Execution All-Stars

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Five well-known companies that bridged the execution gap, and how they did it.

Ever wonder why some companies consistently meet their goals and others don't? So did Rick Lepsinger, author of Closing the Execution Gap: How Great Leaders and Their Companies Get Results (Jossey-Bass/A Wiley Imprint, June 2010). And when his consulting firm OnPoint conducted a study of 400 companies, he found some answers.

"We discovered that there are five factors that set apart the organizations with the best performance results and those more effective at execution," Lepsinger says. "I think of them as 'The Five Bridges' because they help companies close the gap between strategy and execution."

To see what the bridges look like in action, Lepsinger lists a handful of well-known companies that execute exceptionally well:

Procter & Gamble

Bridge #1:The Ability to Manage Change

A few years back, P&G hit a home run with its Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. But what makes it relevant to Bridge #1 lies in how the product came to fruition. The organization had a track record of developing new products in-house. With the Magic Eraser, it broke from that model. An employee discovered the prototype in Japan, and rather than limiting itself to internal ideas, P&G saw an opportunity to license a product that …

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