you in an overt of explicit manner,² and (3) how to formulate and then implement ³a system for thinking things through more thoroughly (even under tight deadlines) and fine-tuning your directions with tactics prone to [begin italics] succeed [end italics].² The balance of this book provides addition information, observations, and suggestions -- as well as countless anecdotes, real-world examples, and executive profiles -- which will help decision-makers in any organization (regardless of size or nature) to flourish. As Haughton explains when concluding his book, ³All managers must be willing to expose themselves and say, 'The robustness and stamina of the follow-through is my responsibility. All our promises have my name on them.' "